Supervisors info:
Νικόλαος Θωμαΐδης, Καθηγητής, Τμήμα Χημείας, Εθνικό και Καποδιστριακό Πανεπιστήμιο Αθηνών
Summary:
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is known to be the core of the Mediterranean diet, mainly because of its high nutritional value and also for its unique taste. Olive oil superiority, which has been validated by the EU establishment responsible for verifying the scientific substantiation of the health claims on olive oil polyphenols (EU 432/2012), has laid the foundation in the field for in-depth studies on olive oil authenticity and uniqueness. On many occasions, due to its high economic value compared to other food products, olive oil is considered at high risk of some kind of adulteration. According to FDA ranking, fraud concerning the substitution of olive oil with vegetable oils comes first as compared to other food. Having said that, in order to highlight the product’s special qualities, attention must also be paid to the assurance of geographical origin and variety.
In the present study, for the purpose of achieving detection of geographical origin and varietal adulteration in EVOO samples, integrated non-target screening workflows based on LC-QToF-MS analysis have been developed and optimized. As such, two different studies on adulteration were designed and carried out. Samples of different EVOO varieties and geographical origin were analysed, including samples of adulterated olive oil. The adulterated samples were constructed in the lab, in different adulteration ratios varied from 10 to 50%. Potential authenticity markers of origin and variety for EVOO discrimination were introduced and notable differentiations in their profile were recorded. Evaluation and data analysis in non-target HRMS screening workflows were carried out. The advanced processing tools in combination with unsupervised chemometric techniques that were used were of great assistance.
Keywords:
Olive oil, Adulteration, LC -QToF-MS, Chemometrics
