Quality of olive oil during storage in different packaging materials

Bc. Anastasia Mitrusi

Master's thesis

Abstract:

Extra virgin olive oil is an excellent source of natural fat, originated in the Mediterranean basin. Nowadays, olive oil is expanded and appreciated worldwide. Besides its positive content, olive oil carries substances that are not stable, and its durability depends on the storage conditions such as packaging, temperature, light, and oxygen. This thesis aimed to compare the influence of two packaging materials (glass and Tetra Pak®) on extra virgin olive oil quality parameters. To simulate household conditions, the headspace was created by removing half of the content. Each sample was stored under two different storage conditions (dark & cold, light & warm). Quality parameters and chemical properties of the samples were investigated four times over four months by analytical titrations; oxidation stability was identified by oxitest reactor and volatile compounds causing rancidity were determined chromatographically (GC MS). The results of titrations did not show any significant differences in the quality of stored olive oil, nevertheless; the induction periods measured by the oxitest reactor were the shortest for olive oils with headspace indicating their susceptibility to rancidity. To conclude, no difference was found between packaging materials and their stability. The quality of extra virgin olive oil is unstable primary due to a large amount of the headspace in the bottle, particularly, when the olive oil is stored in light & warm conditions regardless of the packaging material.

Keywords

shelf-life, headspace, stability, vegetable oil

Language used: English

Date on which the thesis was submitted / produced: 22. 4. 2022

Thesis defence

• Supervisor: Ing. Olga Leuner, Ph.D.

Czech University of Life Sciences Prague

Faculty of Tropical AgriSciences

Master programme:
Tropical Crop Management and Ecology