118199/download), when consuming approximately 23 g of olive oil daily. The
health claim related to oleic acid should be formulated as follows: “Replacing
saturated fats in the diet with unsaturated fats contributes to the maintenance of
normal blood cholesterol levels” (EC Reg. No 1924/2006).
Scientifically proved effects of olive oil consumption have been reported widely,
and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued an opinion that lead to the
Commission Regulation (EU) 432/2012 (EU Regulation 2012). VOOs can potentially be labelled by also adding a health claim referred in relation to the beneficial
effects of olive oil polyphenols: “Olive oil polyphenols contribute to the protection
of blood lipids from oxidative stress. The claim may be used only for olive oil,
containing at least 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives (e.g. oleuropein
complex and tyrosol) per 20 g of olive oil”. Roselli et al. (2017) gave a detailed
overview on the health claims applicable to olive oil, by stressing the “unicity” of
this product in contrast with other vegetable oils.
A consistent body of literature based on “randomized, crossover, controlled
human studies in healthy subjects and in patients showed that the protective effects
of VOO phenol compounds are clearly detected in humans under oxidative stress
conditions” (Vitaglione et al. 2015). A dose-dependent effect has been shown in
terms of protective effects of olive oil phenolic compounds in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) peroxidation.
It has been pointed out that the majority of EVOOs on the market usually has a
phenolic content below 200 mg/kg, except a few high-quality PDO products
(Caporaso et al. 2015b); therefore, efforts are needed for producers and the industry
to increase the phenolic content of EVOOs. It is also important that the consumer
will correctly evaluate VOOs and appreciate the benefits and uses of a product with
bitter-pungent notes. It should be also highlighted that harmonisation in terms of
official methods for olive oil phenolic compound analysis is still ongoing. However,
the majority of literature uses colorimetric methods, such as the Folin-Ciocalteu
technique, to quantify the total amount of phenolic compounds or HPLC-based
methods which allow the quantification of individual phenolic compounds after
hydrolysis.
9.5 Olive Oil Quality and Authenticity
The “basic” quality parameters for olive oils are those related to the free fatty acids,
peroxide value and absorbance in the ultraviolet region, in addition to the sensory
assessment. The reader can refer to the EU Commission Regulation (EC) 2568/91
with the recent modifications (EU Commission Regulation 2015, 1830).
Olive oil quality is tested from a physico-chemical point of view, using the
following indices:
– Peroxide value
– Acidity (free fatty acids)
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N. Caporaso and D. Boskou
health claim related to oleic acid should be formulated as follows: “Replacing
saturated fats in the diet with unsaturated fats contributes to the maintenance of
normal blood cholesterol levels” (EC Reg. No 1924/2006).
Scientifically proved effects of olive oil consumption have been reported widely,
and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) issued an opinion that lead to the
Commission Regulation (EU) 432/2012 (EU Regulation 2012). VOOs can potentially be labelled by also adding a health claim referred in relation to the beneficial
effects of olive oil polyphenols: “Olive oil polyphenols contribute to the protection
of blood lipids from oxidative stress. The claim may be used only for olive oil,
containing at least 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives (e.g. oleuropein
complex and tyrosol) per 20 g of olive oil”. Roselli et al. (2017) gave a detailed
overview on the health claims applicable to olive oil, by stressing the “unicity” of
this product in contrast with other vegetable oils.
A consistent body of literature based on “randomized, crossover, controlled
human studies in healthy subjects and in patients showed that the protective effects
of VOO phenol compounds are clearly detected in humans under oxidative stress
conditions” (Vitaglione et al. 2015). A dose-dependent effect has been shown in
terms of protective effects of olive oil phenolic compounds in low-density lipoprotein (LDL) peroxidation.
It has been pointed out that the majority of EVOOs on the market usually has a
phenolic content below 200 mg/kg, except a few high-quality PDO products
(Caporaso et al. 2015b); therefore, efforts are needed for producers and the industry
to increase the phenolic content of EVOOs. It is also important that the consumer
will correctly evaluate VOOs and appreciate the benefits and uses of a product with
bitter-pungent notes. It should be also highlighted that harmonisation in terms of
official methods for olive oil phenolic compound analysis is still ongoing. However,
the majority of literature uses colorimetric methods, such as the Folin-Ciocalteu
technique, to quantify the total amount of phenolic compounds or HPLC-based
methods which allow the quantification of individual phenolic compounds after
hydrolysis.
9.5 Olive Oil Quality and Authenticity
The “basic” quality parameters for olive oils are those related to the free fatty acids,
peroxide value and absorbance in the ultraviolet region, in addition to the sensory
assessment. The reader can refer to the EU Commission Regulation (EC) 2568/91
with the recent modifications (EU Commission Regulation 2015, 1830).
Olive oil quality is tested from a physico-chemical point of view, using the
following indices:
– Peroxide value
– Acidity (free fatty acids)
232
N. Caporaso and D. Boskou