Imitation - Adulteration Testing in Olive Oil

Imitation - Adulteration Testing in Olive Oil

Adulteration in high-cost foods is accomplished by mixing lower ingredients. Olive oil, which is preferred due to its sensory quality and nutritional benefits, is mixed with cheap oils and imitated and adulterated. Various vegetable oils can be mixed in edible oils and indicated on the label accordingly. However, if the resulting mixture deviates from the mixing ratios specified on the label or if it is sold as the original mixture, it means that the oil has been adulterated. Edible oils commonly used for adulteration of extra virgin olive oil may be low-quality olive oil (refined or pomace olive oil) or other vegetable or seed oils such as corn, peanut, cottonseed, sunflower, soybean and poppy seed oils.

Turkey is one of the largest producers of olive oil in the world, and cottonseed, rapeseed, sunflower and corn oils, which are generally lower in market price, are used to adulterate olive oil. Numerous methodologies exist for detecting and quantifying vegetable or seed oils in olive oil. Techniques involving the application of chromatographic methods are widely practiced. With the Imitation and Adulteration Tests in olive oil, deception of consumers is prevented and their health is protected.