New Solutions for Todays Problems!
Search this site:
 

 

Authenticity of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

 

NIR Technologies Inc. has developed a unique (United States Patent No. 10,119,905) Methodology using Fourier transform near infrared (FT-NIR) spectroscopy to determine the authenticity of your Extra Virgin Olive Oil product, non-destructively. This methodology is a result of many years of studying extra virgin olive oil and its unique nature and the spectral finger-print to be able to accurately and rapidly measure the inherent components of extra virgin olive oil and relate them to expected values and establish the product's authenticity. Olive oil is a unique product that is extracted from olive fruit by "cold-press" therefore any addition of extraneous oils it would affect its composition (finger-print) and be detected by this methodology. Olive oil also comes in so many different varieties with different composition which must also be taken into consideration (see below for selected publications).


Steps We Take to Determine the Authenticity of Your Olive Oil

  • An FT-NIR scan of your olive oil (as received from a sealed bottle) is taken and the replicate files are averaged and saved.  This is your olive oil's snapshot in time!
  • Olive oil comes in different varieties and we next determine and assign a group to your product.
  • Depending on the group assignment next we apply the appropriate Quantitative analysis calibration models (Proprietary, United States Patent – Patent No. US 10,119,905 B2) both for inherent components of the olive oil and extraneous oils and record the results.
  • Compare the results to the specified ranges (see table below) and establish the authenticity of your olive oil product.
Parameters Results Specifications Pass/Fail
Group IDENT
3
1
FT-NIR Index
109.4
>75
Pass
2
Moisture & Volatile content
0.65
>0.6
Pass
2
Free Fatty Acid
0.21
<0.8*
Pass
4
Peroxide Value
7.7
<20*
Pass
5
1,2-diacylglycerol
2.06
(1.0 to 3.0)
Pass
6
1,3-diacylglycerol
0.98
<1.0
Pass
7
Palmitic acid (16:0)
15.2
(7.5 to 20)*
Pass
8
Stearic acid (18:0)
1.8
(0.5 to 5.0)*
Pass
9
Oleic acid (18:1n-9)
63.9
(55 to 83)*
Pass
10
Linoleic acid (18:2n-6)
13.7
(2.5 to 21)*
Pass
11
a-Linolenic acid (18:3n-3)
0.3
(0 to 1.5)*
Pass
12
Oil high in linoleic acid (OH-LNA)
0.1
(-2.1 to 3.1)
Pass
13
Oil high in Oleic acid (OH-OLA)
-3.9
(-11.6 to 11.5)
Pass
14
Palm Olein (PO)
-2.7
(-7.2 to 4.3)
Pass
15
Refined Olive oil (ROO)
-8.6
(-22.7 to 19.0)
Pass

* IOC = International Olive Council specification tests 1-6 are related to quality and freshness; 7-11 are fatty acid profile, and 12-15 are related to potential adulterating oils.



Price comparison to traditional chemical laboratory testing

No. Test Chemical Laboratory NIR Technologies Inc.
1 Fatty acid composition $510 Included
2 Free acidity $35 Included
3 Diacylglycerol $220 Included
4 Extraneous oil content N/A Included
5 Volatile content N/A Included
Total $765 $155

N/A = Not available these measurements are not possible or available except with FT-NIR spectroscopy The simple reason we can do this is that we have developed a patented FT-NIR spectral database of extra virgin olive oil varieties that allows us to determine all thirteen parameters in one simple measurement.


Contact Us

Please contact us at +1 (905) 469-6767 or email hazizian@nirtechnologies.com. Substantial cost savings are available for any large volume or continuous monitoring.


Meet "the consumer safety and proper labeling of imported olive oil" as mandated by the congress!

"Olive Oil.—The Committee is concerned with reports that consistently describe the prevalence of adulterated and fraudulently labeled olive oil imported into the United States and sold to American consumers. In addition, some products labeled as olive oil may contain seed oil, which poses a serious health risk to consumers who are allergic to seed oil. The Committee directs the FDA to take a sampling of imported olive oil to determine if it is adulterated or misbranded, pursuant to Section 342 or Section 343 of the FDCA, respectively,and report to Congress within 270 days on its findings and what actions the FDA will take to ensure consumer safety and proper labeling of imported olive oil. (114TH CONGRESS REPORT, 2d Session HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 114–xxx AGRICULTURE, RURAL DEVELOPMENT, FOOD AND DRUG ADMINISTRATION, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS, BILL, 2017)."



Copyright © 2024 NIR Technologies Inc.