High quality extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is known for its superior taste and general quality and is consequently sold for a premium price. However, only fresh olive oils show the best quality. But how do I know that oil is produced freshly and not just only old oil newly packaged or a mix of fresh and old oils?
The Spanish laboratory ?Tello? and member of the Tentamus Group is specialized on the analysis of olives and olive oils. They analyze several hundred samples per year to answer exactly that question. To do that, Tello observes oxidation processes of naturally occurring substances in EVOO, namely Pheophytin and the oxidation product Pyropheophytin. The ratio of those substances is be used to estimate the age of an EVOO. Furthermore, mixing old to fresh EVOO can also be detected, as the ratio of these two substances would change when old oil is added and wouldn?t match the production date on the label. This adds an important method to the area of food fraud as it facilitates detection of fraudulently produced EVOO for which the consumer would pay a price that the product is not worth.
Additionally oils are tested for their ingredients and sensory characteristics to make sure that no contamination, damage or adulteration (e.g. refined oil in native oils or so called old oils in cold-pressed oils) occur. However, for proper evaluation of these massive sets of data profound knowledge on olive oil as can be found at Tello is crucial.
Please get in contact with our experts from Tello for further information and consultation:
Laboratorio Juan Antonio Tello S.L.
Pol Industrial Los Olivares
Calle la Iruela, 8
23009 Ja
Tel. +34 953 28 11 16
E-Mail: laboratorio@jatello.com