Extra virgin olive oil is extracted from cold pressed wool and is one of the most popular foods in Europe. However, lower numbers are coming on the market.
A research team led by Dr. Dr. Stephan Schwarzinger at the University of Bayreuth has now developed a highly effective rapid test against this food fraud. Within an hour, the quality and quality of olive oil on the market can be clearly tested and side effects detected. Origin information can also be examined for plausibility.
Increasingly, high quality food medicines are harming both consumers and producers. So the bodies responsible for testing food products are definitely calling for tougher legal measures. Until recently, however, complete tests on the quality and validation of olive oil could only be carried out using a variety of test methods applied one after the other. So they were time consuming and expensive.
A new method for rapid testing from Bayreuth is now overcoming these obstacles with the help of a nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscope (NMR spectroscopy). Develop Dr. Dr. Stephan Schwarzinger of Bayreuth University’s North Bavarian NMR Center (NBNC) conducted the experiment in collaboration with the University of Athens, the analytical laboratory ALNuMed GmbH, and partners from the olive oil industry.
“Over a number of years, we collected and systematically analyzed over 1,000 different samples of additive olive oil. The NMR measurement provided us with a separate image for each sample containing its own. all property related to quality and certification, “said Schwarzinger, who heads the NBNC ‘s Food and Product Quality and Assurance Working Group.
The new rapid test is based on the unique ability of NMR spectroscopy to detect ingredients that appear in highly different amounts with high resolution and reproducibility. In practice, this means fully concentrated main ingredients, such as the fatty acids in olive oil, but also very low concentrations are found. These include in particular the polyphenols, which are antioxidants in the human body and have a positive effect on health.
The rapid test therefore reveals whether the oil in question has the right, in principle, to carry a health claim in accordance with the corresponding EU regulation. Simultaneously with ingredient analysis, flavor tests are tested, which is important for consumer acceptance. In addition, comparisons can be made with existing olive oil profiles to ensure the reliability of the manufacturer’s or trader’s source verification. NMR spectroscopy can be used to determine whether the olive oil sample examined originated in Greece, Italy, or Spain, for example. Problems from popular extra virgin olive oil have been a problem for several years.
Other vegetable oils are cheap in green color and sold as olive oil, rancid oil is mixed with good oil, or old oils are refined by special technologies and come back into circulation as drinking olive oil. more. These deceptions undermine the reputation of this high-quality product, and could spin down what draws olive oil farmers through price reductions. And this, in turn, leads to the collapse of large wool grains in the Mediterranean region with negative ecological impacts. “
Prof. Dr. Stephan Schwarzinger, North Bavarian NMR Center, Bayreuth University (NBNC)
NMR spectroscopy, because it enables rapid and simultaneous examination of many parameters, is the instrument of choice for the detection of these types of food particles. Schwarzinger recently laid the foundations of BioFach’s new olive oil rapid test in Nuremberg, the premier trade fair for the food industry.
“This year, due to the pandemic, the trade fair was held online. Nevertheless, our new test option met with widespread interest. The olive oil experts were to It is already clear that this can significantly improve the visibility of olive oil supply chains and markets. We hope that our development will be greatly enhanced. now rapidly deployed in contract laboratories and brought to market, ”said Bayreuth NMR expert.
In the past Schwarzinger and his group have contributed significantly to an approach, also based on NMR spectroscopy, for studying the quality and authenticity of honey. Meanwhile, the University of Bayreuth is one of the world’s leading research centers for honey testing.