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Olive Oil Refining Process

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Handbook of Olive Oil

Abstract

Not all olive oil production is classified by the categories of extra virgin and virgin olive oils, which can be consumed directly. The refining process allows the elimination of color, odor, or flavor of those oils that are unacceptable to consumers or to remove chemical compounds that might be toxic or have bad influence on the olive oil stability.

This chapter describes the different steps in the refining process, along with quality control measures of the whole process. The modifications of some of the most significant olive oil compounds resulting from the refining process are described in detail. Finally, the recovery and possible alternative uses for the byproducts of the refining process are discussed.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de la Grasa. CSIC., Av. Padre García Tejero, 4, Sevilla, E-41012, Spain

    M. Victoria Ruiz-Méndez, Marta R. Aguirre-González & Susana Marmesat

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  1. M. Victoria Ruiz-Méndez
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  2. Marta R. Aguirre-González
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  3. Susana Marmesat
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Correspondence to M. Victoria Ruiz-Méndez .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Instituto de la Grasa Spanish National Research Council, Seville, Spain

    Ramón Aparicio

  2. Cardiff University School of Biosciences, Cardiff, United Kingdom

    John Harwood

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Ruiz-Méndez, M.V., Aguirre-González, M.R., Marmesat, S. (2013). Olive Oil Refining Process. In: Aparicio, R., Harwood, J. (eds) Handbook of Olive Oil. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-7777-8_19

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