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Visible and near-infrared absorption spectroscopy by an integrating sphere and optical fibers for quantifying and discriminating the adulteration of extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany

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Abstract

Because of its high price, extra virgin olive oil is frequently targeted for adulteration with lower quality oils. This paper presents an innovative optical technique capable of quantifying and discriminating the adulteration of extra virgin olive oil caused by lower-grade olive oils. An original set-up for diffuse-light absorption spectroscopy in the wide 400–1,700 nm spectral range was experimented. It made use of an integrating sphere containing the oil sample and of optical fibers for illumination and detection; it provided intrinsically scattering-free absorption spectroscopy measurements. This set-up was used to collect spectroscopic fingerprints of authentic extra virgin olive oils from the Italian Tuscany region, adulterated by different concentrations of olive-pomace oil, refined olive oil, deodorized olive oil, and refined olive-pomace oil. Then, a straightforward multivariate processing of spectroscopic data based on principal component analysis and linear discriminant analysis was applied which was successfully capable of predicting the fraction of adulterant in the mixture, and of discriminating its type. The results achieved by means of optical spectroscopy were compared with the analysis of fatty acids, which was carried out by standard gas chromatography.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the following initiatives for partial financial support: EC Network of Excellence on Micro-Optics (NEMO), EC Network of Excellence for Biophotonics (P4L), CNR Short-Term Mobility Program 2009, and A.R.S.I.A. Mr. Franco Cosi is acknowledged for technical support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. CNR-IFAC, Via Madonna del Piano, 10-Building B, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, FI, Italy

    Anna Grazia Mignani & Leonardo Ciaccheri

  2. Vrije Universiteit Brussel, B-PHOT, Pleinlaan, 2, 1050, Brussels, Belgium

    Heidi Ottevaere & Hugo Thienpont

  3. Università degli Studi di Udine, Dipartimento di Scienze degli Alimenti, Via Sondrio, 2A, 33100, Udine, Italy

    Lanfranco Conte & Milena Marega

  4. Università degli Studi “G. D’Annunzio”, DASTA, Viale Pindaro, 42, 65127, Pescara, Italy

    Angelo Cichelli

  5. CNR-IVALSA, Via Madonna del Piano, 10-Building D, 50019, Sesto Fiorentino, FI, Italy

    Cristina Attilio & Antonio Cimato

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  1. Anna Grazia Mignani
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  2. Leonardo Ciaccheri
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Correspondence to Leonardo Ciaccheri.

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Mignani, A.G., Ciaccheri, L., Ottevaere, H. et al. Visible and near-infrared absorption spectroscopy by an integrating sphere and optical fibers for quantifying and discriminating the adulteration of extra virgin olive oil from Tuscany. Anal Bioanal Chem 399, 1315–1324 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-010-4408-y

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00216-010-4408-y

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