Storage time of nut spreads using flash gas chromatography E-nose combined with multivariate data analysis

The quality assessment, in terms of lipid oxidative status, of food products stored in the long-term is of great importance, especially those with a high lipid content. Specifically, companies working in this sector need feasible, simple, and fast techniques that are suitable for quality or process control. Herein, a fingerprinting approach, based on headspace analysis carried out by flash gas chromatography electronic nose (FGC E-nose) and multivariate data analysis was applied to pistachio and gianduja spreads. These samples, differently packaged, were stored in climatic chambers at 40 °C for 180 days and their headspace fraction was analyzed periodically for a total of 15 sampling times. Principal component analysis showed a clear separation according to the packaging type for both pistachio and gianduja samples. Partial least squares regression models were developed to predict the storage time considering the aggregated data (R2 up to 0.985, RMSEP = 6.16 days) or separately (R2 up to 0.989, RMSEP = 5.71 days). Based on the obtained residual prediction deviation (RPD from 4.4 to 8.5 in prediction), the models can be considered suitable for use in quality control in an industrial environment

Characterization of virgin olive oils obtained from minor Tunisian varieties for their valorization

Several compositional parameters (fatty acids, tocopherols, polar phenols and volatiles) in virgin olive oils from varieties located at the center of Tunisia, namely Baldi, Chemchali, Neb Jmel, Tounsi and Besbessi from Gafsa and Chemchali and Sehli cultivated in Sidi Bouzid, were studied. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study focusing on the chemical composition of virgin olive oils (VOO) from Sidi Bouzid. Significant differences were found between varieties from Sidi Bouzid and Gafsa in monounsaturated saturated fatty acid levels, some volatile compounds and γ-tocopherol amounts. Notably, Tounsi and Baldi VOOs showed the highest six carbon atoms alcohol contents, whereas Neb Jmel VOO revealed the highest aldehyde six carbon atoms content. Fatty acid composition, as well as tocopherol content, showed differences among different VOO. Principal component analysis and hierarchical component analysis on polar phenols, fatty acids, tocopherols and volatiles data evidenced a good discrimination among oils from the different investigated varieties

Application of a non-targeted approach by Flash Gas Chromatography-E-nose to discriminate the geographical origin of virgin olive oils

One of the fraudulent practices often applied in the olive oil sector concerns the mislabelling of the geographical origin of the products. In order to ensure that consumers are not mislead, the European Union issued a regulation concerning the definition of specific rules for the indication of geographical origin in the label (EU Reg. 29/2012). Beyond the compulsory traceability, the application of specific analytical techniques could be a useful tool to verify the conformity between the product and the information reported on the label. The aim of this work was to evaluate the effectiveness of a Flash Gas Chromatography-E-Nose, an instrument that combines functionality of electronic nose and ultra-fast GC, for the evaluation of the geographical origin of virgin olive oils (VOOs). For this purpose, more than 150 VOOs, different for their geographical origin (from single EU countries, such as Spain, Italy and Greece, and from single extra-EU countries, such as Tunisia, Turkey and Morocco) were collected and analyzed. Subsequently, a chemometric elaboration applied, with a non-targeted approach, to the chromatographic traces was realized. This permitted to build a model able to satisfactorily discriminate samples according to their geographical origin. This work is developed in the context of the project OLEUM \u201cAdvanced solutions for assuring authenticity and quality of olive oil at global scale\u201d, funded by the European Commission within the Horizon 2020 Programme (2014\u20132020, GA no. 635690). The information expressed in this abstract reflects the authors\u2019 views; the EC is not liable for the information contained therein

PRELIMINARY CHEMICAL CHARACTERIZATION OF TUNISIN MONOVARIETAL VIRGIN OLIVE OILS AND COMPARISON WITH SICILIAN ONES.

Work was carried out on the characterization of monovarietal virgin olive oils (VOO) from Tunisia and Sicily (Italy). The two main Tunisian VOO (cvv. Ch\ue9toui of the North and cv. Chemlali grown in the Center and some regions of the South) and three principal Sicilian VOO (cvv. Nocellara del Belice, Biancolilla and Cerasuola) were studied. Moreover, the Ch\ue9toui oils were tested in a rain-fed control and an irrigation regime. All olive samples were picked at three different stages of ripeness. Analyses of major components (fatty acids and triacylglycerols) and minor ones (squalene, tocopherols and phenolic compounds) were carried out. Ch\ue9toui oils had a higher level of phenolic compounds followed by Chemlali. Generally, in the Sicilian oils these natural antioxidant contents were lower. These preliminary results indicate that it was possible to classify the Tunisian and Sicilian oils tested in their original growing area based on their chemical composition

Design and in-house validation of a portable system for the determination of free acidity in virgin olive oil

Nutritional and healthy values are well known properties of virgin olive oil (VOO). The product quality, in terms of belonging to a specific quality grade (extra virgin, virgin, lampante), is defined by a set of chemical-physical and sensory measurements. According to the official regulation of the European Union (EU Reg. 1348/2013)the free acidity is the first parameter that has to be determined by analysts; it gives information about the quality of the olives used to produce the VOO as well as the hydrolytic state of VOO just produced and stored. The official procedure is based on an acid-base titration that needs to be carried out in a chemical laboratory. In this paper a portable battery-operated electronic system to measure olive oil free acidity is presented: the system can be used for quick \u201cin situ\u201d tests in a production environment (olive oil mills or packaging centers)by people without particular training. The working principle of the system is based on the creation of an emulsion between oil and a hydroalcoholic solution: the free acidity is estimated on the value of the emulsion electrical conductance. The proposed system has been calibrated and in-house validated showing good results in terms of limit of detection and quantification, precision and accuracy. Moreover, a good correlation (R 2adj = 0.97)with free acidity data obtained applying the official method on 30 olive oil samples belonging to different commercial categories (extra virgin, virgin and lampante olive oil)has been evidenced

Simulating International Shipments of Vegetable Oils: Focus on Quality Changes

This investigation evaluated the quality changes of commercial vegetable oils after different simulated shipments. In particular, the oils were placed in containers with or without thermal insulation and subjected to two simulated shipments, from Italy to Los Angeles and to Quebec. The temperature profiles were monitored to simulate the real shipments conditions in laboratory through properly developed climate chambers. Different quality parameters were evaluated before and after the simulations, showing a high degree of oxidation for samples shipped to Los Angeles in standard containers. In this study, the thermal insulation container was effective in protecting samples from potential oxidative damage during simulated shipping.The authors would like to thank Enhancement of the Palestinian University System (E- PLUS) for PhD scholarship grants financed by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs-Directorate General for Cooperation and Development (coordinated by the University of Pavia)

Incidence and predictors of heart failure hospitalization and death in permanent pacemaker patients: a single-centre experience over medium-term follow-up

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Using Landsat 8 image time series for crop mapping in a region of Cerrado, Brazil.

Abstract: The objective of this research is to classify agricultural land use in a region of the Cerrado (Brazilian Savanna) biome using a time series of Enhanced Vegetation Index (EVI) from Landsat 8 OLI. Phenological metrics extracted from EVI time series, a Random Forest algorithm and data mining techniques are used in the process of classification. The area of study is a region in the Cerrado in a region of the municipality of Casa Branca, São Paulo state, Brazil. The results are encouraging and demonstrate the potential of phenological parameters obtained from time series of OLI vegetation indices for agricultural land use classification

Investigación preliminar sobre los posibles efectos del tratamiento con arcilla mineral aplicado a aceites producidos a partir de aceitunas: enfoque sobre la eliminación de humedad y cambios en la composición

In this preliminary study, two non-filtered virgin olive oils (one freshly produced VOO-N; one VOO-O stored for one year) were subjected to moisture removal with mineral clay (raw or activated) and analyses were performed to attest possible effects on the quality of the product. The results demonstrated that the treatment of oil with mineral clay at 36-38 °C had no negative effect on the basic quality parameters or on the volatile comound profile. On the other hand, a significant decrease in the water amount as well as in pigments was observed in the samples subjected to this kind of treatment, in particular with raw clay. Regarding the colour measurement, the lightness (L) as well as the consumers’ acceptability exhibited a marked increase when oils were treated with raw clay.En este estudio preliminar, dos aceites de oliva vírgenes no filtrados (uno VOO-N recién producido y el otro, VOO-O almacenado durante un año) fueron sometidos a la eliminación del contenido de humedad con arcilla mineral (cruda o activada) y se realizaron análisis para atestiguar posibles efectos sobre la calidad del producto. Los resultados demostraron que el tratamiento del aceite con arcilla mineral, realizado a 36-38 °C, no tuvo consecuencias negativas en los parámetros básicos de calidad y en el perfil de los compuestos volátiles. Por otro lado, se observó una disminución significativa en la cantidad de agua y en los pigmentos en las muestras sometidas a este tipo de tratamiento, en particular con arcilla cruda. Con respecto a la medida del color, luminosidad (L) y aceptabilidad de los consumidores mostraron un aumento notable cuando los aceites se trataron con arcilla cruda

Preliminary investigation of possible effects of mineral clay treatment applied to oils produced from olives: Focus on moisture removal and compositional changes

In this preliminary study, two non-filtered virgin olive oils (one freshly produced VOO-N; one VOO-O stored for one year) were subjected to moisture removal with mineral clay (raw or activated) and analyses were performed to attest possible effects on the quality of the product. The results demonstrated that the treatment of oil with mineral clay at 36-38 °C had no negative effect on the basic quality parameters or on the volatile comound profile. On the other hand, a significant decrease in the water amount as well as in pigments was observed in the samples subjected to this kind of treatment, in particular with raw clay. Regarding the colour measurement, the lightness (L) as well as the consumers' acceptability exhibited a marked increase when oils were treated with raw clay