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As a quality oil, olive oil is susceptible to adulteration and fraud. This paper reviews the most common types of fraud in the olive oil sector. The two most common types of fraud recorded are the marketing of virgin olive oil as extra virgin, and marketing olive oil which is a blend of olive oil and  other vegetable oils. Two on-line surveys focused on current and future issues facing  the industry and control laboratories. These revealed the emerging issues of concern with regards to fraud were from the addition of deodorized oil, and from mixing with oil obtained by a second centrifugation of the olive paste (remolido). In addition, the most frequent fraudulent practices are mixing with lower quality olive oils, and giving a false delaration of origin (EU and non-EU). 

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Olive oil, especially extra virgin oilive oil (EVOO), is highly valued for its organoleptic and nutritional qualities. In this study, more than 200 monovarietal (Koroneiki) EVOO samples were collected from the main Greek olive oil producing regions. They were analysed using Flow Injection Analysis-Magnetic Resonance Mass Spectrometry (FIA-MRMS), which directly injects the oil into the mass spectrometer, to determine a metabolite profile. In parallel, the same oils were analysed using an LC-Orbitrap MS (Liquid Chromatograpy-Mass Spectrometry) platform to verify the efficiency of the method, as well as a tool to increase the identification confidence of the proposed markers.  The results obtained by FIA-MRMS analysis generated improved projection and prediction models in comparison to those of the more established LC-MS methodology. Also with FIA-MRMS, more statistically significant compounds and chemical classes were identified as quality and authenticity markers, which were associated with specific authenticity issues, i.e. geographical region, cultivation practice, and production procedures. 

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Molecular markers provide information on genetic variations and are valuable tools to determine olive oil authenticity. Molecular markers such as SNPs, microsatellites, SCARs and AFLPs have been used for the identification of the varietal origin of olive oils. This paper provides an overview of the current trends and critical issues on DNA-targeted approaches used for traceability and authenticity of olive oil.

Read the abstract at: Review of DNA Methods for Olive Oil Authenticity