| Abstract: |
Researchers in Spain and the US have designed a sensor that can detect counterfeit olive oil labelled as extra virgin or protected designation of origin (PDO).The tool can distinguish between apparently similar oils that present notable differences in quality, according to the scientists from the Complutense University of Madrid (UCM) and the Scintillon Institute, who have published the work in the journal Talanta. This is possible thanks to the use of laser diodes, because the fluorescence emitted by adulterated oils is slightly different to that of pure extra virgin olive oils. The tool is inexpensive both to use and to manufacture – in fact it can be made using a 3D printer, says the team.“Other clear advantages of our tool include the possibility of conducting on-site analyses, because the equipment is the size of a briefcase and therefore portable, and of generating results in real time,” says José Torrecilla, a senior lecturer and researcher in the department of chemical engineering and materials at UCM.“The quality of olive oil is recognised nationally and internationally. It is therefore necessary to protect this quality and combat the fraudulent activities carried out with increasing frequency and skill in the sector.”Counterfeiting and fraud is a big problem for the $16bn-a-year olive oil industry, with some studies claiming that between 60 and 90 per cent of olive oils sold in the US are adulterated with cheaper pomace oil or oils from other plant species such as sunflower, canola and peanut. Over three million tons annually of olive oil are produced worldwide, with around 75 per cent of this being produced in Italy, Spain and Greece. |
