The odorant series have the potential to better differentiate the aroma of food products, opening new possibilities allowing a schematic and effective visual representation to be used for EVOO quality control and consumer information, especially in new olive oil consuming countries. © 2018 Society of Chemical Industry.

The production of high-quality virgin olive oil from traditional olive (Olea europaea L.) varieties with peculiar and differential characteristics is of great interest for the olive oil market. ‘Castellana’ is an autochthonous variety mainly located in the center of Spain. The aims of this study were 1) the characterization of ‘Castellana’ virgin olive oils and 2) the evaluation of the influence of fruit ripening degree on the oil quality to establish an optimum harvest time for ‘Castellana’ olives. A wide range of physicochemical and sensorial quality parameters were assayed in oils produced at four harvest times during three crop seasons. ‘Castellana’ oils could be classified into the extra virgin category at all ripening degrees studied. This variety provides well-balanced oils from the sensorial point of view with an optimum chemical composition. Nevertheless, fruit maturation had a strong effect in various quality parameters, especially total phenol content, total tocopherol content, sensorial quality, and to a lesser extent in fatty acid composition. Loss of antioxidants and decrease in sensorial quality take place during olive ripening, reducing the nutritional, sensorial, and commercial quality of virgin olives oils as the harvest is delayed. Results suggest that the production of optimal extra virgin olive oil requires that ‘Castellana’ olives should be harvested from the middle of November to the middle of December, coinciding with a ripening index between 3.1 and 4.1. These results are of great importance to the olive oil industry for improving the quality of virgin olive oils produced from ‘Castellana’.

Ripening modifies oil attributes and composition. However, the influence of olive ripening on virgin olive oil (VOO) thermal oxidative stability on food-frying has not been studied yet. Oils from Picual olives of low (VOO1), medium (VOO2), and high (VOO3) ripeness were obtained, and their thermal oxidative stability during 40 potato-fryings was tested. Unused VOO1 showed higher antioxidant content and oxidative stability than VOO2 and VOO3. Polar compounds (PC), oligomers, and altered fatty acid methyl esters (polar-FAME) increased, whereas linoleic acid, polyphenols, and tocopherols decreased in the three VOOs through frying. The alteration was lower in VOO1, followed by VOO2 (0.105, 0.117, and 0.042 g/100 g oil less of PC, oligomers and polar-FAME per frying, respectively, in VOO1 than in VOO3). In conclusion, VOO obtained from low-ripeness Picual olives should be preferred when frying fresh-potatoes due to its higher thermal and oxidative stability, permitting a higher number of potato-frying uses.

The frying performance of two virgin olive oils (VOO) from Cornicabra olives of different ripeness indices, 2.08 for VOO1 and 4.13 for VOO2, was evaluated. Thermal, oxidative and hydrolytic alterations were determined throughout 40 frying operations with potatoes. The initial oils showed similar fatty acid compositions and oxidative stability indices as determined by Rancimat, but VOO1 presented higher amounts of total polyphenols and tocopherols. The oils showed high and similar frying performance. No significant differences in the levels of polar compounds (PC) were found between the two oils during frying. Therefore, the frying stability of Cornicabra VOOs appears to be unconnected with olive fruit ripeness. The limit of degradation at 25% PC as established in different countries was calculated to occur at 55 frying operations in the two oils. As oil toxicity is related to the levels of compounds formed, the use of Cornicabra VOOs for frying is highly recommended.

Objective. To identify the behavioral and normative believes factors that might have major influence on the decision to buy packaged foods in urban Mexican families. Materials and methods. We performed a cross-sectional study in four urban cities of Mexico. Participants responded a self-administered questionnaire (n=3 340) outside of randomly selected supermarkets. A factor analysis was performed to identify what were the main behavioral and normative believes explaining consumers’ decision when buying packaged foods. Results. Three factors explained the behavioral beliefs: the quality assessment of packaged foods explained 61% of the variance, products that maintain weight explained 25%, and the emotional experience with foods explained 13%. Three factors explained the normative beliefs: expectations of chil­dren and partner explained 46% of the variance, expectations from the participants’ closest friends 23%, and expectation from other family members explained 14%. Conclusion. Behavioral and normative beliefs related to assessing the qual­ity of foods and meeting family expectations respectively are the main beliefs factors affecting consumers’ packaged food purchase decisions in urban consumers.