Determinant Parameters and Components in the Storage of Virgin Olive Oil. Prediction of Storage Time beyond Which the Oil Is No Longer of “Extra” Quality

This work studies the changes in the quality indices standardized by the European Union, together with the evolution of the oxidative stability and sterols, polyphenols, α-tocopherol, pigments, and fatty acids contents throughout the storage of Picual and Hojiblanca olive cultivar “extra” virgin olive oils at 2 °C + darkness and 30 °C + illumination. Only two quality indices (K270 and sensory evaluation) indicate the loss of the extra quality of the oil during storage, and there is an excellent correlation between initial stability and the time to reach the limit of K270 > 0.25 (after which the oil quality is no longer of “extra” quality). This time can be predicted with an error of <10%, which is of great commercial interest and previously unknown. Also unknown until now is that the changes in polyphenols, pigments, and α-tocopherol with storage time follow first-order kinetics. Keywords: Virgin olive oil; storage; quality