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BR research on olive oils shows undreamt-of abysses: disgusting mixtures and huge fraud against customers

2021-04-03T05:08:24.894Z


A new rapid test from Bayreuth is supposed to detect the quality and authenticity of olive oil - and thus put the market mafia down.


A new rapid test from Bayreuth is supposed to detect the quality and authenticity of olive oil - and thus put the market mafia down.

Bayreuth - According to research by

Bayerischer Rundfunk (BR), there have been

numerous olive oil fraudsters - also in Germany.

Prof. Dr.

Stephan Schwarzinger, who heads the working group for the quality and authenticity of food at the University of Bayreuth, explains that falsified indications of origin are not uncommon.

But the manufacturers also use other tricks.

"Cheap vegetable oils are colored green and sold as olive oil, rancid oil is mixed with good oil, or old oils are refined with special technologies and come back into circulation as extra virgin olive oil," explains Schwarzinger.

These scams would damage the reputation of the high-quality product and could trigger a downward spiral.

Ultimately, this also affects the farmers themselves via a drop in prices. "And that in turn leads to the fallowing of large olive groves in the Mediterranean region, with correspondingly negative ecological effects."

Olive oil mafia deceives consumers with nasty tricks - new test is supposed to help

The

BR

recognizes in its knowledge magazine "a real olive oil mafia" that would use loopholes to bring bad oil to customers at high prices.

The problem: Until recently, the popular product could only be tested for quality and authenticity through extensive tests.

Schwarzinger explains that up to now one had to use “different test procedures applied one after the other”, but that they were time-consuming and expensive.

The professor who works at the training institute for the North Bavarian NMR Center developed a solution: a quick test that uniquely determines quality and authenticity within an hour and reveals falsifications.

Indications of origin can also be checked for plausibility with the test.

According to the University of Bayreuth, this is done using magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR).

Schwarzinger and his team developed the test in cooperation with the University of Athens, the analytical laboratory ALNuMed GmbH and partners from the olive oil industry.

The scientists collected more than 1,000 different samples of extra virgin olive oil over several years and analyzed them systematically.

"The NMR measurement provided us with an individual profile for each sample, which includes all properties relevant for quality and authenticity."

Test from the University of Bayreuth decides: do consumers really buy olive oil?

When checking the type of oil, the analysis must decide whether it is rapeseed, hemp, sunflower or nut oil, for example.

Or really just pure olive oil.

This is

done using

nuclear magnetic resonance

analysis, which, according to

the

BR

research, exposes all samples to strong magnetic fields at a temperature of 23 degrees.

The substances would react differently to this, which provides “very characteristic fingerprints for the individual types of oil,” explains Schwarzinger.

Magnetic resonance spectroscopy: where does the oil come from?

According to the report by the public news broadcaster, 70 percent of the world's olive oil production comes from Europe.

Spain is the front runner (1.6 million tons annually), Greece (0.27 million tons) and Italy (0.26 million tons) follow.

The broadcaster refers to the figures from the International Olive Council.

Since Italian oil achieves higher prices, fraudulent labeling is profitable for producers.

"For years, a considerable part of Greek oil has ended up with Italian exporters, who then sell it as such," researched the

BR

.

In the nuclear spin analysis by Schwarzinger, however, typical patterns for Italian, Greek or Spanish oil would be shown - a check would then be possible.

Also

hna.de

reported it.

Video: How do I recognize good olive oil?

What is the chemical quality like - and how does the olive oil taste?

Incorrect storage and exposure to air, light and heat cause oil to oxidize and become rancid.

Often the olive oil in the trade is controlled by the manufacturer, but already at the limit when it comes onto the shelf.

Instead of freshly bitter, hot or fruity, the overlaid oil tastes bland, sour or even musty.

However, the question of taste is more difficult to measure and is usually done through tasting.

Schwarzinger explained to the

BR

: "The sensory test cannot be replaced by any analysis at the moment."

For example, the ingredients responsible for pungent or bitter taste could be detected in this way.

Retailers and consumers interested in quality - great demand for rapid tests from Bayreuth

Retailers in particular are already interested in the new analysis technology.

Commercial laboratories would want to offer such tests in the next few months.

In the past few years, Schwarzinger and his team have played a key role in a method, which is also based on NMR spectroscopy and which can be used to check the quality and authenticity of honey.

In the field of authenticity checks on honey, the University of Bayreuth claims to be one of the world's leading research institutions.



At BioFach in Nuremberg, the leading trade fair for the food industry, the professor recently presented the basics of the new olive oil rapid test.

“Due to the pandemic, the trade fair only took place online this year.

Nevertheless, our new test option met with widespread interest. ”The olive oil experts were impressed by the speed and thoroughness of the test.

It is already clear that the transparency of supply chains and markets in the field of olive oil can be significantly increased as a result.

"We hope that our development will now be implemented quickly in the contract laboratories and brought onto the market," says the Bayreuth NMR expert.

The University of Bayreuth also gained notoriety through the controversial doctoral thesis by Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg.

The Stiftung Warentest recently checked numerous olive oils.

(nap) * hna.de is an offer from IPPEN.MEDIA

Source: merkur

All life articles on 2021-04-03

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