Prama Ghosh, Amity University Kolkata
A team of researchers at the University of Bayreuth developed a highly effective rapid test to check the quality and authenticity of one of the most popular foods in Europe – olive oils which also provides information on the origin and counterfeits of the oil within one hour.
The problem of increasing counterfeits of this high-quality food is solved with the help of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy (NMR spectroscopy). The team collected and analyzed more than 1,000 different samples of extra virgin olive oil which provided the data of quality and authenticity of each olive oil sample. NMR spectroscopy helps to detect ingredients that are found in very different amounts such as fatty acids present in high quantities and polyphenols present in low concentration can be detected with high resolution and reproducibility.
Led by Prof.Dr. Stephan Schwarzinger from the Northern Bavarian NMR Centre at the University of Bayreuth (NBNC) in cooperation with the University of Athens, the analytical laboratory ALNuMed GmbH, and partners from the olive oil industry, the team of researchers chose NMR spectroscopy because it enables a rapid and simultaneous analysis of many parameters of olive oil thereby, detecting food frauds.
Earlier, comprehensive tests of the quality and authenticity of olive oils could only be carried out using time-consuming and expensive different test procedures applied one after the other but this new olive oil rapid test turned heads at BioFach in Nuremberg, the leading trade fair for the food industry. The experts were very impressed by the speedy and thorough evaluation of the quality and authenticity of olive oils and hope to bring this development into the market soon.
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