Flavor Profiling of Different Olive Oils with Racidity-Monitoring by Thermal Extraction GC/MS

Flavor is an important quality criterion for virgin olive oils. The identification of the compounds causing the flavour or off-flavour therefore is the key for quality control. Their analysis in olive oils usually requires more or less cumbersome sample preparation like liquid/liquid extraction, solid phase extraction or distillation techniques, often with the drawback of organic solvent use. Headspace and Purge & Trap methods do not use organic solvents, but their analyte range is restricted to the volatiles and therefore characterizes more the compounds contributing to aroma/smell of a sample, not the flavour/taste.