Olive Oil Traceability Studies Using Inorganic and Isotopic Signatures: A Review

The olive oil industry is subject to significant fraudulent practices that can lead to serious economic implications and even affect consumer health. Therefore, many analytical strategies have been developed for olive oil's geographic authentication, including multi-elemental and isotopic analyses. In the first part of this review, the range of multi-elemental concentrations recorded in olive oil from the main olive oil-producing countries is discussed. The compiled data from the literature indicates that the concentrations of elements are in comparable ranges overall. They can be classified into three categories, with (1) Rb and Pb well below 1 mu g kg(-1); (2) elements such as As, B, Mn, Ni, and Sr ranging on average between 10 and 100 mu g kg(-1); and (3) elements including Cr, Fe, and Ca ranging between 100 to 10,000 mu g kg(-1). Various sample preparations, detection techniques, and statistical data treatments were reviewed and discussed. Results obtained through the selected analytical approaches have demonstrated a strong correlation between the multi-elemental composition of the oil and that of the soil in which the plant grew. The review next focused on the limits of olive oil authentication using the multi-elemental composition method. Finally, different methods based on isotopic signatures were compiled and critically assessed. Stable isotopes of light elements have provided acceptable segregation of oils from different origins for years already. More recently, the determination of stable isotopes of strontium has proven to be a reliable tool in determining the geographical origin of food products. The ratio Sr-87/Sr-86 is stable over time and directly related to soil geology; it merits further study and is likely to become part of the standard tool kit for olive oil origin determination, along with a combination of different isotopic approaches and multi-elemental composition.

Automated summary

This article reviews various analytical strategies for the geographic authentication of olive oil, including multi-elemental and isotopic analyses. The review highlights the strong correlation between the multi-elemental composition of the oil and the soil in which the plant grew. Stable isotopes, especially strontium isotopes, have proven to be reliable tools in determining the geographical origin of olive oil.