Evaluation of proposed CODEX purity standards for avocado oil

Avocado oil is a high-value product with a growing industry. While facing the ongoing adulteration, standards are being developed with the effort being led by the international organization CODEX Alimentarius. Adequate standards need to accommodate natural variables while also minimizing the likelihood for undetectable adul-teration. This study utilizes a comprehensive set of authentic samples for avocado oil and their chemical com-positions were compared to proposed CODEX standards. The variables in this study included region, harvest time, cultivar, grade of fruit, and using whole fruit oil versus only mesocarp oil; the chemical parameters analyzed were fatty acids, sterols, and tocopherols. Fatty acids and sterols profiles were most impacted by region and harvest time. And although current standards are heading in the right direction fatty acid and delta-7-stigmastenol and delta-7-avenasterol stood out as parameters that need future research and adjustment. To-copherols were significantly different for whole fruit oils compared to mesocarp oils which is an important finding that needs to be considered for avocado oil standard development.

Automated summary

This study compares a comprehensive set of authentic avocado oil samples with proposed CODEX standards and finds that region and harvest time have the greatest impact on the distribution of fatty acids and sterols. Although current standards are heading the right direction, further research and adjustment are needed for certain parameters. Additionally, there is a significant difference in tocopherol content between whole fruit oils and mesocarp oils, which is an important finding for avocado oil standard development.