Tag Archives: Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons

Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

You Can’t Change Your Fingerprints

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Olive Oil, food fraud
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database, owned and operated by Decernis, a Food Safety Tech advertiser. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne.

In the European Union, extra virgin olive oils must be labeled with their geographical place of origin. The provenance of olive oil can now be verified with newly developed method involving the analysis of extracted sesquiterpene hydrocarbons via gas chromatography and mass spectrometry. The method is highly precise and at the same time inexpensive. Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons are found in many live organisms and show characteristics based on olive tree cultivars and where the trees are grown, leading to a precise olive oil origin fingerprint.

Resource

  1. de Andreis, P. (February 9, 2022). “Hydrocarbon Fingerprinting Helps E.U. Researchers Verify Olive Oil Provenance”. Olive Oil Times.