Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in olive oils on the Italian market∗

Abstract

The six olive oils and seven virgin olive oils which are most consumed in Italy were analysed for 28 polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). The aim was to evaluate whether a carcinogenic hazard for the general population can derive from the dietary intake of this food, which is consumed particularly highly in the Mediterranean area. The analytical method involved extraction by liquid-liquid partition, filtration on silica gel, clean-up by thin-layer chromatography on silica gel, and analysis by high-resolution gas chromatography with a flame ionization detector. The 3- and 4-ring PAHs which are most abundant in the environment were found in all samples, at individual levels up to ca. 40 micrograms/kg (for phenanthrene); no important difference was observed between olive oils and virgin olive oils. PAHs which are most suspected of being carcinogenic for humans were not detected (limit of detection, ca. 3 micrograms/kg). The average yearly intake of the detected PAHs through this food was estimated at ca. 0.56 mg per capita.

Detection of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in commonly consumed edible oils and their likely intake in the Indian population

“…PAH (15). Our data confirms that high levels of PAH in virgin olive and coconut oil samples as observed earlier (13,17) and least levels in the samples of RVO. This may be due to the fact that crude oil preparation requires special treatment like drying in a kiln by direct heating with air, that contains combustion gas, which may generate PAH (17).…”

“…Moreover, higher levels of PAH in foods produced with added oil implicate fat origin as one of the prime sources of PAH (6,9). The presence of PAH in vegetable oils such as corn oil, coconut oil, grapeseed oil, groundnut oil, olive oil, palm oil, pumpkinseed oil, rapeseed oil, rice bran oil, soybean oil, and sunflower oil have been reported (6,(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15). In general, the levels of detected PAH in refined edible oils (corn, palm, rapeseed, soybean, and sunflower) are in the range of a few µg/kg, although higher levels have been found in virgin and unrefined oils (7,10,(15)(16)(17)(18).…”

Determination of high molecular mass polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in refined olive pomace and other vegetable oils

“…18 Because of the lack of selectivity of this detector, identification of chromatographic peaks has been carried out by mass spectrometry. 2,13 The GC methods require significant amounts of sample, although the on-line HPLC-GC-MS system allows, in one step, the analysis of PAH in vegetable oils with high selectivity and sensitivity.…”

Usefulness of the frequencies of some Fourier transform infrared spectroscopic bands for evaluating the composition of edible oil mixtures

“…Thus, using equations (1) and (2) and frequency data of the bands o and s of the spectra of the several blends, given in Tab. 1, the percentage by weight of monounsaturated and saturated acyl groups in each blend is predicted.…”