Prediction of Geographical Origin of Virgin Olive Oil RDOs by Chemometric Treatment of Raman Spectra

摘要

Several thousands of olive-tree varieties exist around the Mediterranean basin and about two hundred in France [1]. About 90% of the French production of virgin olive oils (VOOs) is made up of only ten primary varieties. Approximately 30% of this production is related to seven registered designations of origin (RD0s):"Aix-enProvence", "Vallee des Baux de Provence", "Corse", "Haute-Provence", "Nice", "Nimes", and "Nyons". All have obtained the European quality label of protected designation of origin (PDO). This quality label controls all processes from farming to VOO production. Virgin olive oil is one of the most expensive vegetable oils. Because of high cost, notably with the RDO or PDO labels, VOO can be subject to fraudulent practices consisting of mixing them with various amounts of low cost oils: seed oils, refined olive oils, or olive pomace oils.