Multivariate data analysis of thermally treated Sicilian extravirgin olive oils. Coupling of electronic nose, gas chromatography-mass spectroscopy and rheology techniques

In this work we describe the chemical and physical changes of Sicilian extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) heated at 90° in a conventional oven for one month. The effects of the thermal treatment along days on volatile compounds and viscosity were monitored using electronic nose, gas chromatography and rheology. Data obtained by these techniques were combined in order to create a data matrix for the analysis, and the unsupervised method Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used. A synergistic effect was obtained by combining all data, thus allowing discriminating oil samples according to their oxidative status.