Multivariate stability monitoring and shelf life models of deterioration of vegetable oils under real time ageing conditions – Extra virgin olive oil as a main case of study

Modelling quality depletion of oils and establishing their shelf life (or ageing rate) remains a challenge for food industry. A persistent issue in the control of lipid oxidation is deciding which oxidation products are the most suitable to be monitored. Several attempts have been done in this regard, however, the number of parameters that can be considered to assess oil shelf life is excessively wide and the proposed univariate models have proven to be extremely dependent on experimental conditions. For this reason, the methodology for carrying out a multivariate kinetic model is presented, combining physico-chemical and sensory parameters from experimental analytical determinations, and chemometric data processing tools. The main objective is to develop a multivariate shelf life model that allow predicting the number of months in which an extra virgin olive oil complies with the requirements of its commercial category when ageing takes place under standard trading conditions.