Quality Classification of Olive Oil Produced in Some of the Provinces of Iran Using Chemometric Tools

The fatty acids profiles of virgin olive oil of some of the provinces of Iran were examined to investigate their similarities and differences. Indices used to classify these oils include fatty acids, oleic to linoleic ratios, monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFAs), saturated fatty acids (SFAs), MUFA to PUFA ratios and Cox index. The sensory attributes of the olive oil samples were evaluated to determine their virgin category of olive oil. Analysis of variance (ANOVA), principal component analysis (PCA), and hierarchical clustering analysis (HCA) were used to evaluate the data. The olive oil samples were divided into two groups based on PCA and HCA. The samples of Golestan, Zanjan and Qazvin provinces (Go1, Qa1 and Z1) were in the higher quality group and the other samples were in the lower quality group. Considering the sensory characteristics results, all samples except for Qom and Fars were extra virgin. The findings of this study will help the consumer in selection of olive oil.