Degradation of olive oil by light or heating. Electronic nose and sensory data analysis

a comparison is made between results of edible oils gathered by sensory analysis and data obtained from an electronic nose. both techniques were applied to the following cases: separation of soybean oil, sunflower oil, olive oil (ordinary olive oil) and virgin olive oil. evaluation of degradation effects of olive oil and virgin olive oil due to oxidation processes produced by their exposition to daylight and heat, were also analyzed. the importance of sensory analysis has grown (particularly, in case of olive oils) because of legislation in several countries (among them, u.s.a and the european community) that require the application of sensory analysis to food and beverages before commercialization. however, as sensory analysis exhibits limitations due to its dependence of many physical and psychological factors affecting the subjectivity of human judgement, it is interesting to compare sensory panel results with electronic nose data, that is to say, with results from an olfactory system exhibiting higher objectivity and invariable response with time (contributing to the success of a routine analysis).