Evaluation of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (Olea europea L.) Adulterated with Soybean Oil (Glycine max L. Meer)

The objective of this work was to analyse extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and soybean oil (SO) and their mixtures, to identify the parameters that distinguish a genuine EVOO from an adulterated one. For this purpose, pure and mixed commercial EVOO and SO were analysed in different ratios: at 50/50%, 40/60%, 30/70%, 20/80% and 10/90%, respectively. For each of the samples, relative density (δ), acidity index (AI) and refractive index (RI) were determined. EVOO and SO presented a δ and RI similar to those reported in the literature with 0.88 and 0.91 g cm−3 and ≤ 1.467 and 1.470 ≥ , respectively. The results obtained for the adulterated EVOOs showed a variation of the δ (0.90 g cm−3) and the RI (1.469 to 1.473), and the AI remained constant (0.56%), suggesting that the RI is the best option to be used in the detection of adulteration.