Identifying olive oil quality markers by HiSorb and GC–MS with ChromCompare+ data-mining

Olive oil is a prime target for food fraud, so being able to separate genuine extra-virgin samples from lower-grade blends matters.

This application note shows how HiSorb high-capacity sorptive extraction on Centri 90, coupled with GC–MS and chemometric data-mining, generates rich VOC fingerprints that clearly distinguish five oils of differing quality. 

Prep-ahead automation enables long, sensitive extractions without hurting throughput, while replicate clustering and <10% RSDs demonstrate robust reproducibility.

Across the study, 67 informative compounds were uncovered and used in PCA to separate samples, with low-level markers such as 3-butylcyclohexanone and decahydronaphthalene highlighting the blended oil.

Download the application note for full conditions, workflow diagrams, PCA plots (SepSolve Analytical's ChromCompare+ chemometrics software) and the shortlist of likely quality indicators you can apply in your own lab.