DEVELOPMENT OF THE CHEMICAL-MODEL OF A TYPICAL FOOD PRODUCT - OLIVE OIL FROM AN ITALIAN REGION (BASILICATA)

Samples (158) of olive oil produced in an Italian region (Basilicata) and described by 52 chemical variables were analysed together with sam ples of different geographical origin, using chemometric techniques. A fter selection of the variables discriminating best between the sample s from Basilicata and those from the reference regions, two homogeneou s zones of Basilicata were studied in detail: several class-modelling methods were applied in order to build the models of the oil produced in those areas. Compact models of the northern and central areas of Ba silicata were obtained with a variance comparable to the models of wel l-characterised regions of oil production.