A STUDY OF THE SENSORY AND NUTRITIONAL QUALITY OF VIRGIN OLIVE OIL INRELATION TO VARIETY, RIPENESS AND EXTRACTION TECHNOLOGY - OVERVIEW OFTHE 3 YEAR STUDY AND CONCLUSION

This lecture provides an outline of the main goals achieved during thr ee years of research activity. The results show how to ensure the maxi mum chance of success by matching consumer's needs and preferences. In formation about consumer is obtained through preference tests and may be used in a company to formulate the right product. The key by which the consumer information reach the producers is the sensory profile of the product. A olive oil sensory wheel has been proposed to clarify a nd improve the list of standardized olive oil flavour descriptors. The order of terms has been organized to facilitate its use. This propose d system represents a powerful tool to facilitate communication among producers and consumers of the international market. Sensory preferenc e, flavour profile testing, and complex statistical procedures for rel ating olive oil attributes to the preferences represent important impr ovement in traditional approaches for defining and identifying desirab le product attributes. A secondary Flair goal has been to develop a st rategy to predict a specific property (i.e. oxidation stability) of ol ive oil.