THE DETECTION OF ADULTERATION WITH DESTEROLIZED OILS

Edible oils are desterolized in order to render them ''undetectable'' when admixed to other oils. Such frauds remain, however, detectable by the olefinic degradation products of the sterols: the degradation pro ducts approximately have the composition of the sterols they originate from. Presence of campestatriene (degraded brassicasterol) reveals th e presence of desterolized rapeseed oil. The ratio of the degradation products of sitosterol and campesterol is a sensitive indicator for de sterolized -sunflower, soybean, palm, or grapeseed oil in oils of low campesterol content, such as olive and walnut oil. Analyses were perfo rmed by on-line coupled LC-GC.