Industrial‐scale filtration affects volatile compounds in extra virgin olive oil cv. Ravece

Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) cv. Ravece (Campania region, Italy) was studied to investigate the effects of the industrial filtration process on the legal quality parameters, fatty acids, phenolics, and volatile compounds. Filtration did not cause significant changes in some quality indices, i.e., acidity and spectrophotometric indices, with the exception of K₂₃₂ value. Peroxide value was significantly higher after the filtration process, probably due to further exposure to oxygen. This increase may affect oil shelf life. The content of total phenolic compounds did not change dramatically, but hydroxytyrosol and 3,4‐DHPEA‐EA were significantly lower in filtered oil, arising from complex biophenols hydrolysis. Little but significant changes were also observed for some fatty acids. The majority of 38 volatile compounds analyzed by the SPME‐GC/MS technique did not change significantly (p ≤ 0.05) after industrial filtration, while some of them increased their initial concentration up to twofold, i.e., 2‐methylbutanal. 6‐Methyl‐5‐hepten‐2‐one and heptanol also increased after filtration, while t,t‐2,4‐hexadienal, t‐2‐hexen‐1‐ol, and c‐2‐penten‐1‐ol significantly decreased. Practical applications: These results may be useful at an industrial level as well as from a scientific viewpoint to assess the factors influencing volatiles headspace concentration after filtration. Our findings could also provide important information for olive growers and the olive mill industry to optimize virgin olive oil technology in order to obtain products with specific sensory attributes and to preserve the sensory notes of typicality. Analysis of volatile compounds from cv. Ravece extra virgin olive oil in unfiltered (“cloudy”) and filtered oil by an industrial‐scale process.