title: Elimination of pesticide residues from virgin olive oil by ultraviolet light: preliminary results.
abstract: Virgin olive oil is one of the essential products for the economy of Mediterranean countries. The possible residues of pesticides that can reach the oil may be a risk to public health, thus causing the prohibition of its marketing by the health authorities. This paper is a preliminary study on photochemical degradation of pesticide residues using a small-scale prototype (1L capacity). The method presents an effective alternative for the complete photodegradation or reduction of these chemicals using ultraviolet light without harming the quality parameters of the virgin olive oil. The photodegradation yields have varied within the range 7-80% depending on the time and temperature applied.
authors.affiliation: Chemical Engineering Department, Science Faculty, University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
authors.forename: L Martínez
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Nieto
authors.forename: Gassan
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Hodaifa
authors.forename: M S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Casanova
mesh_terms: D005506:Food Contamination / Q000517:prevention & control; D000069463:Olive Oil; D010573:Pesticide Residues / Q000528:radiation effects*; D010782:Photolysis; D010938:Plant Oils / Q000737:chemistry*; D014466:Ultraviolet Rays
chemical_list: D000069463:Olive Oil; D010573:Pesticide Residues; D010938:Plant Oils