Sensory characterization of oils extracted from lacto-fermented olives using an electronic nose

Sensory evaluation plays a central role in the characterization and classification of olive oil. Instrument analysis contributes useful information to confirm this classification. In this study, we investigated the effectiveness of a flash gas chromatography electronic nose to characterize olive oils that were extracted from lacto-fermented olives. A Principal Components Analysis obtained from the electronic nose was able to highlight differences between oils extracted from lacto-fermented and non-fermented olives. In particular, the odor profiles that were obtained explained the sensory attributes of oils extracted from lacto-fermented olives. These results show that an electronic nose can be an efficient means of olive oil characterization.