Innovation for best quality of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The application of this technology, performed by Alfa Laval, produces significant differences in comparison to the crushed pastes. The virgin olive oil flash thermal conditioning featured a higher concentration of volatile compounds.

The traditional malaxation process performs paste mixing and thermal conditioning at the same time, but the thermal transfer efficiency is generally low, and for this reason, the thermal conditioning of olive pastes is relatively long compared to the optimal processing temperature.

This aspect influences the activity involved in oil extraction of the endogenous enzymes, such as pectinases, hemicellulases, and cellulases, as well as the polyphenoloxidase (PPO), peroxidase (POD), and LOX that affect the phenolic and volatile composition of VOO.

The fast heating technology applied to the thermal conditioning of the olive pastes before malaxation is a new approach to the oil mechanical extraction process, which can revise the traditional thermal conditioning applied to the olive

pastes during the oil’s mechanical extraction process. The flash heating of paste after crushing can eliminate the malaxation time required for thermal conditioning with significant impact on the plant’s working capacity, oil yield, and VOO quality.
A scientific work lead by Perugia University investigates the effects of flash thermal conditioning (FTC) on the structure modifications of olive pastes and virgin olive oil volatile and phenolic composition.