Effects of free fatty acids on oxidative stability of vegetable oil

The effect of free fatty acid (FFA) content on the susceptibility to thermooxidative degeneration of vegetable oils was determined by Rancimat analysis. A prooxidant effect of FFA was observed in all filtered oils, independently of lipidic substrate and of its state of hydrolytic and oxidative alteration. The intensity of this effect was related to FFA concentration, but regression analysis of the experimental data did not show a general correlation law between FFA concentration and induction time (It). Different results were obtained for freshly processed virgin olive oils, characterized by postpressing natural suspension-dispersion: opposite behavior was observed of FFA content as regards oxidative stability, depending on the presence of suspended-dispersed material. This fact is of interest because the dispersed particles play a double stabilizing effect on both oxidative and hydrolytic degradation. These results showed that avoidance of oil filtration is highly desirable to extend olive oil's shelf life.