the same olive harvest, were analysed. This sample set comprised 143 authentic oils and 74 commercial ones.
The authentic samples were collected directly and personally from farmers and oil mills in the Liguria and Toscana regions. These samples comprehended both “fresh” and “bottled” oils, but they were defined “authentic” because their origin was guaranteed.
The 143 authentic samples were divided in 5 classes according to their geographical origin and considering that the Ligurian e.v. olive oil is regulated by a PDO called Riviera Ligure which com-prises three additional geographical denominations, namely ‘Riv-iera dei Fiori’, ‘Riviera del Ponente Savonese’ and ‘Riviera di Le-vante′.