evaluated after fruit harvest and at the end of five predetermined
temporal storage periods of 3, 6, 11, 17 and 25 days.
The chemical
quality parameters such as acidity, peroxide value, specific extinction
coefficient at 232 and 270 nm, total polyphenols contents, pigment
contents and fatty acid alkyl esters (FAAEs) together with
sensorial quality determined for 25 days, were analyzed.
The fatty acidmethyl esters and fatty acid ethyl esters contents are
not only known to be closely related to the health conditions of olive
fruits but also obviously higher if olives undergo hydrolytic and fermentative
processes, thus increasing the amounts of both free fatty
acids and alcohols.
What is worthy to note is that oils obtained from
fermented fruits are low-quality virgin olive oils, having unpleasant
sensorial features thatpreventthemfrombeing classifiedas extra-virgin
olive oils, thus leading to the decrease in their commercial value.