Detection of adulteration in olive oil using an optical fiber probe-based near-infrared spectroscopy technique

In this paper, we are detecting adulteration in olive oil using an optical fiber probe-based near-infrared (NIR) spectroscopy technique. Based on the market price, palm olein oil is identified as a low-cost adulterant for olive oil. Samples with different volume percentages of palm oil in olive oil are prepared and tested. The NIR spectrum of the samples clearly shows a decrease in reflectivity with an increase in adulterant concentration in olive oil. The sensitivity obtained in the region of 0-25% adulteration is a 0.6% decrease in reflectivity per 1% adulteration. Based on the results, a low-cost setup for detecting adulteration of olive oil with palm oil is also proposed.