Monitoring the Shelf Life of Hemp Seed Oil Stored at Two Temperatures in Different Materials via Near-Infrared (NIR) Spectroscopy

Hempseed oil (HSO) is extremely rich in unsaturated fatty acids, especially linoleic (18:2 n-6) and α-linolenic (18:3 n-3) acids, which determine its high sensitivity to oxidative and photo-oxidative degradations that can lead to rancidity despite the presence of antioxidant compounds. The aim of this work was to evaluate which material/temperature/light solutions better preserve HSO quality during its shelf life and to test NIR as a rapid, non-destructive technique for monitoring oxidation phenomena. Futura 75 hemp seeds were cold-pressed; the oil was packed into 20 mL vials of four different materials (polypropylene, clear glass, amber glass, and amber glass coated with aluminum foil) and stored for 270 days at 25 °C under diffused light and at 10 °C in dark conditions., Peroxides and conjugated dienes and trienes were evaluated at intervals to monitor oil stability. Moreover, NIR spectra were measured in transmission, and the sample dataset was analyzed using ASCA to test the significance of the experimental factors: the model showed the significance of all factors and of all the simple interactions. Our results demonstrate that oil stored in amber glass vials with aluminum foils at refrigerated temperatures receive the highest protection from environmental conditions, mitigating oxidative changes, and that the NIR technique could be used to rapidly monitor HSO oxidation parameters.