Food safety in the production of olive oils. Presence of heavy metals and phthalic acid esters using different types of packaging

This work aims to enhance the food safety of olive oils by detecting critical points where contamination can be generated by heavy metals and phthalic acid esters (PAEs). Samples of commercial oils were collected from the Spanish market during the 2021/2022 and 2022/2023 campaigns and stored in different packagings (glass, polyethylene terephthalate, tin can, porcelain, aluminum and cardboard). This was performed to establish the possible influence of the packaging material on the presence of contaminating compounds, concretely PAEs and heavy metals. Oils from different categories (extra virgin, virgin, olive oil, and olive pomace oil) were also acquired. Determination of PAEs contents revealed the presence of Di(2-ethylhexyl) phthalate (DEHP), Di-isobutyl phthalate and Di-isononyl phthalate. DEHP was detected in 6 out of 18 samples, with concentrations ranging from 0.1 to 0.23 mg/kg. Phthalates, particularly DEHP were most commonly found in PET, but also in glass, porcelain, and cardboard containers. In relation to heavy metals, copper was detected in all tested samples, exceeding the standard in samples of extra virgin in glass and porcelain containers, as well as in olive pomace oil (in PET), with concentrations varying from 0.04 to 0.18 mg/kg oil. Notably, antimony ions were absent in all the tested containers.