Tracking the evolution of the quality parameters in four monovarietal virgin olive oils during 27 months of storage simulating market conditions [Dataset]

This data set contains the underlying data of two scientific publications: Lobo Prieto, Ana; Tena, Noelia; Aparicio-Ruiz, Ramón; Morales, María T.; García-González, Diego L.; 2020; Tracking sensory characteristics of virgin olive oils during storage: Interpretation of their changes from a multiparametric perspective. Molecules 25, 1686. Food Control 123, 107823. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25071686. Lobo-Prieto, Ana; Tena, Noelia; Aparicio-Ruiz, Ramón; García-González, Diego L.; Sikorska, Ewa; 2020. Monitoring virgin olive oil shelf-life by fluorescence spectroscopy and sensory characteristics: A multidimensional study carried out under simulated market conditions. Foods 9, 1846. https://doi.org/10.3390/foods9121846. Virgin olive oil is inevitably subject to an oxidation process during storage that can affect its quality due to off-flavors that develop before the oil surpasses its ‘best before’ date. Due to the complexity of the oxidation process at moderate conditions, where many parameters are involved, a multiparametric study is necessary to understand globally the physical-chemical changes and sensory quality degradation in a real storage experiment. In this context, a storage experiment of 27 months was performed for four monovarietal virgin olive oils, bottled in transparent 500-mL PET bottles and subjected to conditions close to a supermarket scenario (1000 lx with 12 hours of light/dark cycles and 25 °C). Physical-chemical quality parameters, phenolic compounds, α-tocopherol concentration and the degradation products of chlorophyll a were determined every month. Simultaneously, an accredited sensory panel assessed their sensory characteristics. The different physical-chemical quality parameters studied (peroxide value, free acidity, K232 and K270) were determined following the International Olive Council (COI) standard methods. The concentration of total phenols was determined by solid phase extraction and HPLC analysis, following the method described by Aparicio-Ruiz et al. (2016), and the α-tocopherol concentration was determined using the method ISO 9936:2016. Finally, the degradation compounds of chlorophyll a (pheophytin a and pyropheophytin a) were measured using the method specified by ISO 29841:2012. The dataset presents the results of all the parameters mentioned above for the four monovarietal virgin olive oils subjected to storage at moderate conditions during 27 months.