The use of IRMS, 1H NMR and chemical analysis to characterise Italian and imported Tunisian olive oils

• Italian olive oils need protection from mislabelling.
• IRMS and 1H NMR are powerful techniques for verifying claims of origin.
• All the imported Tunisian olive oils were found to be of poor quality.
• We obtained a model that discriminates Italian olive oil from oils imported from Tunisia.
• A tool for combating mislabelling of Italian olive oil was developed.

Isotope Ratio Mass Spectrometry (IRMS), 1H Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (1H NMR), conventional chemical analysis and chemometric elaboration were used to assess quality and to define and confirm the geographical origin of 177 Italian PDO (Protected Denomination of Origin) olive oils and 86 samples imported from Tunisia.Italian olive oils were richer in squalene and unsaturated fatty acids, whereas Tunisian olive oils showed higher δ18O, δ2H, linoleic acid, saturated fatty acids β-sitosterol, sn-1 and 3 diglyceride values. Furthermore, all the Tunisian samples imported were of poor quality, with a K232 and/or acidity values above the limits established for extra virgin olive oils.By combining isotopic composition with 1H NMR data using a multivariate statistical approach, a statistical model able to discriminate olive oil from Italy and those imported from Tunisia was obtained, with an optimal differentiation ability arriving at around 98%.