The occurrence of volatile and semi-volatile aromatic hydrocarbons in virgin olive oils from north-eastern Italy

Twenty eight mono- (MAHs) and polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) were simultaneously determined in fifty-four virgin olive oils from three successive crops in the same geographical region. MAHs such as: toluene, C2-, C3- and C4-benzenes, and PAHs species containing 2, 3 and 4 aromatic rings were detected and quantified. MAHs were predominant in all of the samples, and had a mean concentration of 677 μg/kg. The mean concentration of total light PAHs was 80 μg/kg. Mean concentrations of C3- and C4-benzenes, which had not been previously quantified in olive oils, were 268 and 35 μg/kg, respectively. Finally, differences among crop years were evaluated, and the hypothetical daily intake of each aromatic hydrocarbon through virgin olive oil consumption was derived. The mean intake of single aromatic hydrocarbons ranged from 0.1 to 3.1 μg/day, while the mean exposures calculated for total MAHs and light PAHs were 15.6 and 1.8 μg/day, respectively.