Contribution to the establishment of a protected designation of origin for Meknès virgin olive oil: A 4-years study of its typicality

- Pluri-annual characterization of Meknès virgin olive oil quality and composition.
- Homogenous qualitative and compositional profiles.
- Promising model for the establishment of a protected designation of origin.

Protected designations of origin (PDO) constitute, nowadays, one of the most important differentiation strategies used for the promotion and commercialization of virgin olive oil (VOO). Obtaining these distinctive labels entails a deep study of the inherent features and characteristics of a VOO linked to a given geographical production area. The aim of this study was to perform the physicochemical and sensorial quality characterization of Meknès VOO, as well as the determination of its compositional profile. Thus, a total of 298 olive oil samples from Picholine marocaine cultivar, obtained from 12 industrial olive oil mills, located in three sub-areas of Meknès region, were analyzed over four consecutive seasons, paying particular attention to the determination of physicochemical quality indices, sensorial evaluation, total phenol content, pigment content, tocopherol and fatty acid composition. Results show that, besides an interannual variation, VOOs from Meknès region are characterized by high physicochemical and sensory quality, as well as a homogeneous composition regardless of the production sub-area.