Journal of Agriculture & Life Sciences

Commercialised Coconut oil in São Paulo City, Brazil: Evaluation of Authenticity and Nutritional Labelling
Sabria Aued-Pimentel, Fabiana Dognani Castro, Renato Januário de Sousa, Márcia Regina P. Amaral Mello, Lucile Tiemi Abe-Matsumoto

Abstract
Increased demand for virgin coconut oil motivated the present study, which aims to evaluate the authenticity and the compliance with nutrition labelling of oils from the São Paulo city market, Brazil. Six samples were studied. Fatty acids, Vitamin E, Vitamin A, and stigmasta 3,5-diene contents were evaluated. One sample was adulterated with the addition of soybean oil. For all samples, at least one of the above-mentioned components was not in accordance with the labelling. Two samples that were labelled as extra virgin oil presented high contents of stigmasta 3,5-diene (>4.0 mg.kg-1), suggesting that the oils were submitted to refining process and were not of the quality stated. Considering the observed non-compliant commercial oils, it is essential that continuous monitoring actions be maintained to ensure the supply of safe and reliable products to the consumer.

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