Innovation in extra virgin olive oil (evoo) processing

The thesis was motivated by the need to enrich the current knowledge in the extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) processing. In particular, the experimental studies focused on critical issue for the EVOO quality, related to three different fundamental operations: the olive fruit storage before milling, the temperature control during malaxation and the cross-batch contamination in the decanter centrifuge. The innovative features of the research work concerned both the plant and machines and the methodological approaches for the study of the relationship between the operative parameters/ procedures and EVOO quality.