The objective of the present work is the evaluation of the nutritional and organoleptic properties of olive oils from oil mills in the rural commune of Tagzirt, area of Beni Mellal (center of Morocco) by a physicochemical characterization of their compositions.
Fifteen samples of olive oils extracted from the Moroccan Picholine variety were collected from traditional oil mills. Physicochemical analyzes of free acidity, peroxide value, refractive index, density, K232, K270 and K, the chlorophyll content, the content of phenolic compounds, the α-tocopherol content and oleic acid proportion were conducted according to the standards of the International Olive Council (IOC).
The results were used to classify the oils studied according to their quality standards. The data obtained confirm that the conditions of harvesting, crushing and storage of olive oils affect the quality of produced oil. Therefore, we must educate farmers on the importance of improving practices and cultivation techniques and the owners of oil mills as regards the storage, processing and storage of oils.