Interaction of packaging materials and vegetable oils: oil stability

The effects of different plastic films (polyethyleneterephthalate, polyvinylchloride, polypropylene and polystyrene) on the stability of olive, sunflower and palm oils were studied at 24 and 37°C during 60 days of storage. The changes in peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid value (TBA) were significantly higher (p≤0.05) in the plastic bottles than in glass. Our study indicates that the plastic permeability has played a major role in oil stability. However, both butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) were found to leach out from plastics films into vegetable oils during storage. The rate of oxidation was not reduced by antioxidant migration from plastic films to oils. Natural antioxidant (vitamin E) retarded the oxidation rate, and this was dependent on its concentration in oils examined. The results showed that the ranking of stability of oil samples is PVC≥PET>PP≥PS. Further, the stability was dependent on the type of oil. Palm oil exibited high stability properties while the highest oxidation rate was observed in sunflower oil. In addition, increasing storage temperature accelerated the oxidation and limited the stability of vegetable oils.