Polyphenols, heat, and shipped olive oil

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Jan18
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Polyphenols, heat, and shipped olive oil

Post by Jan18 »

I know members of this community order olive oils from Amphora in CA and I did, too, this summer. Unfortunately, I had an issue.

I assumed, like other food shipments such as frozen foods, olive oil would be shipped with some kind of packaging to keep it from getting hot. When I received my bottles, the box itself was warm, so I immediately opened it and put a thermometer to the warm bottles inside. Each one was 100 degrees. Needless to say, I was upset. And who knows how many days it was that temperature or more? It wasn't from being on my porch, as I was sitting in my living room when it arrived and retrieved it immediately.

Amphora's response was that the heat shouldn't hurt the olive oils at all.

Yet, this isn't the only article I've found about heating olive oil and degraded polyphenols. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200 ... eated.aspx. Granted, it seems that there was just one type of polyphenol this study found to degrade. How many types of polyphenols are in olive oil? Is that one type not a big issue? And I know they used higher temps in the study, but if my bottles were 100 degrees more or less for longer, wouldn't that be the same effect? I'm wondering if others here have done research on this issue.

I can't keep having labs done every time I have a question pertaining to the protocol -- if I'm getting enough of this or that -- and don't want to use their olive oil for a few more months until my next complete lab work up if they are compromised. Although, the polyphenol count in theirs is probably higher to begin with than others.

What's a girl to do? (Please don't say just order them in cooler months, as I've already decided that.) But how do I know this olive oil has any benefit -- I'm assuming it still has some -- and how would I know the polyphenol count after it warmed for who knows how many days on a truck? It comes from CA and I live in Atlanta. AND my particular shipment sent me a notice that it would take longer to ship last June, due to some issue. It seemed to be in transit for 10 days!

Plus, do most here cook with your olive oils or just use them to pour over finished dishes? Or both? Or use avocado oil to cook with and olive oil to finish?
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Re: Polyphenols, heat, and shipped olive oil

Post by treman123 »

That’s too bad. I’d be bummed too. After trying to get it replaced, I guess I would just use it up faster than normal- no great solution.
I use EVOO to cook ( rarely over dishes) but I also take a gulp of EVOO every morning with my coffee and supplements.
What is the polyphenol count for Amphora?
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Re: Polyphenols, heat, and shipped olive oil

Post by NF52 »

Jan18 wrote: Mon Sep 05, 2022 4:00 pm... When I received my bottles, the box itself was warm, so I immediately opened it and put a thermometer to the warm bottles inside. Each one was 100 degrees. Needless to say, I was upset. And who knows how many days it was that temperature or more? It wasn't from being on my porch, as I was sitting in my living room when it arrived and retrieved it immediately.

Amphora's response was that the heat shouldn't hurt the olive oils at all.

Yet, this isn't the only article I've found about heating olive oil and degraded polyphenols. https://www.news-medical.net/news/20200 ... eated.aspx. Granted, it seems that there was just one type of polyphenol this study found to degrade. How many types of polyphenols are in olive oil? Is that one type not a big issue? And I know they used higher temps in the study, but if my bottles were 100 degrees more or less for longer, wouldn't that be the same effect? I'm wondering if others here have done research on this issue. .....
Hi Jan18,

Thanks for sharing the link that article. I guess I found it more reassuring, especially since they were testing at Centigrade, not Fahrenheit. I've added the conversions to this quote below:
...the overall content of polyphenols was unaltered with the long term heat exposure to the oil. The team noted that at 120 °C [248℉] there was a 40 percent decline in the polyphenol content and a 75 percent decline at 170 °C [338℉] when compared to unheated raw EVOO. The team wrote in conclusion; however, “Cooked EVOO still meets the parameters of the EU’s health claim.”

Julián Lozano, first author of the study and doctoral student at the university, said, “Despite the decrease in concentration of polyphenols during the cooking process, this oil has a polyphenol level that reaches the declaration of health in accordance to the European regulation, which means it has properties that protect oxidation of LDL cholesterol particles.”
You may have seen this 2021 article which refers to a different study

Why You Should Stop Worrying About Olive Oil's Smoke Points. The article notes that it was reviewed by a professor of clinical nutrition at Boston University, FWIW:
In the Acta Scientific Nutritional Health study, 10 of the most commonly used cooking oils were selected from the supermarket and heated in two different trials. In the first, the oils were heated for about 20 minutes until they reached 464 degrees Fahrenheit. In the second trial, the oils were heated in a deep fryer to 356 degrees Fahrenheit, the highest temperature recommended for deep-frying foods, for six hours.
In both tests, extra virgin olive oil displayed the greatest oxidative stability, producing lower levels of polar compounds, trans fats and other byproducts when compared with other oils that had higher smoke points.
Maybe we're all okay with olive oil that's getting hot in trucks?
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Re: Polyphenols, heat, and shipped olive oil

Post by Jan18 »

[/quote] NF52 Maybe we're all okay with olive oil that's getting hot in trucks?
[/quote]

Yes, I did see the article you posted. Thanks!

I was just wondering if longterm exposure, like the days in the trucks at hot temps mine experienced, might make a difference. I would think so. You know, like is that more destructive than cooking, say, spanakopita (which I make, but with only two scant sheets of phyllo dough on top and bottom instead of the many layers called for in most recipes) for 25 minutes at 325 degrees? The article said 40% of the polyphenol content is degraded at 248 degrees Fahrenheit (thanks for the conversion.) So gosh, even my spanakopita then has been degraded.

Is my thinking off here?
Last edited by Jan18 on Tue Sep 06, 2022 1:59 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Polyphenols, heat, and shipped olive oil

Post by Jan18 »

NF52 wrote: Mon Sep 05, 2022 6:04 pm
Hi Jan18,

Maybe we're all okay with olive oil that's getting hot in trucks?
[/quote]

Yes, I did see the article you posted. Thanks!

I was just wondering if longterm exposure, like the days in the trucks at hot temps mine experienced, might make a difference. I would think so. You know, like is that more destructive than cooking, say, spanakopita (which I make, but with only two scant sheets of phyllo dough on top and bottom instead of the many layers called for in most recipes) for 25 minutes at 424 degrees? The article said 40% of the polyphenol content is degraded at 248 degrees Fahrenheit (thanks for the conversion.) So gosh, even my spanakopita then has been degraded.

Is my thinking off here?
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Re: Polyphenols, heat, and shipped olive oil

Post by Jan18 »

treman123 wrote: Mon Sep 05, 2022 5:30 pm That’s too bad. I’d be bummed too. After trying to get it replaced, I guess I would just use it up faster than normal- no great solution.
I use EVOO to cook ( rarely over dishes) but I also take a gulp of EVOO every morning with my coffee and supplements.
What is the polyphenol count for Amphora?
I'd have to look it up....I got three bottles (at their suggestion) and so far, the mildest one has taken some getting used to....haven't tried the others yet.

I believe they list the counts at their website.
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Re: Polyphenols, heat, and shipped olive oil

Post by floramaria »

Jan18 wrote: Mon Sep 05, 2022 4:00 pm Plus, do most here cook with your olive oils or just use them to pour over finished dishes? Or both? Or use avocado oil to cook with and olive oil to finish?
Hi Jan18,
I appreciate your post. I've been holding off on ordering from Amphora Nueva because of heat wave and my concerns after reading that the back of UPS trucks can reach 150degrees F. from what I've read. (Poor drivers!)
Mainly I use EVOO to top off my food, pouring it liberally over cooked vegetables , soups, omelettes, and of course, salads. I make mayonnaise from it too following JulieG's No Fail Mayo recipe. I sometimes use it for cooking and try to keep the temperatures low. Even if the high polyphenol EVOO loses some of its benefits, my sense is that is is still much higher in polyphenols than other EVOO I buy. Not scientific at all, just based on the feeling in the back of my throat.
It is reassuring that the temperatures in the article were not Fahrenheit.
NF52 wrote: Mon Sep 05, 2022 6:04 pm I guess I found it more reassuring, especially since they were testing at Centigrade, not Fahrenheit.
Thanks for catching this, NF52! Makes me feel better about placing an order.
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Re: Polyphenols, heat, and shipped olive oil

Post by NF52 »

Jan18 wrote: Mon Sep 05, 2022 8:38 pm ... You know, like is that more destructive than cooking, say, spanakopita (which I make, but with only two scant sheets of phyllo dough on top and bottom instead of the many layers called for in most recipes) for 25 minutes at 424 degrees? The article said 40% of the polyphenol content is degraded at 248 degrees Fahrenheit (thanks for the conversion.) So gosh, even my spanakopita then has been degraded.

Is my thinking off here?
Hi Jan,

I think you are thinking like a scientist! They come up with all sorts of hypotheses about how X affects Y under conditions A, B, & C! Personally, I've become more comfortable with knowing that I don't know exactly how "free-range" my eggs are, or exactly where every avocado comes from. When guidelines say that EVOO is associated with better brain health, it's based on huge numbers of people, not just those with the highest quality EVOO. And that spanakopita sounds delicious!

Given the quote below about deep frying for 6 hours, your meal and the trucks should both be well below that. Even when the benefit was "degraded", it was still considerable. I've found out from conferences that only a tiny percentage of MOST drugs reaches our brains; it not how much reaches there, it's how effective is it when it arrives. Just the like EVOO--I think yours should be fine!
In the second trial, the oils were heated in a deep fryer to 356 degrees Fahrenheit, the highest temperature recommended for deep-frying foods, for six hours.
In both tests, extra virgin olive oil displayed the greatest oxidative stability, producing lower levels of polar compounds, trans fats and other byproducts when compared with other oils that had higher smoke points.
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Re: Polyphenols, heat, and shipped olive oil

Post by Tincup »

FWIW, I generally don't order oil in the summer. I also ask that it be shipped on a Monday to avoid sitting around over a weekend. I do order from Amphora and live around 1200 miles away.
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Re: Polyphenols, heat, and shipped olive oil

Post by Jan18 »

floramaria wrote: Mon Sep 05, 2022 9:33 pm Hi Jan18,
I appreciate your post. I've been holding off on ordering from Amphora Nueva because of heat wave and my concerns after reading that the back of UPS trucks can reach 150degrees F. from what I've read. (Poor drivers!)
Hi Floramaria,
I'll order in fall and early spring from now on. I also want to avoid winter, even though Atlanta winters aren't "cold" (says the longtime Midwestern girl) I would rather have the product shipped in more temperate times of the year.

Thanks for the answer about using it and Julie G's recipe heads-up!
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