Lipidomic characteristics of three edible cold-pressed oils by LC/Q-TOF for simple quality and authenticity assurance

Distinguishing oil samples from each other is challenging but it is crucial for ensuring food quality, and for detecting and preventing the possible adulteration of these products. Lipidomic profiling is believed to provide sufficient information to get fit-to-purpose confidence of oil identification as well as to deliver oil-specific lipid features which could be used as targets for routine authenticity testing of camelina, flax, and hemp oil in food control laboratories. Conducted di- and triacylglycerol profiling by LC/Q-TOF MS yielded successful differentiation of the oils. A marker panel consisting of 27 lipids (both DAGs and TAGs) useful for quality verification and authenticity assurance of the oils was established. Moreover, sunflower, rapeseed, and soybean oils were analysed as potential adulterants. We identified 6 lipid markers (DAGs 34:6, 35:2, 40:1, 40:2, 42:2, and TAG 63:1) which can be used for revealing the adulteration of camelina, hemp, and flax seed oils with these oils.