Flavor and Oxidative Stability of Northern-Grown Sunflower Seed Oil

Flavor and oxidative stabilities of a northerngrown sunflower seed oil were investigated. Taste panel and oxidative evaluations were made on alkalirefined, deodorized, unbleached samples treated with commercial antioxidant mixtures, phenolic antioxidants, metal scavengers and added trace metals. Similar evaluations were conducted on a sample of the same oil after bleaching. Commercial antioxidant mixtures containing both phenolic antioxidants and a metal scavenger improve the flavor and oxidative stabilities of refined unbleached oil. Although phenolic antioxidants alone improve oxidative stability as measured by the active oxygen method test, flavor stability did not improve significantly for antioxidant-treated refined, unbleached samples after accelerated storage. Conversely, alkali-refined and bleached sunflower oil responded to treatment with certain phenolic antioxidants. AlthOUgh iron and copper are deleterious to oil stability at concentrations of 0.1 ppm, such metal-inactivating agents as citric acid are effective in improving flavor stability.