Influence of olive cultivars and period of harvest on the contents of Cu, Cd, Pb, and Zn in virgin olive oils

Levels of four of the major pollutant heavy metals were assessed by ICP-OES in virgin olive oil monocultivar samples. The data showed high variability within cultivars for lead and zinc, whereas, for cadmium and copper, no statistical difference was observed. The influence of the cultivar and the stage of ripening of olives on heavy metal content was assessed; zinc was the only metal with a great variability within the first and the second harvest. All olive samples were processed with the same milling apparatus.