Mechanistic kinetic modelling of lipid oxidation in vegetable oils to estimate shelf-life

Estimating the shelf-life of vegetable oils is important to develop solutions to reduce spoilage by lipid oxidation. Typically, the shelf-life is predicted by detecting secondary oxidation markers in accelerated shelf-life tests, which are time-consuming. Existing numerical approaches using early primary oxidation products as predictive markers do not account for variations in fatty acid types, antioxidants, or storage conditions. A mechanistic kinetic model was developed incorporating these factors as a step towards shelf-life prediction for vegetable oils. Specific kinetic constants for the reactions of each unsaturated fatty acid type account for variations in fatty acid composition, and oxygen mass transfer accounts for variations in oxygen conditions. A second acceleration of lipid oxidation observed in long-term storage experiments was described by a multiplication factor for the kinetic constants related to oxidation products. Our model accurately extrapolates short-time experimental data to estimate long term formation of oxidation products under the same conditions.