Provitamin A carotenoids in table olives according to processing styles, cultivars, and commercial presentations

The concentration of provitamin A carotenoids in table olives was determined. Only beta-carotene was found in all commercial presentations. alpha-carotene was also present in final products containing carrots. Concentrations of beta-carotene, referring to 100 g edible portion, ranged from an average of 197 to 1,387 mu g in green olives, from 37 to 726 mu g in directly brined olives and from 39 to 333 in ripe (darkened by oxidation) olives. Thus, some commercial presentations of table olives can be considered reasonable sources of provitamin A. Several groups were formed within elaboration styles and cultivars, according to commercial presentations. Their averages and other statistical estimations are also given. These results may be used by the industry as a source of information for nutritional labelling or by nutritionists to estimate provitamin A intakes in diets that include table olives.