A Budget-Friendly Approach to Oxidative Stability Index Measurement

The oxidative stability index is one of the most used and reliable parameters to determine the quality of vegetable oil, biodiesel, and various foods. However, the leading commercially available equipment has a considerably high cost. Nevertheless, block digesters are more financially accessible and are present in most food analysis laboratories. Thus, the proposal of this study allowed us to obtain results very similar to those provided by Rancimat, based on the association between a digester block and a conductivity sensor, assisted by a low-cost and high-efficiency microcontroller, added to a simple graphical interface. Comparing the results between both techniques, it was possible to determine the oxidative stability index with reasonable equivalence and its variation as a function of temperature with a deviation of less than 10% for olive oil. This work helps disseminate oxidative stability analysis and contributes to institutions, researchers, and teachers with limited access to financial resources.