The shelf life of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and sunflower oil (SO) bottled in containers with different levels of oxygen scavenger (OS) and stored at room temperature under diffuse lighting conditions for 6 months has been evaluated. Four packaging materials were tested: glass, polyethyleneterephthalate (PET), PET including 1% of OS (PET 1%) and PET including 5% of OS (PET 5%). Free acidity, peroxide value (PV), spectrophotometric indices (K232, K270, ΔK), antioxidant (biophenols and tocopherols) content, pigment (chlorophylls and carotenoids) change and the amount of oxygen dissolved in the oil were monitored during storage. A significant influence of the packaging material on the quality decay was not found. The differences in the shelf life observed between oils bottled in PET and oils bottled in glass are attributable to a difference in the initial content of dissolved oxygen in the oils. The study showed the usefulness of monitoring changes in dissolved oxygen level, antioxidant (phenols and tocopherols) and pigment (chlorophyll and carotenoids) profiles during oil storage. The change of these compounds could in fact supply important information on the oxidation processes that occur in bottled oils and on the effectiveness of the material employed in oil packaging. Copyright © 2007 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.