Olive Oil Definitions & Labeling Standards

[malcolmjolley]

Yesterday I went to a Manni Olive Oil tasting and am writing it up for gremolata.com (will post when done).

For some background on the piece I'm looking for an independent source of definitions for olive oil (i.e. cold presssing must be done at no higher than x degreees, etc.).

Any web sources out there I could tap into?

[slkinsey]

How about The International Olive Oil Council? In particular, this document probably has more information than you could possibly want. I am given to understand that terms like "cold pressed" and "first pressing" (etc.) are completely unregulated terms that are used nowadays mostly for marketing.

[malcolmjolley]

How about The International Olive Oil Council?  In particular, this document probably has more information than you could possibly want.  I am given to understand that terms like "cold pressed" and "first pressing" (etc.) are completely unregulated terms that are used nowadays mostly for marketing.

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Thanks! This has saved me valuable time. I found the IOOC site, but no that doc.

Perhaps you're right about cold and first pressing: that they're terms of art, rahter than science.

I was tempted to agree, except, in Sautrday's National Post, Gina Mallet had an article on the Spanish producer Hacienda Queiles, where she writes, "The term cold-pressed may only be given to oil heated at less than 38C". I bet this is an EU standard (hard to believe they wouldn't have one).

I'll ask Gina where she got the info...

[slkinsey]

I'll be interested to hear what she says. As far as I understand it (and especially given that the EU is a member of the IOOC), the IOOC sets the standards. This is supported by reading through the "What's the IOOC" pages on the IOOC site. They are desribed therein as the "intergovernmental organisation in charge of administering the International Olive Oil Agreement." The EU is a party to this agreement.

Here's a quote I found that sounds relevant:

Truth-in-labeling laws in the olive oil industry are loose at best. For instance, the phrase "cold-pressed" is obsolete, but manufacturers continue to use the term. "Anyone can put anything he or she wants on a label—cold-pressed, handpicked, picked at midnight—and there’s no system to verify the accuracy of these statements," Nicola Ruggiero, president of Unaprol, an Italian olive oil association, told The Report, a 60-Minutes–type program produced by the Italian television station, RAI.

All the laws, as far as I know, that have to do with the legal classification of grades of olive oil have to do with the percentage of oleic acid present in the oil, with "extra virgin" meaning not more than 0.8% by weight.

[Jim Dixon]

Marco Bettini, my supplier in Umbria (who's also an IOOC-certified taster), says this about temperature during pressing:

Untill last year an oil obtained at a temperature of 30°C has been named for the EC Rules COLD EXTRACTED but with the new rules to write cold extraction the oil must be obtained at a temperature below 27°C (Reg. EC 1019-2002)

It's my understanding that the term 'cold pressed' was first used to differentiate virgin ols form those refined or rectified, processes that both require very high temperatures.

Jim

[Boris_A]

There are no really telling hard data parameters to define an EVOO. "The law is an ass" here (to quote Andrew Barr's "Wine Snobbery") and only a sensoric test - opposed to a purely analytical-chemical test - can decide whether an olive oil is "real" EVOO or not.

Don't forget, state-of-the-art EVOOs are too spicey and "green" for many palates. I think the Spanish Marques-de-Griñon EVOO is a good start to learn about the chracteristics of cold pressed, "real" EVOOs.

Remember the three biggest swindles in the world of food: Champagne, Grappa and Olive oil.

[cakewalk]

There are no really telling hard data parameters to define an EVOO. "The law is an ass" here (to quote Andrew Barr's "Wine Snobbery") 

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"The law is a ass." To quote Charles Dickens.

Sorry, carry on with the EVOO talk.

[Raoul Duke]

For good information, on line, check out COOC, California Olive Oil Council or The Olive Oil Source web sites.

[Adam Balic]

Admin: posts merged in from a thread on balasmic vinegar.

In the UK "Extra Virgin Olive Oil" is also a meaningless appellation, the same in the USA?

[Pontormo]

Please explain, Adam.

I've only recently read the fine print to discover that olive oil imported from Italy is likely to come from Tunisia, Greece, etc.

How do you know if your olive oil is actually from fruit cold-pressed only once?

Is the text on labels subject to legislation?

[MarketStEl]

In the UK "Extra Virgin Olive Oil" is also a meaningless appellation, the same in the USA?

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It is supposed to refer to oil from the first cold pressing of the olives. I've seen labels on several brands that include the phrase "first cold pressing".

I've yet to see regular olive oil that is as dark as the extra virgin that appears on local supermarket shelves.

[Adam Balic]

Please explain, Adam.

I've only recently read the fine print to discover that olive oil imported from Italy is likely to come from Tunisia, Greece, etc.

How do you know if your olive oil is actually from fruit cold-pressed only once? 

Is the text on labels subject to legislation?

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From the DEFRA site for olive oil marketing standards.

Specific labelling requirements

As mentioned above Commission Regulation (EC) No 1019/2002 on marketing standards for olive oil makes provisions for specific label requirements including more precise information on the category of oil. This is in the interest of providing the consumer with better information.

The following provisions apply:

The labelling of olive oil shall bear, in clear and indelible lettering, the following information on the category of oil, in addition to the trade descriptions described above:

a) extra virgin olive oil - 'superior category olive oil obtained directly from olives and solely by mechanical means';

b) virgin olive oil - 'olive oil obtained directly from olives and solely by mechanical means';

c) olive oil composed of refined olive oils and virgin olive oils - 'oil comprising exclusively olive oils that have undergone refining and oils obtained directly from olives';

d) olive pomace - 'oil comprising exclusively oils obtained by treating the product obtained after the extraction of olive oil and oils obtained directly from olives'

OR - 'oil comprising exclusively oils obtained by processing olive pomace oils and oils obtained directly from olives'.

Obviously, these are quite wishy-washy definitions ("superior"?). The site also lays down labelling requirements regarding the origin of the olives and blends of oils. In practice I have yet to see a bottle of 'Italian' olive oil that has the word "Tunisia (et al.)" on it.

[ghostrider]

In practice I have yet to see a bottle of 'Italian' olive oil that has the word "Tunisia (et al.)" on it.

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Actually it's quite easy to find, at least in the US. If you read the fine print on certain labels, you'll find oils from Tunisia/Greece/Spain, & perhaps even Italy, that have been blended & bottled in Italy.

Given what's been happening to olive harvests in recent years, this trend isn't surprising.

Edited March 22, 2006 by ghostrider (log)

[slkinsey]

The designation "extra virgin" has no official meaning according to United States law.

I should also point out that the terms "first pressing" and "cold pressed" and all that have no real meaning either. This is because there is no way to verify whether these things are true. What can be verified is the amount of oleic acid present in the oil. The International Olive Oil Council, which is the multinational body governing labeling of olive oil, says that "olive oil" must be obtained only from the fruit of the olive tree (Olea europaea); "virgin olive oil" must be extracted from said fruit exclusively by mechanical means, and must have a free acidity of not more than two grams of oleic acid per hundred grams; and "extra virgin olive oil" must have a free acidity of not more than 0.8 grams of oleic acid per hundred grams.

According to the IOOC, olive oil "containers intended for direct sale to consumers" must include, among other things: the name of the product; the designation of olive oil quality (extra virgin, etc.); and the country of origin, with this interesting caveat: "When the product undergoes substantial processing in a second country, the country in which such processing is carried out shall be considered as the country of origin for labelling purposes." It may only include an indication of source (country, region or locality) or appelation (where such exists) only when allowed to do so by the country of origin and "when such virgin olive oils have been produced, packed and originate exclusively in the country, region or locality mentioned."

Member countries of the IOOC include Algeria, Croatia, the EU, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Lybia, Morocco, Serbia & Montenegro, Syria and Tunisia. Unfortunately, the United States does not seem to be a member. What this suggests to me, however, is that olive oil from one of these countries that is labeled "extra virgin olive oil" has a very high likelihood of conforming with the IOOC standards. I don't get the impression that the IOOC allows its member countries to slap any old designation of quality on a bottle of oilve oil so long as it is intended for sale in a non-member country. Some manufacturers will try to cheat, of course, and all bets are off with respect to olive oil produced in nonmember countries.

The long and short of this is that, if you buy a bottle of "Tuscan extra virgin olive oil," you should be getting just that.

[Pontormo]

Just a quick note:

Whole Foods imports its house brand of EVOO from Italy. The label on the front of the bottle stresses that the product is from Italy. F

Fine print on the side of the bottle alerts reader to the significance of letter coding elsewhere on the bottle. A=original source is Greece, B=Tunisia....F=combination of all the above....

[Adam Balic]

The designation "extra virgin" has no official meaning according to United States law.

I should also point out that the terms "first pressing" and "cold pressed" and all that have no real meaning either.  This is because there is no way to verify whether these things are true.  What can be verified is the amount of oleic acid present in the oil.  The International Olive Oil Council, which is the multinational body governing labeling of olive oil, says that "olive oil" must be obtained only from the fruit of the olive tree (Olea europaea); "virgin olive oil" must be extracted from said fruit exclusively by mechanical means, and must have a free acidity of not more than two grams of oleic acid per hundred grams; and "extra virgin olive oil" must have a free acidity of not more than 0.8 grams of oleic acid per hundred grams.

.

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The legalsitic side of this is not my area, but the main enforcement body in the UK (see DEFRA above) follows 'COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 1019/2002of 13 June 2002 on marketing standards for olive oil and the wording in the definitions are very similar, but significantly different.

Extra virgin olive oil: virgin olive oil which has a free acidity, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.8 grams per 100 grams, and the other characteristics of which correspond to those fixed for this category in this standard

v

Extra virgin olive oil:

‘superior category olive oil obtained directly from olives and solely by mechanical means;’

'indication of the acidity or maximum acidity may appear only if it is accompanied by an indication, in lettering of the same size and in the same visual field, of the peroxide value, the wax content and the ultraviolet absorption, determined in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91.

"Reference to acidity in isolation wrongly suggests a scale of absolute quality which is misleading for consumers since this factor represents a qualitative value only in relation to the other characteristics of the olive oil concerned. Consequently, in view of the proliferation of certain indications and of their economic significance objective criteria for their uses should be established in order to introduce clarity into the olive oil market."

I think that there is plenty room for dodgy practices to occur. For instance with "Tuscan extra virgin olive oil" Designation of origin labelling only applies to Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) or a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) sites, I'm not sure that "Tuscan" would qualify ("Toscano" has a PGI).

[slkinsey]

Right. I understand that the local UK law may be different from the IOOC specification. What that suggests to me is that olive oil produced in a nonmember country (such as the US) could be sold in the UK as "extra virgin" even if it did not meet the IOOC specification. However, if the olive oil comes from an IOOC member country, I think this is rather less likely. The point of the IOOC regulations is that the member countries are voluntarily saying that they are going to adhere to those specifications. I'm not sure what kind of legal teeth these specifications have in other countries, but since olive oil is not produced in the UK it stands to reason that they don't need to legislate any strict labeling standards. Oils imported from member countries should conform to the IOOC standards, and I guess they don't care whether oils imported from nonmember countries conform to those standards are not.

According to my reading of the IOOC standards, if an olive oil is labeled "Tuscan extra virgin olive oil" then it is an indication of source, and is therefore only allowed if the oil was produced, packed and originating exclusively in Tuscany. I'm not sure whether this would apply to an "Italian extra virgin olive oil." That seems to indicare source as well. I think if you take a look, though, you'll see that most dodgy olive oils will say something more like "imported from Italy" or similar. This is indicating the "country of origin" rather than the "source" according to the IOOC standards.

[Adam Balic]

Again, not my field, but I imagine it comes down to enforceability pressure from the consumer base (in the UK, which lacks producers). I will look at some supermarket olive oil to find out more.

[slkinsey]

I sent an email to the IOOC. We'll see if I hear back, and if so, what they say.

[Adam Balic]

OK back from the supermarket and guess what all the 'extra virgin olive oil' bottles were marked with "superior category olive oil obtained directly from olives and solely by mechanical means"

[MarketStEl]

According to the IOOC, olive oil "containers intended for direct sale to consumers" must include, among other things: the name of the product; the designation of olive oil quality (extra virgin, etc.); and the country of origin, with this interesting caveat: "When the product undergoes substantial processing in a second country, the country in which such processing is carried out shall be considered as the country of origin for labelling purposes."

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I wonder what constitutes "substantial processing."

Since there are very few olive groves in the US (if indeed there are any at all), I would imagine that any of the major US olive oil producers -- like Baltimore's Pompeian -- would "substantially process" the oil they get. Yet Pompeian's Web site leaves me with the impression that the Baltimore plant receives oil in bulk from abroad, so it's already "processed" somewhat, isn't it?

[slkinsey]

I would guess that "substiantial processing" is pretty broad. Certainly it would include things like pressing the actual olives into oil. But it could also include things like blending, which is likely to happen at any level, and filtering, etc.

Although the US is not a member of the IOOC and as a US company can therefore label the oil however they like for sale in the US, I note that their bottles do not say "Italian" or "Tunisian" (or wherever) olive oil. According to my interpretation of the IOOC specifications, these oils would have the United States as the country of origin if they are blended, etc. in the US. But again, since the US is not a member, US olive oil companies don't have to worry about any of that stuff.

OK back from the supermarket and guess what all the 'extra virgin olive oil' bottles were marked with "superior category olive oil obtained directly from olives and solely by mechanical means"

This makes sense, given the UK law, don't you think?

[ghostrider]

Member countries of the IOOC include Algeria, Croatia, the EU, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Lybia, Morocco, Serbia & Montenegro, Syria and Tunisia.  Unfortunately, the United States does not seem to be a member.  What this suggests to me, however, is that olive oil from one of these countries that is labeled "extra virgin olive oil" has a very high likelihood of conforming with the IOOC standards. 

The long and short of this is that, if you buy a bottle of "Tuscan extra virgin olive oil," you should be getting just that.

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I was surprised that France, Greece, Italy and Spain were not listed as members, but a visit to the websited confirmed that theyare indeed members - founding members, in fact.

I now have more faith in that "Tuscan EVOO" label.

The US, Canada, and more than a dozen other countries are listed as IOOC "observers."

[Pan]

I wonder what constitutes "substantial processing."

Since there are very few olive groves in the US (if indeed there are any at all), I would imagine that any of the major US olive oil producers -- like Baltimore's Pompeian -- would "substantially process" the oil they get.[...]

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Is there something special that differentiates a grove from some other type of stand of olive trees? I ask that because I thought that a lot of olives were grown in California. Is that untrue?

[slkinsey]

Member countries of the IOOC include Algeria, Croatia, the EU, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, Lybia, Morocco, Serbia & Montenegro, Syria and Tunisia.

I was surprised that France, Greece, Italy and Spain were not listed as members, but a visit to the websited confirmed that theyare indeed members - founding members, in fact.

France, Greece, Italy and Spain are all part of the EU, so there is no reason to list them individually. The EU didn't exist when the IOOC was founded, which is why individual EU countries are listed as founding members. For the record, the EU includes Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom. These are all member countries of the IOOC by virtue of being in the European Union.

Reading further on the IOOC site, I see the following that refers to the international legal underpinning of the IOOC's various specifications (referringm in this instance, to the original agreement of 1956): "Like all the international commodity agreements, it was legally underpinned by the principles recommended by the United Nations Economic and Social Council and embodied in chapter VI of the Havana Charter."

The US, Canada, and more than a dozen other countries are listed as IOOC "observers."

Unfortunately, as far as I am able to tell, observers are only that: countries that send delegates to observe the sessions of the Council. As nonmembers, they are not bound by the agreement.

Since there are very few olive groves in the US (if indeed there are any at all), I would imagine that any of the major US olive oil producers -- like Baltimore's Pompeian -- would "substantially process" the oil they get.[...]

Is there something special that differentiates a grove from some other type of stand of olive trees? I ask that because I thought that a lot of olives were grown in California. Is that untrue?

The most recent official statistics I was able to find were for 2002, when they harvested 103,000 tons of California olives (66,300 Manzanillo, 23,500 Sevillano, and 11,500 other. They estimated that only around 10,000 tons were used for "olive oil and other specialty products." Oil yield can vary widely depending on the variety of olive and method of cultivation, from ten gallons of oil per ton of "green over-watered Sevillano" to fifty-five gallons of oil per ton of "very ripe, deficit-irrigated Mission, Picual" (source). In 2004 there were 383,000 gallons of California olive oil produced, constituting 99% of US olive oil production and <0.1% of worldwide olive oil production (source).