By Rafe Calder
An olive oil label is mostly small print and a handful of words doing heavy work. Some of those words are regulated. Some are not. This piece sets out what three sources say about which is which, and where they stop.
The grades
Wikipedia’s article on olive oil lists the grades, citing standards of the International Olive Council. Extra virgin is the highest virgin grade, made by cold mechanical extraction without solvents or refining, with no more than 0.8 per cent free acidity, some fruitiness and no defined sensory defects. Virgin allows up to 2.0 per cent free acidity and some defects. Lampante is mechanically extracted but, it says, not suitable for human consumption without further refining. Refined oil is made from virgin oil using charcoal and other filters, with free acidity of not more than 0.3 per cent. Oil sold as “pure” or “olive oil” is mostly refined, with a little virgin oil added for taste. Pomace oil, it says, may not be described simply as olive oil.
The Irish food safety authority, the FSAI, summarises the EU’s wording in Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013. Extra virgin is a “superior category olive oil obtained directly from olives and solely by mechanical means”. Virgin is olive oil obtained directly from olives and solely by mechanical means. “Olive oil” is a blend of refined and virgin oils, and olive-pomace oil is a separate category.
Free acidity is not taste
Wikipedia says free acidity is measured as the percentage by weight of free oleic acid, and that higher figures indicate more hydrolysis of the fats. It lists defects that extra virgin is checked for: rancid, fusty, musty, winey (vinegary) and muddy sediment. It also says the IOC requires the median of the fruity attribute to be higher than zero. Our reading: a low acidity number does not by itself make an oil good; a tasting panel is part of the grade, and a label figure cannot show you that.
Origin
Per the FSAI summary of the EU rules, extra virgin and virgin oils must carry a designation of origin. Refined-and-virgin blends and pomace oils must not. Blends from several origins use wording such as “blend of Community olive oils” or “blend of non-Community olive oils”. Protected designations, PDO and PGI, are also permitted. Wikipedia says the EU regulates PDO and PGI labels and that a country code, such as I for Italy, can indicate origin, and that a label may show only where the oil was bottled. We could not reconcile that last point with the FSAI summary in the pages we read, so we show both.
“First cold pressing” and “cold extraction”
The FSAI summary says “first cold pressing” may appear only for extra virgin or virgin oils, and requires a first mechanical pressing below 27 °C using a traditional hydraulic press. “Cold extraction” likewise may appear only for extra virgin or virgin oils and requires extraction below 27 °C by percolation or centrifugation. Wikipedia describes “first cold pressed” more loosely: the olives were crushed exactly once. It also says that in Europe centrifuged oil must be labelled “cold extracted” and only physically pressed oil “cold pressed”, and that there is no reliable international definition. The summary and the encyclopaedia differ in precision; the summary is the closer to the regulation text.
Harvest year
The FSAI summary says that a harvest year may be shown only on extra virgin or virgin oil, and only if 100 per cent of the contents come from that harvest. A trade news site, Food Times, adds that the harvest season can be shown either as a marketing campaign or as the month and year of harvest, and says: “the indication of the olive harvesting year on the label has been mandatory since 2016 in Italy.” The two are not in conflict. One speaks to when the claim is allowed, the other to a national rule. We note that the FSAI page is a summary of regulation text, not the text itself.
Acidity on the label
Food Times says an acidity figure on a label should be the value at the end of the minimum shelf life, not at bottling, and that the maximum acidity must come with values for peroxide index, wax content and UV absorption. The FSAI summary says the same pairing is required “in marking of the same size and in the same visual field”. These rules apply from 6 February 2019, covering the 2018/2019 oil year, per Food Times.
Taste words and storage
Per the FSAI summary, taste and smell descriptors may only appear on extra virgin and virgin oils, and only if based on the approved tasting method. Labels must also state that the oil should be stored away from light and heat. Our reading: a bottle that says “fruity” or “peppery” is making a claim that has to rest on a tasting panel, though we did not read how panels are run.
Where Italy sits
Wikipedia, citing FAOSTAT for 2022, gives Italy 331,038 tonnes, second to Spain, and says Italy’s main producing regions are Calabria and, above all, Apulia. It says per capita consumption in Italy is about 13 litres a year.
Dates in order
- 2016: harvest-year indication mandatory in Italy, per Food Times.
- 6 February 2019: acidity and harvest-season rules apply, covering the 2018/2019 oil year, per Food Times.
- 2022: production figures, per Wikipedia citing FAOSTAT.
Side by side
| Term | Who may use it, per the FSAI summary | Wikipedia |
|---|---|---|
| First cold pressing | extra virgin or virgin only; below 27 °C; hydraulic press | olives crushed once |
| Cold extraction | extra virgin or virgin only; below 27 °C | not defined internationally |
| Origin | required on extra virgin and virgin | country code or bottling place may appear |
What kind of sources these are
Wikipedia, an open encyclopaedia; the FSAI, a food safety authority summarising EU regulation; Food Times, a food-industry news site. We did not read the regulation text or the IOC standard.
Questions a buyer would ask
Does “Italian” on the front mean Italian olives? Not by itself. The sources we read say a bottle can show where the oil was bottled, and that a blend of origins has its own wording. Read the origin line.
What we left out
Fraud allegations quoted on the encyclopaedia page, which it presents as claims and not proven rates; producer names; prices; PDO lists; and any ranking of oils.
Roam first. Shop later.