Olive oil
Olive oil, and more specifically extra virgin olive oil (EVO), is one of the most important and nutritious foods for humans and holds a special place in the Mediterranean and Cretan diet. This is due to its chemical composition, which consists mainly of monounsaturated fats and a number of other bioactive compounds and many antioxidants, such as polyphenols. Its production method is done using exclusively natural, mechanical, methods without any chemicals.
[Extra virgin olive oil – The ultimate superfood. Publications: Proforma, Ierapetra, 2024, Pages 128, ©Ioannis Tsagkatakis, Eleni Kypriotaki-Tsagkatakis]
[Olive oil in the EU, https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/farming/crop-productions-and-plant-based-products/olive-oil_en]
[Extra virgin olive oil – The ultimate superfood. Publications: Proforma, Ierapetra, 2024, Pages 128, ©Ioannis Tsagkatakis, Eleni Kypriotaki-Tsagkatakis]
Positive: fruity (unripe and ripe), bitter, spicy. Optionally, the terms: intense, medium, light, well-balanced and sweet can be used for each of the positive properties.
Negative (defects): Atrohado, unripe/musty, moldy/wet, vinous-vinegar/acidic-sour, metallic-tang, baked or burnt, straw-wood, coarse, lubricants, runoff, brine, esparto, worm, cucumber, wet wood.
We observe that the negative properties are far more than the positive ones and can be created by incorrect practices in the olive production chain. What is mainly of interest is that the Extra Virgin Olive Oil has zero defects.
[THE ORGANOLEPTIC ASSESSMENT OF VIRGIN OLIVE OIL MADRID / 09.01.2020 – IT IS AN ESSENTIAL QUALITY CRITERION THAT COMPLEMENTS CHEMICAL ANALYSIS, https://www.internationaloliveoil.org/the-organoleptic-assessment-of-virgin-olive-oil/]
[Extra virgin olive oil – The ultimate superfood. Publications: Proforma, Ierapetra, 2024, Pages 128, ©Ioannis Tsagkatakis, Eleni Kypriotaki-Tsagkatakis]
The European Union is the leading producer, consumer and exporter of olive oil. The EU produces roughly 67% of the world’s olive oil. Around 4 million hectares, mainly in the EU Mediterranean countries, are dedicated to the cultivation of olives trees, combining traditional, intensive and super intensive groves. Italy and Spain are the largest consumers of olive oil in the EU, with an annual consumption of around 500,000 tones each, while Greece has the biggest EU consumption per capita, with around 12 kg per person per year. In total, the EU accounts for around 53% of world consumption.
In terms of trade, the EU represents roughly 65% of world exports of olive oil. The main destinations for the EU’s olive oil are the United States, Brazil and Japan. Within the EU, comprehensive market monitoring of olive oil is carried out by the EU olive oil and table olives market observatory to provide a diverse range of data on the olive oil market, including prices, balance sheets, production and trade figures, and information on the import quota for Tunisian olive oil. EU marketing standards ensure that the market is supplied with agricultural products of a standardized and satisfactory quality to meet consumers’ expectations, to facilitate trade and to ensure a level playing field for EU producers. EU olive oil legislation defines the different categories of olive oils and olive-pomace oils as well as the relevant methods of analyses to be used by Member States control authorities, and provides rules for labelling and packaging.
Eight different categories of olive oils and olive-pomace oils exist: extra-virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil, virgin lampante olive oil, refined olive oil, olive oil composed of refined olive oil and virgin olive oils, olive pomace oil, crude olive-pomace oil, refined olive pomace oil. Not all categories can be sold to consumers; only extra-virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil, olive oil composed of refined olive oil and virgin olive oils and olive pomace oil can be purchased directly at retail level.
[Olive oil in the EU, https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/farming/crop-productions-and-plant-based-products/olive-oil_en]
[Extra virgin olive oil – The ultimate superfood. Publications: Proforma, Ierapetra, 2024, Pages 128, ©Ioannis Tsagkatakis, Eleni Kypriotaki-Tsagkatakis]
In order to be marketed under a certain category, the olive oil’s characteristics must respect the limits established for that category under EU rules. It is the responsibility of the operators and the EU Member States to ensure that this is the case.
The different categories of olive oils are graded according to quality parameters, relating to:
Physico-chemical characteristics, such as the acidity level, peroxide index, fatty acid content and sterols composition;
Organoleptic (sensory) characteristics, such as the fruitiness and the absence of organoleptic defects.
Virgin olive oils – There are three different categories of virgin olive oils:
Extra virgin olive oil is the category with the highest quality. From an organoleptic point of view, it has no defects and is fruity. Its acidity level must not exceed 0.8%.
Virgin olive oil may have some sensory defects but at very low level. Its acidity must not exceed 2%.
Lampante olive oil is a lower quality virgin olive oil with an acidity of more than 2%, with no fruity characteristics and substantial sensory defects. Lampante olive oil is not intended to be marketed at retail stage. It is refined or used for industrial purposes.
[Olive oil in the EU, https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/farming/crop-productions-and-plant-based-products/olive-oil_en]
[Extra virgin olive oil – The ultimate superfood. Publications: Proforma, Ierapetra, 2024, Pages 128, ©Ioannis Tsagkatakis, Eleni Kypriotaki-Tsagkatakis]
According to the legal framework, EU countries have to perform annually a minimum number of controls, proportionate to the volume of olive oil marketed in their country, to ensure that marketing standards for olive oils and olive-pomace oils are respected. Those controls aim to verify that the labelling and packaging are compliant to the legal requirements and that the category of the oil is conform to the declared category. The conformity checks are not designed to represent the overall quality of olive oil on the European market. A non-conformity helps the authorities in EU countries identify potential flaws along the supply chain. Depending on the seriousness of the irregularity detected, EU countries take actions, including the withdrawal of the product from the market, imposing fines on operators, or even prosecution. Labelling checks ensure that the designation or trade name under which the latter can be sold to the consumer is compliant with the specific rules laid down in EU regulation 1308/2013 (Annex VII, part VIII), and in Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2104.
Rules for optional labelling requirements relate for instance to the indication “first cold pressing”, “cold extraction”, organoleptic properties referring to taste and/or smell for extra virgin and virgin olive oils and the harvesting year (Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2104).
[Olive oil in the EU, https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/farming/crop-productions-and-plant-based-products/olive-oil_en]
[Extra virgin olive oil – The ultimate superfood. Publications: Proforma, Ierapetra, 2024, Pages 128, ©Ioannis Tsagkatakis, Eleni Kypriotaki-Tsagkatakis]
Besides controls that are specific to the olive oil sector, EU countries have to ensure that other legal requirements are respected. The general food law covers all stages of the production, processing and distribution of food. The general labelling rules ensure that consumers are not mislead regarding characteristics of oils (composition, quality, origin, category, method of production) and that labelling of olive oil is in accordance with general food labelling rules established in Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011. The EU is a member of the International Olive Council (IOC), an international intergovernmental organization in the field of olive oil and table olives. It was set up in Madrid, Spain, in 1959.
[Olive oil in the EU, https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/farming/crop-productions-and-plant-based-products/olive-oil_en]
[Extra virgin olive oil – The ultimate superfood. Publications: Proforma, Ierapetra, 2024, Pages 128, ©Ioannis Tsagkatakis, Eleni Kypriotaki-Tsagkatakis]