Fats & oils
on conformity checks and the methods of analyses for parameters defining olive oil, as prescribed by the International Olive Council (IOC). The Madrid-based IOC, of which the EU is a member, is a key player. Given that under these new regulations, olive oil profiles must be analysed using protocols it has developed and will require the use of panels comprised of selected and trained tasters. Its Standardisation and Research Unit, for example, performs a wide range of tasks mostly aimed at carrying out studies on the composition of olives, olive oils and olive-pomace oils. The aim is to improve methods of analysis and ultimately work towards harmonising international legislation.
PDO versus PGI
Olive oil products can be defined under a Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), where the entire production cycle is carried out in a specific territory, or a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI), which is usually awarded to a larger geographical area and with less exacting rules than a PDO. All other products must be labelled according to the country of origin, not its regions or provinces.
These designations are important, in part because they’re designed to combat against acts of fraud or misleading consumers across the agricultural sector. As Italy’s Department of Central Inspectorate for fraud repression and quality protection of agri-food products(ICQRF) noted in a 2021 report, fraud and sharp practice remains a very real problem. That year, it catalogued 186 crime reports, 4,699 administrative penalties and 4,954 warnings issued to operators; with 5.522 million kilograms of goods seized worth an economic value of €9.1m. In addition, there were 955 interventions outside national borders and on the web to protect geographical indications. It’s particularly noteworthy that the second most active agri-food sector for the authorities – behind the 19,628 checks carried out for wine and wine products – was olive oil (9,234).
Defining oils Extra virgin olive oils and virgin olive oils are derived directly from olives by solely mechanical means. The oils have a wide range of characteristics such as organoleptic properties (taste, colour, smell, feel) that depend on various factors such as the type of olive, soil, climatic conditions, harvest date for example. Other categories of olive oils can also be sold directly to consumers though, as long as labelling provisions mention the named category and its specific characteristics. Within the olive oil regime, a key determinant is oleic acidity, which measures the amount of free fatty acids in the oil. Fatty acids are formed when the olives
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begin to break down, either naturally or through poor storage and handling. As a result, the EU has now set a legal limit for the amount of free fatty acids that can be present in extra virgin olive oil at no more than 0.8%. If it’s higher than this (up to 2%) the olive oil must be classified/labelled as virgin olive oil. These parameters are crucial because the level of oleic acidity can impact the taste and quality of the oil. It may also be indicative of olives not being fresh or ripe when originally pressed. Giuseppe Trapani, managing director of OGGLIO UK, sums it up: “I think the EU is going in the right direction. It’s important to eradicate fraud in a business where it’s always ripe, and also to educate the consumer, who very often is scarcely aware of the health benefits and general characteristics of extra virgin olive oil.”
But he remains cautions: “at the same time, the new rules still leave the door open to the machinations of the big producers, who are experts at exploiting loopholes to take advantage of consumers. “For example, I think that continuing to define extra virgin olive oils as those with an acidity of ≤0.80%, is a mistake: it allows a lot of room for manoeuvre,” he explains. “I personally think that ≤0.40% should be more than enough. To give you an example, our extra virgin olive oil is normally ≤0.25% and can be as low as ≤0.17%, depending on the harvest.”
“The new [EU] rules still leave the door open to the machinations of the big producers, who are experts at exploiting loopholes to take advantage of consumers.”
Giuseppe Trapani
The meaning of labelling regulations Trapani is welcoming of the new labelling regulations as he agrees they promote the idea of honest producers being able to explain to consumers exactly what they’re buying. Yet even here, there is a caveat. Labelling regulations continue to allow, for example, the use of terms such as ‘first cold pressing’, which can be confusing, according to Trapani. He argues that traditional techniques are associated with a romantic sense of quality, when in fact modern extraction techniques and machinery yield a much better product. Trapani saves much of his ammunition for the PDO and PGI designations, however. “It’s unfair as obtaining such certifications is very expensive for small producers,” he says. “Also, how can an extra virgin olive oil produced in Sicily be seen by the consumers as just another Italian extra virgin olive oil, like one produced in Tuscany for example?”
67% The European Commission 63
The percentage of the world’s olive oil that is produced in the EU.
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