Olive Oil Labeling Requirements
In the list of ingredients, it is necessary to list all the additional ingredients in addition to olive oil, such as flavors such as herbs. Nutrition labelling is also required, unless the company manufacturing the product generates less than $500,000 in gross sales. This requirement is also exempt if the company employs fewer than 100 full-time employees and has sold fewer than 100,000 units in the U.S. in the past 12 months. This exemption must be requested and approved by the FDA. Another fraudulent labelling practice concerns information on the origin of olives used to produce EVOO. As we hope mentioned in a previous blog, it is so important to press the olives within 24 hours of harvest to produce the best EVOO. If you read the label of your EVOO of your choice and see that the oil was made from olives from many different countries, you can assume that your EVOO is of inferior quality. NAOOA`s changes to country of origin labels require members to provide details of where the olives used to make the oil were grown and must be placed “immediately alongside” the statements “imported by” or “packaged or bottled.” “While there is significant evidence to support consumer confidence in olive oil, including research conducted by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) testing 88 products labeled extra virgin and finding no confirmed adulteration in any of the samples, there is still a lot of misinformation and even fake news.” Profaci said in a press release. American olive oil is the oil that consists of a blend of refined olive oil and virgin olive oils that can be consumed without further processing. It has a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, not exceeding 1.0 grams per 100 grams, has an acceptable smell and taste characteristic of “virgin olive oil” and meets the additional requirements of § 52.1539. Olive oil that falls into this classification is not classified above “American olive oil” (this is a limiting rule).
The maximum permitted level of total alpha-tocopherol in the final product is 200 mg/kg. In its first lawsuit against an olive oil company in 2013, the trade group sued producers of the Capatriti oil brand. The lawsuit alleged that The Gourmet Factory falsely sold oil chemically extracted from the remains of olive peel and stones as “100% pure olive oil.” The Gourmet Factory later joined the USDA`s little-known quality monitoring program, according to a 2016 press release. As Europe prepares to introduce a mandatory food labelling system over the next six months, the Nutri-Score remains the favourite. As you can see, free acidity is an important analytical value used to evaluate the “quality” of extra virgin olive oil. Although this acid number is rarely printed on labels, simply ask the supplier for its analytical value if you are considering an EVOO supplier for your health and enjoyment. If they are reputable, they will be happy to share it with you. For example, you can see below our analysis of our award-winning IL DIVINO 2019 extra virgin olive oil with a free fatty acid content of 0.13 grams per 100 grams (an exceptional value): If the label states that the product is extra virgin olive oil, this quality declaration must be certified.
This also applies if the label states that the product is organic, in which case it must also be certified organic according to U.S. regulations. U.S. virgin olive oil, which is not fit for human consumption without further processing, is sometimes referred to as “U.S. `Lampante virgin olive oil` means virgin olive oil having a bad taste and smell (median defects between 2,5 and 6,0 or if the median defect is less than or equal to 2,5 and the median of the fruit is zero), a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, greater than 2.0 grams per 100 grams and meeting the additional requirements of § 52.1539, if applicable. olive oil, which falls into this classification, is not classified above as “U.S. virgin olive oil that is not fit for human consumption without further processing” (this is an exhaustive rule). It is intended for refining or for purposes other than use in food. The new two-year expiry labels will formally codify a recommendation that olive oil is preferable before two to three years after the harvest date and when stored in good conditions. U. Refined olive oil is olive oil obtained from virgin olive oils by refining methods that do not result in changes in the original glyceride structure (glycerol-basic fatty acid structure).
It has a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, not exceeding 0.3 grams per 100 grams, is tasteless and odorless, and may meet the additional requirements of § 52.1539. Olive oil that falls into this classification is not classified above “American refined olive oil” (this is a limiting rule). The addition of alpha-tocopherol is allowed to restore the natural tocopherol lost in the refining process. The maximum level is 200 mg/kg total alpha-tocopherol in the final product. There are specific rules for olive oil labeling in Ohio, in addition to the general guidelines mentioned above. For example, the principal display panel (usually the front label) must include the name of the product (extra virgin olive oil) as well as the metric and U.S. quantity. Vital statistics. Most products will also include the brand name here, but it`s not mandatory. To the industry`s credit, government and industry regulations have tightened these requirements in recent years. The U.S. Department of Agriculture now requires that extra virgin olive oil have a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, not exceeding 0.8 grams per 100 grams, and the California Department of Food and Agriculture requires that EVOO has a free acid, expressed as free oleic acid, not exceeding 0.5 grams per 100 grams.
The new standards require all members of the association to apply expiry dates of two years; ensure that all country of origin information is more clearly and concisely indicated on labels; label all products containing less than 100% olive oil; and provide recommendations for storage and use. Profaci pointed to a 2015 FDA study that concluded that “three of 88 samples labeled as EVOO did not meet purity criteria, suggesting possible adulteration with standard oil and/or solvent-extracted olive oil,” though the FDA also kept open the possibility that geographic variations may have led to the results. “Not really a game changer,” Profaci admitted. “However, we felt that these were important steps to build consumer confidence. Given that our members` products account for about 85 percent of branded olive oil sold in the U.S., these changes have the potential to make a real difference for consumers. (b) If the label indicates the presence of olive oil in the mixture other than that indicated in the list of ingredients, the descriptive name shall be followed by an indication of the proportion of olive oil contained in the product in accordance with section 102.5(b)(2). Extra virgin olive oil from the United States is a virgin olive oil with excellent taste and smell (median defects equal to zero and median of fruitiness greater than zero) and a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, not exceeding 0.8 grams per 100 grams and may meet the additional requirements of § 52.1539. NAOOA members are also encouraged to use shorter expiration dates for extra virgin olive oil from certain olive varieties, which do not retain their freshness for so long. The new standards also require members to provide explicit instructions on best practices for storage.
One final labeling issue I find misleading is the company name, which doesn`t really reflect the source of olive oil. An example of this is the California Olive Ranch. Although it is a very popular olive oil company, reading the company`s name suggests that their olives and olive oil come from California. While randomly investigating the cost of their EVOO on Amazon, I came across the following: Crude olive pomace oil in the United States is an olive pomace oil that meets the requirements of Section 52.1539. Olive oil that falls into this classification is not classified above “U.S. Crude Olive-Pomastere Oil” (this is a limiting rule). It is intended for refining for human consumption or for non-food purposes. (a) A descriptive name for the product that meets the requirements of Article 102.5(a), such as “cottonseed oil and olive oil” or other descriptive expression, and Members of the NAOOA Quality Label Program must also provide stricter documentation before labeling their oils as organic.