The Label Says Extra-Virgin, But Is That Really What You Are Getting?
Classifying Edible Olive Oils
All olive oil is extracted from olives. But several factors determine the quality of the oil, including the soil and climate conditions in which the olives were grown, and the procedures for harvesting and processing the olives into oil. In particular, the ways in which the oil is extracted give rise to a surprising number of internationally recognized product designations: “extra-virgin,” “virgin,” “ordinary virgin,” “refined oil,” “olive oil,” and “olive-pomace oil.”
First, let’s look at the “virgin” olive oils. According to the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), virgin oils are those produced at temperatures that do not change the composition of the oil. The olives undergo nothing more than washing, decantation, centrifugation, and filtration. UNCTAD designates three virgin oils, depending on their acidity (oils of higher acidity deteriorate more quickly):
- “extra-virgin,” not more than 0.8 percent;
- “virgin,” not more than 2.0 percent;
- “ordinary virgin,” not more than 3.3 percent.
Following these in quality come the non-virgin oils: refined olive oil, olive oil, and olive-pomace oil. According to Hormel Foods, one of the big players in the food industry, “‘Refined Oil’ is obtained from refining virgin olive oil that has defects. Among the defects are a natural acidity higher than 3.3%, poor flavor, and an unpleasant odor.” The Olive Oil Source website, which seems to be reasonably authoritative, adds: “Over 50% of the oil produced in the Mediterranean area is of such poor quality that it must be refined to produce an edible product…. [It] has been refined with the use of charcoal and other chemical and physical filters” (my emphasis).
UNCTAD defines oil labeled just “olive oil” as a blend of refined olive oil and virgin olive oils “fit for consumption.” The olive oils you see at the supermarket—the “name” brands—are virtually all either refined or blended oils. The Olive Oil Source website notes, “The cheap refined oil is mixed with a flavorful virgin oil.” This is sometimes sold as extra-virgin oil, although by international standards, it is not.
At the bottom of the edible oil barrel comes “olive-pomace oil,” which is produced by treating the ground flesh and pits of the olives with solvents, such as lye.
What’s in the Bottle?
You can see that most of the olive oil produced in the world must be treated in order to make it fit to eat. That makes it especially important for consumers to be able to identify what they are buying. It’s made even more complicated for American consumers because U.S. standards differ from those of the rest of the world.
U.S. grading standards for olive oil date back to 1948: “fancy,” “choice,” “standard,” and “substandard.” There is no U.S. standard for “extra-virgin.” The discrepancy between international standards and U.S. standards allows room for misleading labeling. For example, some major brands label their oil as Italian, when in fact they blend Italian oil with large quantities of oil from Spain, Turkey, Greece, and elsewhere around the Mediterranean. As stated above, some label their oil as extra-virgin, even though it contains only a small fraction of real extra-virgin oil.
The so-called light olive oils provide a further complication for the American consumer. According to the Olive Oil Source website,
In the U.S., flavorless and often low quality (refined) oil is sold as "lite" or "light" oil for a premium price. The "light" designation refers to flavor, not caloric content, as all olive oil has the same amount of calories. There is no official definition of lite or light.
Caveat Emptor
Where does that leave you when you set out to buy olive oil? What’s the consumer to do? First of all, expect to pay more for real extra-virgin olive oil. “The problem with most of today's olive oil is that it is rarely produced in the old way, which is more time consuming and expensive,” says Raymond Francis in an article in Beyond Health News. Real extra-virgin oil is produced in the old way. So if you are getting the oil cheap, it is simply not extra-virgin, even though the label may say it is.
Start by looking for oil whose label tells you something about the oil, and not just promotional hype. First, its origin: instead of buying something that simply says “produced in Italy” or “Italian olive oil,” try to find a label that tells you more precisely where the oil comes from, preferably from a region recognized for producing high-quality oil. While you may find good oil in many places, some of them are just not known for it. Some of the best olive oil in the world comes, for example, from Italy and Spain. But so does some of the worst.
Look for the date of harvest—important because a true low-acidity oil will not begin to deteriorate for two to three years. Higher-acidity oil will go rancid much more quickly. When you start looking at labels you quickly realize that very few of them give you this important piece of information. Since producers large and small know the importance of the harvest date, you wonder why they don’t tell you.
The olives should have been picked by hand, they should have been kept in airy containers before going to the mill, and they should have gone to the mill within 48 hours. The absence of this information isn’t a bad sign, but if the label does tell you this, take it as a good omen.
Of course, if it is real extra-virgin oil, it was pressed under low temperatures and pressures. There is really no need to say this on the label. But as you know, many labels proudly announce that the oil was “cold pressed.” This is merely a marketing term, and means nothing.
Finally, remember that it is not enough for an oil to have low acidity. Refined oils may have low acidity, so by itself this factor does not indicate a high-quality oil.You need to know, in addition to low acidity, that oil you buy meets the other criteria as well: origin, date and method of harvest, method of pressing.
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