Learning about extra virgin olive oil > Reading the label

An examination of the label and the documents which accompany the bottle we have just bought will give us the first indications about the honesty of the producer and the presumable quality of the product. One must realize that the law is not particularly prescriptive, and leaves it up to the producers whether or not to indicate the data which would allow the consumer to identify the characteristics of the product.

The first and fundamental criterion in the evaluation of the trustworthiness of a product is “transparency” of information: the more analytical data accompany an oil, where the parameters established by the law on the characteristics of that particular product lot are shown, so much greater are the probabilities that the producer is seriously interested in increasing the consumer’s awareness of the excellent quality of his work.

Another fundamental rule regards containers: dark glass or wrapped glass bottles are preferable; prolonged exposure to an excessive amount of light may have a harmful effect even on a product which was perfect at the point of origin. Producers should try to avoid such things in every possible way and find ways of reducing to a minimum the interval of time between packing and buying.

With regards to labels or the surfaces of containers, the following information is essential and should be clearly visible:

• • the identity of the producer and all the information necessary for getting in touch;

• • the quantity of oil contained in the bottle;

• • the date of packing;

• • the market category of the oil (extra virgin, olive oil etc) in clear letters.

If the product has obtained its typical product certificate, as established by the EEC Regulation n. 2081/92, D.O.P. (Designation of Protected Origin) or I.G.P. (Protected Geographical Indication), the following information will be present:

Denominazione di Origine Protetta (Designation of Protected Origin) or I.G.P. (Protected Geographical Indication), with the indication, for D.O.P., of a region, a specific place or, in exceptional cases, a village which designates the product which comes from that area, the quality of which is due essentially to the geographic environment, to natural and human factors, the production, transformation and elaboration of which take place in the delimited geographic area, and for I.G.P. (Protected Geographical Indication), of a region, a specific place or, in exceptional cases, a village which designates the product which comes from that area, a particular quality of which, the reputation or another characteristic may be attributable to the geographic origin and the production and/or transformation and/or elaboration of which take place in the specific geographic area.

Less useful are the analyses of the nutritional value of the product, as any data, for example the lipidic content, are the same for all oils. There are many different wordings on labels; the following are some examples:

• • First pressing: this is supposed to mean more than it actually says: from this we learn that it is a “virgin” oil, but it is always possible that the result of a first pressing is an oil that does not have the characteristics of an extra virgin;

• • Dietetic oil: this is not, as one might think, an oil that “does not make you put on weight”, but an oil which has had vitamins and other essential components added, which however are already present in, and a fundamental characteristic of, native oils;

• • Light: low fat, a denomination which is very fashionable for products with no intense colour and which seem to be low in density; the calorific- energetic content is however identical for all oils (including seed oils) and the assumption by which a darker colour corresponds to an oil which is heavier and therefore less digestible, is absolutely false;

• • Cold pressed: good working rules declare that during all the phases of elaboration the temperatures should be kept as low as possible, keeping in mind that an absolutely cold process is impossible – the mechanic process of crushing creates heat - ; the addition of boiling water may alter the components of flavour of the product, but it is extremely difficult to distinguish with absolute certainty an oil that has been so treated;

• • Must: Oily must is an emulsion of oil with nebulized water and mucilage in suspension; also in this case the term is excessively vague, since it is possible that a must oil does not meet the requirements of law.

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