A proposed standard for olive oil has met with some industry opposition.
Extra-virgin olive oil is the highest-quality olive oil you can buy. The International Olive Council (IOC) says that extra-virgin oil must meet specific chemical and taste profiles. But these rules aren’t enforced because there’s no mandatory standard for olive oil sold here. So if you’re paying top-dollar for extra-virgin olive oil, how do you know you’re getting what you’ve paid for?
An Australia New Zealand Standard for olive oils has recently been drafted. We made a submission in support of it because it would mean olive oils labelled as “extra-virgin” would have to meet chemical and taste tests.
The proposed standard is good news for consumers and for our local olive oil industry ... but it hasn’t been well received by some sectors of the food industry. It would mean much of what’s sold in stores would have to be re-labelled. We’d be disappointed to see the standard dropped in the face of strong opposition from retailers – consumers have a right to know what they’re buying.
In the meantime, if you’re looking for the best-quality olive oil, fresh is best! Choose locally pressed olive oil, stored in dark glass bottles (to protect it from the light), with the most recent “pressed-on” date you can find.
More from consumer.org.nz
- Olive oils - our tasting found many weren't worth the "extra-virgin" tag
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Yes I learnt sometime ago that olive oil needs to be stored in dark bottles. I know how difficult the olive growing pressing can be and it's expensive to buy but WE need to support local producers
I used to buy Spanish or Italian oil but now only buy NZ or Australian in dark bottles. Yes it's more expensive but for those reasons above I think it's worth it. I also don't keep the bottles hanging around for long but try to use everyday.
Why are not all olive oils sold in dark bottles or tins...