Olive oil
composition
Extra virgin olive oil is the highest quality of olive oil. What makes it valuable, compared to other vegetable oils, is its unparalleled taste combined with its high nutritional value.
The most striking of all, however, is that the aromatic notes and its remarkable bioactive properties come from 1-2% of its composition.
Olive oil
quality criteria
The quality criteria for the right categorization of an olive oil derive from the chemical analysis and the organoleptic evaluation (smell and taste assessment) which determine and ensure its quality.
The International Olive Council (IOC) and Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91, regarding the characteristics of olive oil, clearly determines criteria for categorizing each oil.
Olive oil
organoleptic characteristics
The organoleptic characteristics of an olive oil are divided into two categories as they derive from the general basic vocabulary of the IOC (IOC/T.20/Doc. No.15) and are incorporated in the European Economic Community (EEC) Regulation No.2568/91 and its amendments (Annex XII 1991/2568/2016 p.71).
Olive oil
categories
Annex VII (Part VIII) of Regulation (EC) No 1308/2013, expressly provides descriptions and definitions of olive oils and olive-pomace oils, while the same regulation provides the marketing standards for the four edible categories of olive oil sold within the countries of the European Union.