Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the highest-quality grade of olive oil.
For an olive oil to qualify as extra virgin, it must meet two requirements: a chemical requirement, represented by its acidity, and a sensory evaluation of its taste and aroma, carried out by trained tasting panels.
Many people wonder why a tasting panel is required to classify an extra virgin olive oil. In fact, all virgin olive oils must be evaluated by a tasting panel because, like fruit juice, much of their quality is found in their aroma and flavor. Today, no laboratory instrument can evaluate these characteristics as accurately as the human nose and palate.
Requirements for an olive oil to qualify as extra virgin
1.- The acidity must be 0.8º or less.
2.- In a tasting panel, the median of the defects must be zero, and the median fruitiness must be greater than zero.
In addition to these two requirements, the legislation includes several other analytical parameters designed primarily to detect fraud or blends with other oils, rather than to classify virgin olive oils.
What does it mean when the median of the defects is zero?
The olive oil is evaluated by a tasting panel made up of several experienced tasters, usually between seven and twelve. Using several tasters helps increase the objectivity and reliability of the final result.
Let's suppose the panel consists of nine tasters. Each taster gives a score for the most intense defect detected in the olive oil. If no defect is detected, the score is zero. Once all the evaluations have been completed, the scores are arranged from lowest to highest, as shown below:
| Taster | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Score for the most intense defect | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 1,2 | 1,4 | 1,8 | 1,9 |
The median is the score given by the fifth taster because it is the middle value once all the scores have been arranged from lowest to highest. In this example, the score is 0.0, so the median of the defects is zero.
If the panel has an even number of tasters, the median is calculated by averaging the two middle scores.
Now let's suppose the same tasters evaluate the fruitiness of the olive oil. Once again, the scores are arranged from lowest to highest:
| Taster | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fruitiness score | 0,0 | 0,0 | 0,0 | 1,0 | 1,5 | 2,5 | 3,3 | 3,6 | 4,0 |
The middle score is 1.5, which means the median fruitiness is greater than zero. Therefore, according to the tasting panel criteria, this olive oil qualifies as extra virgin.
Simply put, a median of the defects of zero means that most of the tasters did not detect any defects in the olive oil, while a median fruitiness greater than zero means that most of them detected a fruity character. An olive oil must meet both of these requirements to qualify as extra virgin.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Labeling
The information that a bottler includes on the label of an extra virgin olive oil can be divided into three categories. First, there is the mandatory information required by law. Second, there is optional information regulated by legislation, which may only be included if the olive oil meets certain additional requirements. Finally, there is additional information that is not specifically regulated but may be provided by the producer.
Mandatory information:
- Category and product description. The category is "Extra Virgin Olive Oil", while the legal description is: "Superior category olive oil obtained directly from olives and solely by mechanical means."
- Best-by date. Olive oil does not have an expiration date, so producers indicate a best-by date, usually between 18 months and two years after bottling. This is important because many consumers mistakenly believe that the best-by date is calculated from the olive harvest date, when it is actually based on the bottling date.
- Origin of the olive oil. The label must indicate the country where the olives used to produce the oil were harvested.
- Name and registered details of the bottler.
- Net quantity and lot number.
Optional information:
- "First cold pressing". A producer may use this description only if the virgin olive oil has been obtained at a temperature below 27°C through a first mechanical pressing of the olive paste using a traditional extraction system with hydraulic presses.
- "Cold extraction". This term may be used only if the virgin olive oil has been obtained at a temperature below 27°C through centrifugation or percolation of the olive paste. Nowadays, almost all modern olive mills use this extraction system.
- Acidity or maximum acidity. The producer may indicate the olive oil’s acidity only if it is accompanied by the values for peroxide value, wax content, and ultraviolet absorption (K232, K270, and ΔK), measured at the same time.
- Organoleptic characteristics. Sensory descriptions such as fruity, bitter, or pungent may only appear on the label if they are based on the results of an official sensory assessment carried out according to the methods established by European legislation. In practice, this means they must be supported by the results of an official tasting panel.
Additional information:
Producers are free to include any additional information they consider useful or relevant, provided that it is accurate and does not mislead consumers. At Las Valdesas, we have chosen to include the following information:
- Harvest year. We indicate the harvest season in which the olives were picked. Since the olive harvest normally begins in October and may continue until January or February, we show both years (for example, 2024/2025). We believe this is useful information because olive oil gradually loses some of its aromas and nutritional properties over time.
- Olive variety. At Las Valdesas, we produce 100% single-variety extra virgin olive oils, so the label clearly states the olive variety from which each oil is made. In the example shown, the variety is Hojiblanca.
- Estate-grown olives. We indicate that the olive oil has been produced exclusively from olives grown on our own estates. This allows us to control every stage of the process, from cultivation and harvesting to milling and bottling.
Other producers may choose to highlight different characteristics that they consider important, such as mountain-grown olives, olive groves with centuries-old trees, rain-fed cultivation, or other distinctive features of their oils.
Likewise, producers may decide not to mention certain characteristics even if they apply. For example, Las Valdesas bottles its olive oils unfiltered. We could have included this information on the label and even warned consumers about the possible presence of natural sediment, but we simply did not have enough space on the label to do so.
Sources:
Requirements for Extra Virgin Olive Oil:
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 1348/2013 of December 16, 2013, amending Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91.
Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91 of July 11, 1991, on the characteristics of olive oils and olive-pomace oils and on the relevant methods of analysis.
"Trade Standard Applying to Olive Oils and Olive-Pomace Oils", International Olive Council (IOC Document COI/T.15/NC No 3/Rev.7, May 2013).
Note: These documents are highly technical. In addition to defining the classification of olive oils, they also specify the analytical methods to be used and provide the statistical definition of the median used in sensory assessment. It should also be noted that the IOC standard includes the category "ordinary virgin olive oil", whereas under current European legislation this category is classified as lampante olive oil.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Labeling:
Commission Regulation (EC) No 1019/2002 of June 13, 2002, on marketing standards for olive oil.
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of October 25, 2011, on the provision of food information to consumers.
Note: The latter Regulation introduced the requirement to include nutritional information on food labels. This requirement became mandatory on December 13, 2014.