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HOW OLIVE OIL IS CLASSIFIED

By PINA BOCCIA, Food Technologist


 

It delays cellular aging, favours digestion and the absorption of minerals, helps prevent tumours and cardiovascular diseases and regulates the amount of cholesterol in the bloodstream. These are only a few of the valuable properties of olive oil, a pillar of the Mediterranean diet.

The term "Olive oil" includes all the oils obtained by processing olives, yet it is important to distinguish between the different categories and to understand the differences in quality. In fact, only extra virgin olive oil possesses such special characteristics, thanks to the natural balance of its fatty acids and its unique composition rich in antioxidants and vitamin E.

European Law has defined olive oils on the basis of analytical-sensory parameters, describing the methodology for evaluating those parameters, and has classified them as follows.

 

virgin olive oils

They are obtained from pressing only olives that have undergone no other treatments except for washing, decanting, centrifugation and filtering. Therefore, oils obtained using solvents, chemical or biochemical additives and/or blends made with oils of other origin do not belong to this category.

Virgin olive oils are divided into the following categories:

  • - extra virgin olive oil has no sensory defects; its acidity is 0.8% maximum and it complies with the parameters established for this category (table 1);
  • - virgin olive oil has minor sensory defects; its acidity ranges between 0.8 and 2% and it complies with the parameters established for this category (table 1);
  • - lampante virgin olive oil is not suited for consumption; its acidity is higher than 2% and it complies with the other parameters established for this category (table 1).

refined olive oil

Oil obtained by correcting analytical and sensory defects of lampante oil. Its acidity content must not exceed 0.3% (table 1).


olive oil

Obtained by blending refined olive oil with virgin or extra virgin olive oil; its acidity must not exceed 1% (table 1).

 

unrefined pomace oil

Oil obtained by extraction using solvents, sometimes by means of physical processes, from the residues leftover after processing olives for virgin oils. Its characteristics are specified in table 1.

 

refined pomace oil

Refined pomace oil can be obtained by correcting unrefined pomace oil; its acidity content must not exceed 0.3% and its characteristics are specified in table 1.

 

pomace oil

Oil obtained by blending refined pomace oil with virgin or extra virgin olive oil; its acidity must not exceed 1% and its characteristics are specified in table 1.

 

Table 1 - Olive oil classification according to the main analytical-sensory parameters.

Category

Acidity (%)

Peroxides (meqO2/kg)

Waxes (mg/kg)

Saturated fatty acids in position 2 of the triglyceride (%)

K232

K270

ΔK

Sensory
Analysis (median
defect- Md)

Sensory Analysis
(median defect - Md)

Extra virgin
olive oil

Max 0.8

Max 20

Max 250

Max 1.5

Max 2.50

Max 0.22

Max 0.01

Md = 0

Md > 0

Virgin olive oil

Max 2.0

Max 20

Max 250

Max 1.5

Max 2.60

Max 0.25

Max 0.01

Md <= 3.5

Md > 0

Lampante virgin
olive oil

> 2.0

-

Max 300

Max 1.5

-

-

-

Md > 3.5

-

Refined olive oil

Max 0.3

Max 5

Max 350

Max 1.8

-

Max 1.10

Max 0.16

-

-

Olive oil

Max 1.0

Max 15

Max 350

Max 1.8

-

Max 0.90

Max 0.15

-

-

Unrefined
pomace oil

-

-

Min 350

Max 2.2

-

-

-

-

-

Refined
pomace oil

Max 0.3

Max 5

Min 350

Max 2.2

-

Max 2.00

Max 0.20

-

-

Pomace oil

Max 1.0

Max 15

Min 350

Max 2.2

-

Max 1.70

Max 0.18

-

-