The U.S. Department of Agriculture last week issued new standards that will govern the different grades of olive oil sold in this country, including extra virgin. The new standards, which run nearly 20 pages, were 5-1/2 years in the making. They replace outdated ones adopted back in 1948.

The USDA said the standards will “provide consumers more assurance of the quality of olive oil that they purchase.”

The California Olive Oil Council, the trade group which had sought the overhaul, called it “an historic achievement for consumers, retailers and the entire California olive oil industry.”

We certainly hope so.

The new U.S. standards for EVOO take effect Oct. 24. They’ll match the international standard set by the International Olive Council (IOC).  There’s been no such EVOO standard here up to now.

That has meant olive oil producers overseas could unload “extra virgin olive oil” in this country that in fact did not meet IOC standards. This was particularly the case with certain “supermarket” oils.

A wonderful article in The New Yorker recounted how U.S. marshals in 2006 seized 61,000 liters (16,000 gallons) of what was purportedly EVOO and 26,000 liters (6,900 gallons) of a lower-grade olive oil from a New Jersey warehouse.

Some of the oil, in fact, “consisted almost entirely of soybean oil,” according to the article.

“My experience over a period of some fifty years suggests that we can always expect adulteration and mislabeling of olive-oil products in the absence of surveillance by official sources,” David Firestone, a U.S. Food and Drug administration chemist who was the agency’s olive-oil specialist from the mid-sixties to 1999, told The New Yorker.

Let’s hope the new standards change that situation.

Bon appétit,

Claude S. Weiller
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
California Olive Ranch

To learn more, head to the newest issue of our eNewsletter, In Season. It’s hot off the presses and chock full of information about tomatoes – the average American eats about 80 pounds a year – as well as recipes combining tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil from award-winning chef Cindy Pawlcyn. She put California’s Napa Valley on the culinary map for pioneering the farm-to-table philosophy that showcases seasonally fresh cuisine.

In Season is published monthly and features one of our chef customers. We also talk about a California crop harvested in the month that the issue is mailed. This month it’s tomatoes. In May we featured artichokes.

I plan to feature recipes combining tomatoes and extra virgin olive oil here in the coming days and weeks. A simple favorite of mine: slices of fresh tomato, chopped basil, freshly ground pepper, all topped with some extra virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

What’s your favorite way to enjoy tomatoes?

Bon appétit,

Claude S. Weiller
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
California Olive Ranch

Here’s a primer.

– Extra virgin olive oil: Top grade … and the most expensive. True extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) can’t have any flavor “defects” – moldy olives, for example, can make the oil musty. The oil must taste fruity and meet rigid standards set by the International Olive Oil Council. California is the only state that has legally adopted the international standards for any olive oil sold in the state. As a result, not all extra virgin olive oil sold in the United States is indeed the real thing. Even certain oils imported from some of the biggest olive growing countries don’t have to adhere to international standards.

– Virgin: May contain slight flavor defects and has a higher acidity level than extra virgin oil. The higher acidity level may also affect taste.

– Pure Olive Oil/Olive Oil: Oil has been refined to remove any defects. It’s typically blended with a little extra virgin olive oil to add flavor.

– Light Olive Oil: Basically the same as Pure Olive Oil. It’s made from refined olive oil that’s “light in favor.” Don’t be fooled into thinking this oil contains fewer calories or less fat. It doesn’t.

– First Cold Press: Represents the first pressing of the olives. It’s done with a hydraulic press at a temperature of less than 80.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The “First Cold Press” label doesn’t ensure good quality.

– Pomace Olive Oil: Obtained by mixing solvents into the olive pulp that’s a byproduct of the milling process. Heat is then used to extract additional oil from the pulp. Pomace oil has been found to retain traces of the chemical process.

A paper at the University of California, Davis on extra virgin olive oil offers useful information, as does a recent article in the Sacramento Bee.

Bon appétit,

Claude S. Weiller
Vice President of Sales & Marketing
California Olive Ranch