Retail grades in IOC member nations

Italian label for “extra vergine” oil

In countries that adhere to the standards of the IOC^[25] the labels in stores show an oil’s grade.

• Extra-virgin olive oil comes from virgin oil production only, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste. Extra Virgin olive oil accounts for less than 10% of oil in many producing countries; the percentage is far higher in the Mediterranean countries (Greece: 80%, Italy: 45%, Spain 30%). It is used on salads, added at the table to soups and stews and for dipping.
• Virgin olive oil comes from virgin oil production only, has an acidity less than 1.5%, and is judged to have a good taste.
• Pure olive oil. Oils labeled as Pure olive oil or Olive oil are usually a blend of refined and virgin production oil.
• Olive oil is a blend of virgin and refined production oil, of no more than 2% acidity. It commonly lacks a strong flavor.
• Olive pomace oil is refined pomace olive oil often blended with some virgin oil. It is fit for consumption, but may not be described simply as olive oil. It has a more neutral flavor than pure or virgin olive oil, making it unfashionable among connoisseurs; however, it has the same fat composition as regular olive oil, giving it the same health benefits. It also has a high smoke point, and thus is widely used in restaurants as well as home cooking in some countries.
• Lampante oil is olive oil not suitable as food; lampante comes from olive oil’s long-standing use in oil-burning lamps. Lampante oil is mostly used in the industrial market.
• Refined olive oil is the olive oil obtained from virgin olive oils by refining methods that do not lead to alterations in the initial glyceridic structure. It has a free acidity, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.3 grams per 100 grams (0.3%) and its other characteristics correspond to those fixed for this category in this standard. This is obtained by refining virgin olive oils with a high acidity level and/or organoleptic defects that are eliminated after refining. Note that no solvents have been used to extract the oil, but it has been refined with the use of charcoal and other chemical and physical filters.

Retail grades in the United States from the USDA

As the United States is not a member, the IOC retail grades have no legal meaning in that country; terms such as “extra virgin” may be used without legal restrictions but as of October 25, 2010, the U.S. Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil went into effect.^[26] The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) currently has a four-part grading of olive oil based on acidity, absence of defects, odor and flavor:^[26]

• U.S. Extra Virgin Olive Oil for oil with excellent flavor and odor and free fatty acid content of not more than 0.8g per 100g (0.8%);
• U.S. Virgin Olive Oil for oil with reasonably good flavor and odor and free fatty acid content of not more than 2g per 100g (2%);
• U.S. Virgin Olive Oil Not Fit For Human Consumption Without Further Processing is a virgin oil of poor flavor and odor;
• U.S. Olive Oil is an oil mix of both virgin and refined oils;
• U.S. Refined Olive Oil is an oil made from refined oils with some restrictions on the processing;

These grades are voluntary. Certification is available from the USDA on a fee-for-service basis.^[26]

Previous USDA ratings

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) previously listed four grades of olive oil. These grades were established in 1948, and are based on acidity, absence of defects, odor and flavor:^[26]

• U.S. Grade A or U.S. Fancy possesses a free fatty acid content of not more than 1.4% and is “free from defects”;
• U.S. Grade B or U.S. Choice possesses a free fatty acid content of not more than 2.5% and is “reasonably free from defects”;
• U.S. Grade C or U.S. Standard possesses a free fatty acid content of not more than 3.0% and is “fairly free from defects”;
• U.S. Grade D or U.S. Substandard possesses a free fatty acid content greater than 3.0% and “fails to meet the requirements of U.S. Grade C”.

These grades are entirely voluntary and are available from the USDA on a fee-for-service basis.^[26]

Label wording

• The different names for olive oil indicate the degree of processing the oil has undergone as well as the quality of the oil. Extra-virgin olive oil is the highest grade available, followed by virgin olive oil. The word “virgin” indicates that the olives have been pressed to extract the oil; no heat or chemicals have been used during the extraction process, and the oil is pure and unrefined. Virgin olive oils contain the highest levels of polyphenols, antioxidants that have been linked with better health.^[27]
• “Made from refined olive oils” means that the taste and composition are chemically controlled, usually to improve lower quality oils.^{[citation needed]} In Australia, Pure, Light and Extra-Light are terms introduced by manufacturers for refined oils to avoid labeling them as such. Standards Australia‘s code of practice for olive oil now recognises these words as meaning refined oil. Contrary to a common consumer belief, they do not have less calories than Extra-virgin oil as implied by the names.^[28]
• Cold pressed or Cold extraction means “that the oil was not heated over a certain temperature (usually 80 °F (27 °C)) during processing, thus retaining more nutrients and undergoing less degradation.”^[29]
• First cold pressed means “that the fruit of the olive was crushed exactly one time-i.e., the first press. The cold refers to the temperature range of the fruit at the time it is crushed.”^[30] In Calabria (Italy) the olives are collected in October. In regions like Tuscany or Liguria, the olives collected in November and ground often at night are too cold to be processed efficiently without heating. The paste is regularly heated above the environmental temperatures, which may be as low as 10-15 °C, to extract the oil efficiently with only physical means. Olives pressed in warm regions like Southern Italy or Northern Africa may be pressed at significantly higher temperatures although not heated. While it is important that the pressing temperatures be as low as possible (generally below 25 °C) there is no international reliable definition of “cold pressed”.
  Furthermore, there is no “second” press of virgin oil, so the term “first press” means only that the oil was produced in a press vs. other possible methods.
• PDO and PGI refers to olive oils with “exceptional properties and quality derived from their place of origin as well as from the way of their production”.^[31]
• The label may indicate that the oil was bottled or packed in a stated country. This does not necessarily mean that the oil was produced there. The origin of the oil may sometimes be marked elsewhere on the label; it may be a mixture of oils from more than one country.^[23]
• The U.S. Food and Drug Administration permitted a claim on olive oil labels stating: “Limited and not conclusive scientific evidence suggests that eating about two tablespoons (23g) of olive oil daily may reduce the risk of coronary heart disease.”^[32]