Quality standards

International Olive Council (IOC) quality standards are used globally to determine whether an oil should be graded. Professor Paul Vossen says to "...In order for an oil to be graded as “extra virgin,” it must pass several laboratory chemical analyses and be evaluated by a sensory panel." 

Based on the International Olive Council standards for  olive oil. These requirements are chemical and sensory analyzes of olive oils should be performed immediately after the olives are harvested and crushed, by a chemical analysis laboratory and sensory laboratory (panel test) certified by the IOC. Both are required for a complete assessment of the quality of olive oil as there is no single test that can definitively determine quality. Really, it is the combination of chemical test results and sensory analysis that gives olive oil the designation of the highest quality grade of olive oil.

Sensory Analysis: This is undertaken by an IOC approved Sensory Panel. The oils are evaluated for the absence of defects and the presence of the required desirable attribute, namely fruitiness. According to IOC standards, an oil must also pass a taste analysis performed by an internationally accredited tasting panel before it can be graded as Extra Virgin. The tasting panel must judge the oil free of all taste defects. A tasting panel consists of between 8-12 judges.

According to IOC: “Olive Oil is the oil obtained solely from the fruit of the olive tree, to the exclusion of the oils obtained using solvents and of any mixture with oils of other kinds”. 

Inside the Olive Oil grade, the IOC includes Virgin Oils, and classifies them as: “Oils obtained from the fruit of the olive tree solely by mechanical or other physical means under conditions, particularly thermal conditions, that do not lead to alteration in the oil, and which have not undergone any treatment other than washing, decantation, centrifugation and filtration”.

For example, “Extra virgin” is a grade of olive oil defined by the International Olive Council (IOC). Its standards require oil to be produced entirely by mechanical means, without the use of solvents, under temperatures that will not degrade the oil (less than 86oF [30oC]). It must have a maximum free-fatty-acid level of less than 0.8% (an indication of the fruit’s condition) and a peroxide value of less than 20 milliequivalent O2 (a measure of oxidation). Most importantly, a trained and IOC-recognized sensory evaluation panel must find it free from defects and possessing some degree of fruitiness. 

The next grade of olive oil is “virgin,” which may have a free-fatty-acid level up to 2% and some slight flavor defects. Common and lampante. The grades “common” and “lampante” (lamp oil) are lower still, for oil possessing more pronounced defects. Lampante oil must be refined before it is usable. (Vossen & Kicenik, 2011)

Sources:

International Olive Council (IOC) Regulation. 2013. COI/T.15/NC No. 3/Rev. 7. Trade standard applying to olive oils and olive-pomace oils. 

International Olive Council (IOC) Regulation. 2015. COI/T.20/Doc. No. 15/Rev. 8. Sensory analysis of olive oil, method for the organoleptic assessment of virgin olive oil. 

Paul M. Vossen and Alexandra Kicenik Devarenne. UC Cooperative Extension sensory analysis panel enhances the quality of California olive oil, Journal University of California Agriculture, 2011. (https://escholarship.org/uc/item/5071k2zr)