What is virgin olive oil?
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Many people may have heard that extra virgin refers to the highest grade of olive oil. Yet they might save a few cents or at most a dollar or two to buy a much lower grade.
It only shows they do not fully appreciate what is virgin olive oil or extra virgin olive oil and WHY it is important to use only these grade, especially when it is for home use and the price difference between extra virgin, virgin and other grades is relatively small.
At the same time, we should note that there is widespread olive oil fraud - because extra virgin olive oil is a big, multi-billion dollar business.
So just because you see the words "extra virgin" on an olive oil bottle, it may not mean that the oil is, indeed, of extra virgin quality.
So exactly what is virgin olive oil? And what does extra virgin mean?
Not just cold-pressed
To fully appreciate what is virgin olive oil, we should firstly understand that it is a grade - extra virgin being the highest grade - of olive oil defined by the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC). This is an international governing body for the olive oil industry with 23 member countries accounting for about 85 percent of total world olive oil production.
Extra virgin olive oils meet the highest standards of the IOOC and it has to meet a number of quality standards:
- The oil must have been naturally extracted only by pressing or centrifuge (spinning). On olive oil labels, it is usually described as being "extracted purely by mechanical means". The olives should not have been heated before pressing - although in cold climates, slight warming is allowed. Also, no chemical solvents are allowed to be used in the extraction process.
- Extra virgin olive oil must also not have been processed or refined after extraction. This is an important consideration because processing and refining denatures the oil and removes some of its health benefits. Moreover, while chemicals may not be used during extration, they are used during subsequent processing and refining. You need to read the words on the label carefully.
- Another important specification that defines what is virgin olive oil is the acidity level. This refers to the level of "free fatty acids", which are oils that have turned rancid and harmful. By IOOC standards, extra virgin olive oil must not exceed 0.8 percent acidity. It is worth noting, however, that some of the truly best olive oils have even lower acidity levels, at 0.2 percent or even close to 0.0 percent.
- Apart from chemical specifications, extra virgin oilve oils may also need to pass taste tests, in which panels of experts judge the oils by their taste. This is because adulteration of olive oils cannot always be detected by chemical analysis, while the tastebuds of experts have proven to be highly accurate and consistent. The IOOC sets a total of 16 "taste flaws" and if an olive oil has just one of these flaws, it cannot be labeled "extra virgin".
Virgin olive oils is the second highest grade set by the IOOC. The main difference between virgin and extra virgin is that virgin olive oil can have a higher level of acidity, of up to 2 percent.
Click here to learn more about the IOOC and what is virgin olive oil versus other grades. And click here for learn about the qualities to look for in premium olive oils
Olive oil fraud
The IOOC grading system is certainly helpful, for it states very specifically what is virgin olive oil and what is extra virgin. Unfortunately, not all countries and oil companies are members of the IOOC.
There has also been instances of lax regulation as well as fraud, involving higher grade olive oils being adulterated with low grade oils such as pomace or lampaste oil that are considered unsuitable for human consumption.
Olive oil fraud has also involved hazelnut oil and other vegetable oils being passed off as olive oils, sometimes with the addition of chlorophyll to give the oil a green, "olive oil" colour. In a 1981 incident in Spain, about 700 people died from cosuming "olive oil" that was, in fact, rapeseed oil adulterated with aniline, a toxic oil used as an industrial lubricant.
According to Slippery Business, an article by investigative journalist Tom Mueller, (New Yorker, August 13, 2007), only about 40 percent of "extra virgin" olive oils sold in Italy meet the IOOC specifications that define extra virgin olive oil.
Buying from big and well-established brands is no guarantee. Some of the past fraud cases involved really big names in the olive oil business, although the companies claimed that they were cheated by suppliers and it could not be proven that they were complicit in the fraud.
A better bet would be to buy from specialist retailers who know their products well. You may have to pay higher prices. Don't expect the best extra virgin olive oils to come cheap. At the same time, there is no real need to use the best oils for daily cooking. Use them for special purposes.
For regular daily use, any mid-price, reasonable quality extra virgin olive oil will do. As long as you understand what is virgin olive oil or extra virgin olive oil, and get the real thing.
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