Draft standard considered by the Codex Alimentarius Commission
in first reading and now referred to Governments for detailed comments
DESIGNATION AND DEFINITIONS OF OLIVE OIL FOR INTERNATIONAL TRADE
Text taken from the International Olive Oil Agreement as approved by
the United Nations Conference on Olive Oil, April 1963
I. Extracts from the text of the Convention
CHAPTER V
DESIGNATIONS AND DEFINITIONS OF OLIVE OIL
APPELLATIONS OF ORIGIN AND INDICATIONS OF SOURCE IN INTERNATIONAL TRADE
ARTICLE 8
1. The designation “Olive oil” shall be restricted to the oil obtained exclusively from olives, without any admixture of oil derived from any other oil-bearing fruits or seeds, or any oil obtained from animal fats.
2. The Participating Governments shall undertake to suppress within their territories within two years after they become Parties to this Agreement any use of the designation “olive oil”, alone or in combination with other words, which is not in conformity with this Article.
3. The designation “Olive oil” used alone will in no case be applied to residue oils.
ARTICLE 9
1. For international trade purposes, the designations of olive oils of different qualities are given in Annex A to this Agreement, which specifies for each designation the corresponding characteristics.
2. The use of such designations shall be compulsory for each quality of olive oil and they shall appear in clearly legible characters on all containers.
ARTICLE 10
[application by governments: omissis]
ARTICLE 11
1. Appellations of origin or indications of source, when given, may only be applied to virgin olive oils produced exclusively in the country, region or locality mentioned or coming exclusively therefrom.
2. Blended olive oil, whatever its origin, may only bear the indication of source of the exporting country. Nevertheless, when the oil has been prepared and exported by the country supplying the virgin olive oils used in the blend, it may be identified by the appellation of origin of the virgin olive oil used in the said blend. Where use is made of the generic designation “Riviera”, well known in the international trade as a blend of virgin and refined olive oil, this designation must in every case be followed by the word “type”. The word “type” must appear on all containers in printed characters of the same size and manner of presentation as the word “Riviera”.
ARTICLE 12
[disputes procedures: omissis]
II. Annexe A to the Convention
Virgin olive oils (Note: The expression “Pure virgin olive oil” may also be used): Olive oils produced by mechanical processes and free from any admixture of other types of oils or oils extracted in a different manner, classified as follows:
Extra: Olive oil of absolutely perfect flavour, having a maximum acidity - i.e., oleio acid content - of 1 gramme per 100 grammes.
Fine: Olive oil with the same characteristics as extra, except that its maximum acidity - i.e., oleio acid content - is 1.5 grammes per 100 grammes.
Ordinary: (Note: the expression “semi-fine” may also be used as the equivalent of or instead of “ordinary”): Olive oil of good flavour having a maximum acidity - i.e., oleic acid content - of 3 grammes per 100 grammes, with a margin of tolerance of 10 per cent with respect to the indicated acidity.
Lampante (lamp oil): Off-flavour olive oil or olive oil having an acid content in terms of oleic acid superior to 3.3. grammes per 100 grammes.
Refined olive oils (Note: The expression “pure refined olive oil” may also be used): Obtained by refining virgin olive oil.
Pure olive oils: Consisting of a blend of virgin olive oil and refined olive oil. Mixed oils may also be classified as types, the characteristics of which are determined by mutual agreement between buyers and sellers.
Residue olive oils: Oils obtained by treating olive residues with solvents.
Refined residue olive oils: Oils obtained by refining the oils mentioned in paragraph 4 and intended for food use.
(Note: Blends of refined residue olive oil and virgin olive oil habitually destined for domestic consumption in certain producing countries are called “refined residue oil and olive oil”. These blends shall not, under any circumstances, be termed simply “olive oil”.)
Residue olive oils for technical use: All other oils from olive residues.
