MCCAA Logo
  • MCCAA
  • Blata l-Bajda
  • +356 2395 2000
  • +356 8007 4400
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About the MCCAA
    • Quality Policy
  • Entities
    • Office for Competition
    • Office for Consumer Affairs
    • Technical Regulations Division
    • Standards and Metrology Institute
  • Communication
    • News
    • Events
    • Publications
    • Consultation
    • Procurement
  • Vacancies
  • Tribunal
  • ECC
CONTACT US
MCCAA
  • Home
  • About Us
    • About the MCCAA
    • Quality Policy
  • Entities
    • Office for Competition
    • Office for Consumer Affairs
    • Technical Regulations Division
    • Standards and Metrology Institute
  • Communication
    • News
    • Events
    • Publications
    • Consultation
    • Procurement
  • Vacancies
  • Tribunal
  • ECC
Last updated on 09 Sep, 2020

Olive Oil

 

Olive Oil Marketing Standards

A process to optimise fair competition by ensuring a level playing field between operators in the olive oil sector.

 

EU Legislation

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 29/2012 (OJ L 12, p14, 14/01/2011) of 13 January 2012 on marketing standards for olive oil

Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91 of 11 July 1991 on the characteristics of olive oil and olive-residue oil and on the relevant methods of analysis

 

Olive oil composition and characteristics

The chemical and sensory characteristics of olive oil products must meet the requirements (for their description) in Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91 as amended.

 

Olive oil labelling, designation of origin, packaging and sealing

Regulation (EU) No 29/2012 requires that the labelling of olive oils and olive-pomace oils must bear, in clear and indelible lettering, in addition to the sales description, but not necessarily close to it, the following information on the category of oil:

(a) extra virgin olive oil: ‘superior category olive oil obtained directly from olives and solely by mechanical means’;

(b) virgin olive oil: ‘olive oil obtained directly from olives and solely by mechanical means’;

(c) olive oil composed of refined olive oils and virgin olive oils: ‘oil comprising exclusively olive oils that have undergone refining and oils obtained directly from olives’;

(d) olive-pomace oil: ‘oil comprising exclusively oils obtained by treating the product obtained after the extraction of olive oil and oils obtained directly from olives,’ or ‘oil comprising exclusively oils obtained by processing olive pomace oil and oils obtained directly from olives’.

 

Labelling

Olive oil labels must match the product and must meet the requirements of the regulations.

Regulation 29/2012 states what information must be on the label, as well as what optional information can be included.

  • Article 3 states what information must be on the label for certain categories of olive oil.
  • Article 4 states that labels for ‘extra virgin olive oil’ and ‘virgin olive oil’ must show a ‘designation of origin’ while labels for ‘olive oil composed of refined olive oils and virgin olive oils’ or ‘olive-pomace oil’ mustn’t show a ‘designation of origin’.
  • Article 4a states that the label must show any special conditions for how the oil should be preserved, for example, that they must be stored away from light and heat.
  • Article 4b states that certain mandatory wording must be grouped together where it can be seen clearly and clarifies that it must also be the same text and size.
  • Article 5 explains what one must do if optional information on a label is to be included.

 

Designation of origin

Designation of origin means reference to a geographical area on the packaging or the label attached to the packaging.

Designation of origin should be restricted to extra virgin olive oil and virgin olive oil only. Olive oil composed of refined olive oils and virgin olive oils, as well as olive-pomace oil must not bear any designation of origin on the labelling.

Designations of origin referred to above must only consist of:

(a) in the case of olive oils originating from one Member State or third country, a reference to the Member State, to the European Community or to the third country, as appropriate; or,

(b) in the case of blends of olive oils originating from more than one Member State or third country, one of the following mentions, as appropriate:

  1. ‘blend of Community olive oils’ or a reference to the Community;
  2. ‘blend of non-Community olive oils’ or a reference to non- Community origin;
  • ‘blend of Community and non-Community olive oils’ or a reference to Community and non-Community origin; or

(c) a protected designation of origin or a protected geographical indication referred to in Regulation (EU) No 1151/2012, in accordance with the provisions of the product specification concerned.

If the olives have been harvested in a Member State or third country other than that in which the mill where the oil was extracted from the olives is situated, the designation of origin must contain the following wording: ‘(extra) virgin olive oil obtained in (the Community or the name of the Member State concerned) from olives harvested in (the Community or the name of the Member State or country concerned)’.

 

Packaging and sealing

Under Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 29/2012, Article 2, olive oil must be sold in a sealed bottle or container that can’t be re-sealed after the first time it’s opened.

 

Labelling of blends and foodstuff

Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 29/2012, Article 6 further states what information can appear on the labels of blends (olive oil and other vegetable oils) and foodstuff with a presence of olive oil.

 

Conformity Checks

Conformity checks are carried out in order to confirm that products comply with Commission Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91 with respect to quality criteria related to the specific oil mentioned in the sales description, as well as labelling according to Regulation 29/2012.

 

Contact Us

Need further information or assistance?

Feel free to send us an email - rad@mccaa.org.mt and marketsurveillance@mccaa.org.mt or give us a call at +356 23952000.

 

 

 

 

 

Recent News

Office for Competition | Decision
27 Jan, 2023
Updates | 23.01.23 - 29.01.23
27 Jan, 2023
F-Gases | Dates for 2024 quota declaration
23 Jan, 2023
Updates | 16.01.23 till 22.01.23
20 Jan, 2023
Office for Competition | Decision
19 Jan, 2023

Visit us

Mizzi House, National Road, BLATA L-BAJDA, Malta
Opening Hours: Monday to Friday between 8.00am and 12.00pm

Bank Details

Bank name:
Bank of Valletta
IBAN Number:
MT14VALL22013000000040019986609
Swift code:
VALLMTMT

Contact Us

Full Name *
Subject *
Case Type *
Email *
Your Message *
  I consent to having MCCAA store my submitted information so they can respond to my enquiry. For more information about how we process your personal data, please see our privacy policy.
© 2018 MALTA COMPETITION AND CONSUMER AFFAIRS AUTHORITY. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
WEB DESIGN: BRANDEXPODESIGN
Terms of use | Privacy Policy | Cookie Policy | Freedom of Information | Accessibility Statement | Data Protection Policy
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn

Subscribe to our Newsletter

We shall process your personal data in accordingly with our Data Protection Policy. You have the right to unsubscribe from our list by clicking here, following which your email address will be permanently deleted from our database.