New Australian standard olive oil coming

Standards Australia, in collaboration with the Australian Olive Association, is working with relevant stakeholders including retailers, consumer associations, government bodies and growers to develop the Australian Standard which will provide assurance of quality for consumers and a level playing field for growers.

Members of the newly formed Standards Australia Committee include representatives from the Australian Government Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation, NSW Government Industry & Investment, The Oils & Fats Specialist Group of the New Zealand Institute of Chemistry, Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry, Consumer Federation of Australia, Australian Olive Oil Association, Olives New Zealand and the Australian Olive Association.

They will meet for the first time on 14 July 2010.

Colin Blair, CEO of Standards Australia, said consumers are often being misled into believing they are buying healthy products such as extra virgin olive oil that is natural, fresh and unrefined when they are not.

"Consumers are being deceived, paying for premium grade of olive oil which in many cases is either a lower grade or in some cases not olive oil at all," he said.

"Unscrupulous operators are making profits at the expense of consumers and local producers who are being undercut and struggle to compete."

Recent studies by the NSW Department of Primary Industry found that three out of the six leading imported extra virgin oils carried inaccurate labelling. And a major study by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency found, on average, a quarter of inspected olive oils were adulterated. In addition, a recent CHOICE survey of 28 brands of extra virgin olive oil sold in Australian supermarkets found that half didn’t meet widely accepted international standards.

It is common practice, particularly overseas, for olive oils to be mislabelled, blended with other seed oils such as canola or rape seed oils, or bottled using inferior oil. These products inevitably end up on Australian supermarket shelves.

The new Australian Standard is expected to:

• cover virgin olive oils, refined olive oils, olive-pomace olive oils and their blends imported or produced in Australia
• set guidelines to provide for simpler and clearer labelling so as to avoid misleading and confusing terms
• set benchmarks for the quality of olive oils purchased for health reasons

The new Standard will be funded with the assistance of the Australian Olive Association, which wants a clear and scientifically based Standard for olive oils and pomace olive oils traded in Australia.

Paul Miller, President of the Australian Olive Association, said the new Australian Standard would be a huge benefit for consumers and growers alike.

"It will make it easier for consumers to know what they are buying, help local growers compete with subsidised imports and force unscrupulous operators who are giving the industry a bad name out of the market," he said.

Standards Australia is not a regulator or government body. When completed, the Australian Standard for Olive Oil will be voluntary, unless mandated by the government.