Olive oil producer pays penalty for mislabelled olive oil

A South Australian olive oil company has paid $13,200 for two infringement notices for attempting to pass off low-quality olive oil as ‘extra virgin’.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) issued the Big Olive Company with two infringement notices for labelling nearly 3000 bottles of 500 mL Oz Olio oil as ‘extra virgin’ that the ACCC decreed were not extra virgin quality oil.

The oil was tested following complaints from the Australian Olive Association that some olive oils being produced and sold in Australia as extra virgin olive oil are not of a high enough quality to be labelled as such.

The ACCC said that “although there is no mandatory standard for extra virgin olive oil in Australia, it is widely accepted that it is the highest grade oil obtained from the first press of the best quality olives”. Extra virgin olive oil should not be blended with other oils and there should be no solvents or refining in the manufacturing process, the ACCC said.

The Oz Olio oil tested had more free fatty acids than permitted by olive oil trade standards, including the voluntary Australian standard, suggesting that the olives were old, damaged or poor quality and the oil was not extra virgin olive oil at the time of bottling.

The ACCC said it is considering the Australian Olive Association’s concerns about extra virgin olive oil claims and has contacted the association with a view to discussing greater labelling clarity for Australian olive oil.

Although the Big Olive Company has paid the infringement notice penalties, the ACCC emphasised that this does not constitute an admission that the company has contravened the Australian Consumer Law.