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www.gourmetnews.com Gourmet News • Oli e Aceti 9 In keeping with its goal to promote olive oil quality in- dustry-wide, the North American Olive Oil Associa- tion (NAOOA) has taken sig- nificant steps to further strengthen the standards re- quired for labeling, testing and participating in the orga- nization's Quality Seal Pro- gram. The NAOOA's efforts potentially impact the diet and health of millions of American consumers with member products represent- ing an estimated 85 percent of all branded olive oil sold in the United States. "When people go to the store to buy olive oil, which is proven to be one of the healthiest things they put in their carts, we want them to have total confidence that they are getting a great prod- uct," said Joseph R. Profaci, Executive Director of the NAOOA. "Although there's significant evidence to sup- port consumer trust in olive oil, including research by the U.S. Food and Drug Admin- istration (FDA) that tested 88 products labeled extra virgin and found no confirmed adulteration in any of the samples, there's still a lot of misinformation and even outright fake news circulat- ing about it. We want to give consumers even greater as- surance by making our al- ready rigorous standards even tougher." NAOOA membership has always required that all olive oil marketed by members must meet or exceed the standards set by the Interna- tional Olive Council (IOC). The IOC was chartered by the United Nations and has been recognized for more than 50 years as the worldwide qual- ity standard-setting body for the olive oil industry. To en- sure these standards are being met, the NAOOA has supervised the sampling of an average of 200 olive oils per year for the past two decades, which are tested in independ- ent labs certified by the IOC. The NAOOA's Certified Qual- ity Seal Program takes quality control a step further by sub- mitting Seal products for testing even more frequently and including an initial organoleptic (sensory) analy- sis. This year, NAOOA mem- bers agreed to include com- pliance with the labeling guidelines as a condition of membership, which is criti- cal, as labels are one of the first places a consumer goes to learn more about a prod- uct. NAOOA members have agreed to enhance labeling requirements in a several ways, including the use of best-by dates to ensure fresh- ness. Best-by dates are now re- quired on every NAOOA member label, which helps consumers ensure they are getting a fresh product. NAOOA members are ex- pected to use a maximum best-by date of two years from the time of processing or bottling, which is stricter than the IOC standard. Mem- bers are also encouraged to take into account all variables that might impact freshness, including handling, turnover time and the characteristics of the olive oil used in a spe- cific product. For example, extra virgin olive oil from certain varieties of olives does not maintain its unique characteristics as long as olive oil from other varieties, which may indicate that a shorter shelf life would be North American Olive Oil Association Strengthens Standards more appropriate. Labels must also be clear on the olive oil's country of origin. When a packer in- cludes the name of a country or countries where an olive oil was "imported from" or "packed or bottled in," that statement must now be im- mediately adjacent to the country of origin statement for complete transparency. This step gives consumers better clarity as to where the olives for the oil were grown. Consumers must be in- formed if the olive oil has been blended with other edi- ble oils. Any product that is less than 100 percent olive oil was already required to have a descriptive name or phrase to let consumers know that information, but additional standards have been added to ensure that the language on NAOOA members' labels is clear and fully informative. Members are also now re- quired to include on their la- bels storage instructions intended to prolong the shelf life of the olive oil since ex- posure to heat, light and air can all cause deterioration. An example of such a recom- mendation would be, "Store in a cool, dark place away from heat and light. Cap when not in use." Addition- ally, the NAOOA highly rec- ommends that labels include information on smoke point to help consumers better un- derstand how to use the product. GN

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