Analysis of olive oil

Ensuring the quality of your olive oil

Eurofins laboratories for food and feed testing in Germany offer the all-round package for testing and improving the quality of your olive oil – from cultivation to ripening, harvesting, processing of the olive, storage and bottling to marketing. We advise and support you with the multitude of European and international laws and directives, recommendations from consumer magazines and specifications. We underpin this with physico-chemical and sensory analyses of olive oil in our olive oil panel as well as labelling inspection.

Authenticity and origin of olive oil, quality

Olive oil is one of the most adulterated foods in the EU. When mixed with inferior olive oil, unauthorised additives, other vegetable oils or false indications of origin, it is no longer an authentic olive oil. We offer you a comprehensive and accredited range of services against food fraud, i.e. for the authenticity of your olive oil.

1H-NMR spectroscopy

The origin of olive oil can be verified in Eurofins Food & Feed Testing laboratories in Germany using 1H-NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) spectroscopy. Currently, olive oils from the main countries of origin Italy, Spain and Greece can be analysed. The method is accredited according to ISO 17025. Furthermore, 1H-NMR offers the possibility to check the identity of the olive oil (matching fingerprint).

Analyses to determine the identity and quality of olive oil

When analysing olive oils, both identity and quality parameters are crucial to capture all the essential aspects of an olive oil.

As an expensive edible oil, olive oil provides the best conditions for adulteration with e.g. cheaper vegetable oils. The fact that these blends can be found on the market is shown by the annual investigations of the competent authorities at national and EU level. During production and storage, there are a lot of adjusting screws that influence the quality and safety of olive oil. The following table gives you an overview of frequently asked questions and the appropriate analysis offers.

Customer visits and on-site consulting / audits

Our olive oil expert team also takes a close look on site and supports the optimisation of olive oil through years of experience, exclusive knowledge and sensory skills.

Along the production chain, the best starting points for improving the quality of the olive oil can be found in the area where the olives are grown at harvest time, in the mill, during storage and bottling. Through personal discussions in a homely Mediterranean atmosphere, traditional olive processing, modern approaches and the requirements of the retail trade can be combined in a good solution for olive oil quality.

Complementary services:

• Advice on consumer magazines and specification development
  In addition to the legal framework, consumer magazines play a decisive role in the quality assessment of olive oil in many countries. With stricter specifications, they drive the quality demand for an olive oil of the highest grade. Eurofins Food & Feed Testing laboratories in Germany also undertake the specification writing and assessment of your olive oil in relation to consumer magazine tests.
• Food legislation advice
  We offer our clients compact food legisltion advice tailored to their needs. Through appropriate memberships and our large network of laboratories and technical experts, we always receive the latest legal and regulatory information that apply on the national and international market.
• Labelling tests
  The sale of a food or feed product depends on many different legal requirements. One major aspect is the correct labelling of the product, with regulations being different from one country to another. An appropriate check should be carried out before any product is placed on the market, so that no recall of the products placed on the market has to take place.
• Certifications (IFS, BRC, HACCP, supplier audits, etc.)
  With our certification unit and access to our national and international network of auditors, we can help you prepare or carry out your certification process.

Webinars and seminars on olive oils

To expand your knowledge, we additionally offer:

• seminars
• webinars
• trainings
• accompanying trips to the olive oil producing countries

We make this possible on topics such as food legislation, olive cultivation, production and technology, sensory testing of virgin olive oils and recognising qualities and olive oil defects. In addition, seminars and sensory training courses tailored to your individual requirements can also be implemented, which can take place either at your premises (also outside of Germany) or at Eurofins Analytik GmbH in Hamburg. Please contact us for further information.

Legal background

Olive oil is subject to various legal regulations at European (EU) and global (IOC) level. These concern chemical and sensory limits, labelling and trade of olive oil. Eurofins advises, tests and analyses along the individual risk or safety needs. These are the relevant guidelines for olive oil:

• Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council (agricultural products)
• Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2104 (marketing standards for olive oil)
• Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2105 (conformity checks of marketing standards and methods of analysis for olive oil)

Making your olive oil fit for the market with expertise and passion

Our experience in the field of olive oil analysis is consistently expanded through regular participation in round robin tests (e.g. SSOG, DGF, AOCS) and membership of other sensory panels. In addition, our membership in relevant committees (e.g. DGF, SISSG, Euro Fed Lipid) enables us to inform you at an early stage about developments in legislation and current events. If necessary, we develop new, individual test methods that are tailored to the requirements of the olive oil industry.

Decades of market experience, close relationships in the growing countries and an intimate relationship with this product make us the first point of contact for your questions about olive oil production, quality assessment and marketing of your olive oil. Whether you are a producer, importer or trader of the green gold: Contact us for your questions about quality, authenticity and safety.

Memberships and accreditations of individual Eurofins laboratories

• IOC-Recognition of the International Olive Councils
• DGF Deutsche Gesellschaft für Fettwissenschaft e.V.
• DLG e.V (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft)
• Euro Fed Lipid e.V.

Flyers and brochures

• Olive Oil Testing

Other interesting pages

Foto: ©123rf/nikkiphoto

Laboratory recognised by the
International Olive Council
(IOC) for the sensory analysis
of virgin olive oils
(12/01/2021 - 11/30/2022)