The label may say “extra virgin olive oil,” but many bottles on the market shelf are not the real deal. Finding a true “extra virgin” is a journey down a long, pitted road.

As an amateur cook in college, I must have consumed gallons of my local grocery store’s cheap, “extra virgin” Italian olive oil. Its five-dollar price tag fit my budget and lasted forever, and for the hearty but simple meals I was preparing, it seemed the most healthful choice on the shelf. After all, the label read extra virgin, so the oil inside was the best I could get, right?

Probably not. Even though California produces 99 percent of our nation’s olive oil, American olive oil production makes up for less than one percent of worldwide stocks. Though a growing industry—the olive oil produced in California alone has nearly tripled in the past five years—production, labeling, and marketing of this increasingly popular product remains virtually unregulated. That means that often what the label says and what you think you’re buying—an oil lauded for its healthy fat and high antioxidant properties—aren’t necessarily the same thing at all.

Most olive oils in chain grocery stores are made by companies “the most at odds with providing the consumer with enough information to determine where an oil is from and how it’s made,” says Albert Katz, a founding board member of the California Olive Oil Council (COOC) and president of Katz and Company, which produces Kitchen Blend EVO, an olive oil sold to restaurants and high-end food chains. The Berkeley-based council, formed in 1992, is a nonprofit organization of producers, professionals, and anyone interested in olives and olive oil. Founded to educate both olive oil producers and the public about olive agriculture and olive oil production, the Council provides extra virgin certification to those oils that make the grade.

Certification is a two-part process requiring both a chemical test submitted to a lab and an organoleptic (taste and smell) test conducted by the COOC’s Panel of Tasters. The 26-member panel of volunteers, one of about 40 such tasting panels worldwide, is the only one in the United States that is officially recognized by the International Olive Oil Council in Madrid (IOOC), Europe’s olive oil authority. (Since 2003, I myself have been a member of the Council’s taste panel.)

In this country, there is no law that requires testing of olive oil produced here or imported from any country. All producers who earn the COOC’s extra virgin certification submit their products on a purely voluntary basis. The Berkeley-based Council’s taste panel tests the submitted olive oils—with a minimum of ten members present—twice a month from November to June. The tests are based on science and set criteria and the brands are anonymous to the tasters. The results are known only to the olive oil producer and the Executive Director of COOC, Patty Darragh, who notifies them of their pass or fail. Board member Katz says that of the approximately 176 oils submitted this year for extra virgin certification, “the vast majority passed.”

But COOC-certified oils are just small fish among the huge pool of producers. If you buy olive oil from mainstream grocery stores, chances are you’re getting something that might be better suited for your car.

In the panel’s ongoing tastings of bottles pulled from grocery store shelves, nearly all of the oils chosen are defective and/or are labeled in a misleading way. Katz explains that these random tastings—different from the certification tests—serve as an educational tool and training mechanism for the panel, and a way for the tasters to become familiar with different varietals.

“You can pretty much bet,” says Katz, “that a large number of oils currently marketed as extra virgin would not meet the international standards for ‘extra virgin.’”

To receive the COOC’s seal as “extra virgin”—the form of olive oil thought to contain the most health benefits—an oil must have been derived from olives by way of a gentle, nonchemical process. It must have specific free fatty acid and peroxide levels, determined by a lab test, and must meet the criteria set by the panel of trained tasters who determine the oil to be fresh and free of defects. Defects occur when olives are harvested harshly; when they are moldy, too hot, or too cold prior to press; when sediment in the oil begins to rot; or when the oil is simply old. (See below for a glossary of olive oil terms.)

The COOC has found that some producers, taking advantage of the Napa Valley’s reputation for fine artisan products, name their oil after a town or a place in the Napa Valley, when the oil is really Tunisian or Greek in origin. In addition, oils labeled “Product of Italy,” banking on the consumer’s positive perceptions of Italian olive oil, have usually only made a stop in Italy for packaging but are actually from North Africa and Spain.

Often in the panel’s random tastings, the oils don’t qualify as “extra virgin,” as advertised. Some are rancid, a term used to describe very old, foul-tasting oil that is no longer as healthful, while some have little to no flavor—a sign that the oil had been chemically refined or processed and therefore stripped of any palpable qualities. To cut costs, some oils are even extracted chemically from olive pommace (crushed olive pits and flesh) and blended with refined hazelnut or canola oil, then dyed green with chlorophyll to more closely resemble olive oil.

One particularly egregious offender (discovered two years ago), advertising itself as a medal winner, was found to have been awarded the medal in the absence of a competition by an unqualified acquaintance of the company.

While the Council’s main mission is to create markets for legitimate olive oil producers, it has now entered the legal arena to stop such flagrant misrepresentations. Last year, the Council filed a lawsuit against the Napa Valley Trading Company, claiming it was illegally labeling its Napa Valley Naturals olive oils. Details of the case, which was settled in April, cannot be fully disclosed. However, the company, whose oils are sold at reputable markets such as Berkeley Bowl, agreed to revise its label to reflect the source of their oil (which is not the Napa Valley, but Tunisia and the Upper Sacramento Valley).

Which other brands are duping the public with inaccurate information? Presently, the Council is aware of specific companies that are misrepresenting their products but is unwilling to disclose the information. In the absence of federal guidelines, the Council says it feels exposed to legal action if they publicize the results of their random grocery shelf tests. Instead they take on small legal battles when possible—without federal quality regulations to back them up.

While there are laws about product labeling, there’s no regulatory body to enforce those rules. So, until all the pits are swept away, consumers should be skeptical of any oil labeled as extra virgin that is low-priced, is not certified by the COOC or its European equivalent, and has no harvest or seal date.

With all their claims and unbeatably low prices, dishonest companies are making it difficult for legitimate producers offering the real thing at a realistic cost to compete.

“There’s a lot of less-than-honest stuff going on in the industry,” says Shawn Addison, a Santa Ynez–based orchard and mill owner who is also a board member with the California Olive Oil Council. “And there’s [market] pressure from consumers who are used to low-cost oils, which don’t taste good and aren’t as good for you. They don’t know it, but they’re getting cheated.”

Trish Baldwin, president of Berkeley-based Stonehouse Olive Oil, agrees. When Stonehouse first introduced its product 15 years ago, the company became frustrated trying to distinguish its oils from inexpensive so-called extra virgin brands in supermarkets. “People can say a lot of things on their label,” says Baldwin. “That’s the problem with the industry, you are just taking people at their word.”

To set itself apart, Stonehouse sells only through its own retail stores in Berkeley and at San Francisco’s Ferry Building. It also put some of its oil through the necessary tests to get the California Olive Oil Council’s “Certified Extra Virgin” seal. “If you want to be recognized for doing it right, that certification helps,” says Baldwin.

Other local certified producers include McEvoy Ranch, Round Pond, California Olive Ranch, Kitchen Line, B.R. Cohn, and The Olivina. (For a complete list of certified COOC producers, visit www.cooc.com.)

The California Council’s standards are in accordance with those of the Madrid-based International Olive Oil Council, which regulates and certifies olive oils in Europe. Both councils submit oils to chemical tests and tastings by certified tasters. Here in California, certification costs a producer about $300.

True extra virgin olive oil also has the law on its side. In 1997, a state law made it illegal to market olive oil as Californian unless 100 percent of the oil is actually from the Golden State. Katz says the law mirrors the wine industry. If the label advertises a certain appellation—say Sonoma or Napa Valley—75 percent of the olives must come from that place, with the remaining 25 percent coming from elsewhere in California. When labeled by private estate, 95 percent of the oil must come from that estate.

While it does restrict claims about the origins of the olives, the law falls short of addressing the actual name brand. And, says Katz, there’s no one to enforce the law.

The idea of regulating olive oil is not a new one. In 1948, the USDA drew up standards for grading olive oil but never passed laws or implemented enforcements. Council member Katz, who says the 1948 guidelines are surprisingly progressive, says the COOC submitted a revision to the USDA over a year ago. The process is likely to take another year, but if passed, the new parameters would define extra virgin and virgin oils by an official USDA standard. The proposal also suggests that all imported and domestic oils be subjected to organoleptic and chemical tests.

Maggie Klein, co-owner of Oliveto Restaurant in Oakland and author of a renowned book, The Feast of the Olive (Chronicle Books, 1994), says this kind of regulation would be a huge boost for the consumer.

“It’s always been nearly impossible for a person who’s not an insider to walk into a grocery store and be able to pick something high quality,” Klein says. “It would be absolutely wonderful to have a system that helped people pick something flavorful and wholesome.”

Stonehouse’s Baldwin thinks it’s a good starting point. “There does need to be some qualification as to what is extra virgin and what’s not,” she says. “But enforcement is what we really need.”

The process for getting the USDA to allocate resources to olive oil enforcement is reportedly going well so far and revised standards may be complete by next year.

Most California producers say standards are essential for a domestic market to exist. But some are opposed to more stringent regulations. Bariani Olive Oil, in the Sacramento Valley, which is not certified by the Council, doesn’t want further legislation.

“An oil is either extra virgin or it’s not. We submit our oil to independent labs to abide by International Olive Oil Council standards,” says Enrico Bariani. “I don’t see a point in having it go through even further tests.”

Independent laboratories do perform olive oil tests, but void of industry regulations, a producer can keep the results to itself and is free to put whatever it wants on its label.

“All we ask from a producer is to substantiate its claim,” says Katz. “If they can’t substantiate it, a consumer should be wary.”

Until the USDA rules are finalized and a nationally accepted definition of extra virgin is written into enforceable law, organizations like the COOC will have little legal basis for chasing down producers selling inferior oil as extra virgin. With one lawsuit under its belt and a growing group of extra virgin producers behind it, the COOC has set into motion a long, complicated process that’s showing glimmers of success. It might well change the industry.

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Local freelance food writer Melissa Swanson is a taster for the California Olive Oil Council’s internationally certified panel. She writes about food for local publications such as The Oakland Tribune and Diablo Magazine, and her work has also appeared in Gourmet and Organic Style. Her last article for The Monthly was about wine from India (July 2003).