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Extra virgin olive oil is the only food whose commercial trade value and its quality is determined by an objective organoleptic (tasting) assessment method, estabilished by the International Olive Council (IOC) and regulated by the European regulation 2568/91. This assessment method is based on panels of officially trained tasters (panel) that recognize the absence and/or presence of specific positive and negative (defective) attributes linking both smelling and tasting. .
To have the definition of “extra virgin olive oil” an oil sample must meet both chemical and organoleptic (bitter, pungent, fruity) standards that include the absence of flavor defects (i.e. median of defects = 0) and the trait of fruity (median of fruity attribute greater than 0). Together with these organoleptic standards it has to correspond to chemical characteristics fixed for this category, among them the main ones are listed below.
| Parameters of classification of olive oil | Acidity(%) | N. peroxides (meqO2 / kg) | K232 | K270 | ΔK | Sensory evaluation Median of defects (Md) ) | Sensory evaluation Median of fruity (Mf) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| EXTRA VIRGIN | ≤ 0,8 | ≤ 20 | ≤ 2,5 | ≤ 0,22 | ≤ 0,01 | Md=0 | Mf>0 |
| VIRGIN | 0,8-2 | ≤ 20 | ≤ 2,6 | ≤ 0,25 | ≤ 0,01 | Md≤3,5 | Mf>0 |
| LAMPANTE | > 2 | > 20 | > 2,6 | > 0,25 | > 0,01 | Md>3,5 | - |
"talìa"
"sciaurìa"
"tasta"These parameters are often interpreted incorrectly. Most consumers associate the pungency with acidity considering these characteristics as defects. No one can determine the acidity only by tasting the olive oil. Chemical analysis made in a specific laboratory is needed. Generally, stronger pungency and bitterness are related to very low acidity because they are proof of an extra virgin olive oil produced from healthy olives picked at the right level of maturity using the correct techniques for collecting, processing and preservation.
