Since January 17th 2008 a new law in Italy requires producers of virgin and extra-virgin olive oil to include labels indicating where the olives were picked and pressed. What do you mean? Italy, of course! Wrong, because more than half of the “Italian” olive oil is produced using olives and oils from other Mediterranean countries — including Spain, Greece and Tunisia.
So from now on you can read on the label whether the olive oil is really ‘made in Italy”. Perfect, that is it then.
No, because the acidity level of the oil (often regarded as a quality indicator), does not have to be stated on the label. And there is still no law against using caustic soda (a much used practice to lower the acidity level and sell the oil as extra vergine at a much higher price).
So, buy your oil from a reliable source, and look for the sign of Denominazione d”origine protetta.
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