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Does Olive Oil Need To Be Organic
Some people believe that because olive oil is a natural product, it does not need to be organic. Others believe that olive oil should be organic because it is a food product and we are putting it into our bodies. There is no right or wrong answer, it is a personal preference.
Organic olive oil means, above all, the olives were grown without chemicals — synthetic fertilizers, plant protection products, and herbicides in the soil. The documents state that in order to be organic, organic olives cannot use chemicals or pesticides to aid in their growth. Organic olives are those which are documented by a certified Organic certification body as being grown without chemical fertilizers, pesticides, or other man-made agents.
To receive organic status, the farm must not have used any chemical fertilizers or chemical pesticides. To manage pests, hand-held measures or other products approved for use in organic farming must be used.
For example, organic farmers can use manure to fertilise soils and increase nitrogen, mowing between trees to remove weeds, and planting cover crops to control unwanted insects. Some growers use almost no pesticides; others use them to fight problems such as olive fly, which can ruin the fruit. Olive trees generally need almost no intervention with pesticides in order to produce normal olives (unlike, say, the Apple crops here in the United States).
There is no need to use chemical fertilizers or insecticides typically on olive trees, as they are typically insect-resistant and immune. The fact is that olive trees are naturally resistant and pest-resistant, which is why you usually do not need any insecticides or chemical fertilizers. Olive crops are so easy to grow, in fact, that most olive farmers are de factoorganic, as they use no traditional pesticides, fertilizers, or anything else that might enter into the oil or cause damage to the environment.
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Organic oils are made without chemical pesticides, and a growing number of producers are switching over to organic growing practices. In the three years since publication, there has been an explosion in more affordable certified organic olive oils, including from Olio Beato (which also sells organic wines) and Bragg, and store-brand oils from Trader Joes and 365 Everyday Value.
Today, we can find a lot of products that are produced by organic farming or livestock, and olive oil is one such food where its environmental provenance is greatly appreciated. The benefits of organic olive oil are due to the fact that it does not contain the residues of industrially produced chemical compounds from pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, and fertilizers, that are commonly included in conventional olive oil. Conventional olives do not necessarily contain these additives or pesticides; however, they are not certified to say otherwise. It is oil which is cold-pressed (or cold-spun, in fact) and produced without heat, starting with crushing of the olives.
Grown organically and certified as such, this extra virgin olive oil is made by taking a tiny bit of the olive juice and massaging it onto your skin. Since organic olive oil is used so often, we tend to end up with Extra Virgin Oil. If you want to be sure only organically approved products are used in supporting the growing of the olives used in your oil, then the best option is going with organically certified extra virgin olive oil.
The flavors of each vary depending on which varietal of olives are used in making organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, along with other discussion related to the crops, such as rainfall amounts, as well as other qualities which may be contributed by the soil. When reviewing differences between organic oil and conventional oil, it is important to know that you are not simply comparing whether or not an oil was grown organically – more often than not, you are also comparing two different grades of olive oil, which were produced quite differently. The first thing is to find a healthy olive oil that also tastes and smells good, since you cannot guarantee finding those parameters simply because the healthy olive oil is an organic brand.
| Organic | In-organic |
| certified by a third party | pesticides used to grow the oil |
| expeller pressed | solvent expelled |
| chemical free | the mixture of chemicals |
More often than not, the only real difference between a USDA-certified organic olive oil and Ohios Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the meticulous tracking that gives the olive oil its USDA certification. This uniformity of the production process ensures that organic extra virgin olive oil that we purchase has passed the series of formal checks that are required for it to qualify as organic.
That is why an organic production ensures that you are buying authentic olive oil, free from the toxic residues released by substances used in conventional farming, like insecticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers. By purchasing organic extra virgin olive oil, not only are you supporting and encouraging producers to engage in this difficult and challenging farming practice, you are also assured of a product guaranteed not to adversely affect the health of your family. Of course, that is not guaranteed for every farm and every brand, but in the majority of cases, even with conventional olive oil, you are not going to consume many of the chemicals or other pesticides people typically seek to avoid when eating organic.
An organic label guarantees no chemical products were used, and obviously, if you want to be absolutely certain that you are not using polluted oils, you would have to completely avoid the possibility of any pesticides being used at all (=it would need to have an organic label). Unlike with food labels like natural & free-range, use of the term organic is highly regulated. The United States Department of Agriculture certifies products as organic when they conform to a number of standards, including, but not limited to, using 100% organic feed for animals, and using no synthetic fertilizers, specific pesticides, or GMO organisms for fruits and vegetables. Mitsubishi processes the Farchioni EVOO exclusively in Italy, and the oil has an organic certificate from the Institute of Ethics and Environmental Certification (ICEA).
The oil is derived from the olives harvested early season in the region of Andalusia, Spain. This oil is rich in polyphenol anti-oxidants and oleic acids, due to olives grown in mountainous areas, in which trees undergo certain natural stresses. Most oils begin spoiling about 12 months after harvesting an olive.
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Farmers pick olives by hand, mill them by machine, and extract the oil by cold-extraction, with no solvents. In contrast, traditional olive oil is made with almost prehistoric trees from small orchards (requiring just hand-picking and little technique), and is then pressed to extract the oil by cold-pressing; an ancient practice that helps retain naturally occurring nutrients from the juice. The paste of an olive is placed into a centrifuge and spun, allowing the extra water to be extracted on one side, while oil is extracted on the other.
The organic versions are much more expensive than conventional ones (for example, the 25.5-ounce Walmart Store brand is 28 cents cheaper than the 17-ounce organic olive oil by Filippo Berio), and any health or safety benefits are not proven.
Does it matter if your olive oil is organic?
What distinguishes Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil is a common question among consumers. These two types of oil have a considerable price differential, but are they really that different from one another? The basic response is no; the final oils should be fairly similar.
Is organic extra virgin olive oil better?
The fact is that olive trees don’t often need pesticides or artificial fertilisers since they are inherently tough and pest-resistant. Because of this, organic extra virgin olive oil in Ohio and premium extra virgin olive oil frequently have the same quality. The price is the only meaningful distinction.
Are there a lot of pesticides in olive oil?
Olive trees are hard and pest invulnerable, so they don’t typically require pesticides or chemical fertilizers. There is no risk eliminated when consuming olive oil because it contains several pesticide residues. However, consumers’ exposure to each discovered contaminant is much lower than the recommended daily consumption (ADI).