Alan Greene elected California Olive Oil Council president
Trade bodies elect presidents all the time; the news fades in a week. What lasts is the bigger story behind California olive oil — a young industry that chose to police its own quality rather than trade on a famous name.
California makes the overwhelming majority of the United States’ own extra virgin olive oil — on the order of ninety-nine percent of it — and it has done so, remarkably, by building an industry from almost nothing in a couple of decades. The state’s trade and marketing body, founded in 1992, exists to promote that oil and, more importantly, to certify it. Behind the routine business of electing a new board president sits the real question that has driven the whole enterprise: what should the words extra virgin actually guarantee?
Why a standard mattered so much
For years the global trade in olive oil has been dogged by mislabelling: oil sold as extra virgin that would fail a proper taste and chemistry test, and cheaper oils passed off under grander origins. A young producing region has two ways to compete. It can chase volume and price, or it can stake its reputation on verifiable quality. California, lacking the centuries of prestige that Italy or Spain can lean on, largely chose the second road — a certification seal backed by laboratory analysis and a trained sensory panel, so that a bottle carrying the mark has actually been tested against a real extra-virgin bar.
How the industry grew up
Two things powered California’s expansion. First, super-high-density planting — hedgerows of olives picked by machine like a vineyard — which brought the cost of production down far enough to make American oil commercially viable. Second, freshness as a selling point: oil pressed locally and sold within months, rather than shipped across an ocean and warehoused for a year or more. The result is a distinctly Californian style, often built on Arbequina, Arbosana and Koroneiki, that leans fresh, green and reliably within grade.
What it means for the shopper
The honest value of a certification seal is not that it makes the best oil in the world — it does not, and plenty of un-certified artisan oils are superb. Its value is a floor: a guarantee that the oil in the bottle is genuinely what the label claims, tested rather than merely asserted. In a market where ‘extra virgin’ often is not, that floor is worth a great deal. Read the seal as a promise about honesty and freshness, not a ranking of greatness.
| What to check | Why it matters | What good looks like |
|---|---|---|
| Harvest / press date | Olive oil is a fresh juice that fades | Within the last year, clearly printed |
| Certification seal | Confirms it was tested to grade | A recognised EVOO seal, not just words |
| Single origin | Traceability and accountability | A named estate or region, not ‘imported oils’ |
| Dark glass or tin | Light and air spoil oil fast | Never a clear bottle on a bright shelf |
The takeaways
- A seal is a floor, not a crown — it promises honesty and freshness, not that this is the finest oil you can buy.
- Freshness is California’s real edge — use the harvest date to your advantage.
- Un-certified can still be excellent — many small growers skip the paperwork.
- Standards protect you as much as the producer — that was the whole point of building them.
California olive oil: common questions
Does California really make most US olive oil?
Yes — roughly ninety-nine percent of the extra virgin olive oil produced in the United States comes from California.
What does a California certification seal mean?
That the oil has been laboratory-tested and assessed by a sensory panel against an extra-virgin standard — a check on honesty, not a ranking of quality.
Why is freshness such a big theme?
Because olive oil is a fresh juice that degrades with time, light and heat. Local pressing lets California oil reach shelves far younger than imported oil.
Which varieties dominate?
Much of the volume is Arbequina, Arbosana and Koroneiki, grown in high-density hedgerows and picked by machine.
Is un-certified California oil worth buying?
Often, yes. Plenty of small artisan producers make excellent oil without paying for certification — judge by freshness and taste.
Don’t over-read a certification seal. It is a promise that the oil is honest and was tested to grade — hugely valuable in a business riddled with mislabelling — but it is a floor, not a podium. Some of the best oil I have tasted from California never carried a seal at all, because a two-person operation could not justify the cost. Buy on the harvest date and your own palate first; treat the seal as reassurance, not a ranking.
Background on California’s olive oil sector and its extra-virgin certification scheme, drawn from standard industry sources.