Italy’s ‘Salva Olio’ Law Takes Aim at Olive Oil Fraud
Italy’s new olive oil law, Law No. 9 of January 14, 2013, was published in the Gazzetta Ufficiale today and takes effect tomorrow, February 1. Known in Italy as the “salva olio” (save the oil) law, it sets an 18-month limit on best-before dates, forces origin onto the front label in readable type, tightens rules for restaurants and gives prosecutors new tools against olive oil fraud.
What happened
The text was signed in Rome on January 14 by President Giorgio Napolitano and Prime Minister Mario Monti, and appeared today, January 31, in the Gazzetta Ufficiale (General Series No. 26). Under its final article it enters into force the day after publication. It applies to virgin and extra virgin olive oils sold in Italy, and it is the most detailed national olive oil law I have seen from any producing country.
Most of it is about two things the Italian trade has argued over for years: where the oil really comes from, and how old it is by the time someone opens the bottle.
The main rules
| Rule | What the law says |
|---|---|
| Origin on the label | Must sit on the front of the container, in letters at least 1.2 mm high, clearly set apart from other text |
| Blends | Oils from other EU countries or non-EU countries must carry the word “miscela” (blend) before the origin, in a more visible color |
| Best-before date | No more than 18 months from bottling |
| Restaurants | Oil offered to diners must be in containers that cannot be altered without opening or breaking them, or be labeled with origin and lot; the same article sets fines of €1,000 to €8,000 for the owner of the business, plus confiscation |
| Misleading images | Words, pictures or symbols that suggest a region the olives did not come from count as a deceptive practice |
| Trademarks | Marks that mislead on geographic origin cannot be registered, and existing ones can be revoked |
| Below-cost sales | Extra virgin sold below cost only once a year, with 20 days’ notice to the town, and banned for chains holding more than 10 percent of retail space in a province |
The enforcement side
The law also reaches well past the label. Wiretaps are now allowed in investigations of several food fraud and counterfeiting crimes, and in organized olive oil fraud cases the courts must confiscate assets a convicted person cannot justify. Companies in the olive oil chain can be held liable for crimes committed in their interest. Anyone convicted of counterfeiting a protected origin must pay to publish the sentence in two national newspapers and is barred for five years from advertising olive oil.
There are quieter measures that matter just as much. For 2013 to 2015, when inspectors test Italian-labeled virgin oils for alkyl esters, a chemical marker of oil made from damaged or fermented fruit, the results must be published monthly on the agriculture ministry’s website. Growers must keep an up-to-date farm file or their oil cannot be sold. Importing virgin oil under the inward processing regime, where oil comes in for re-export, will need prior ministry authorization. The competition authority is told to watch prices, and the law even specifies how tasting panels work, down to 15 ml samples at 28°C.
What it means for buyers
If you shop in Italy, the front label should start telling you more, and a blend should now say plainly that it is a blend. The restaurant rule is the one most visitors will notice: the unlabeled cruet on the table is on its way out.
If you buy Italian-branded oil abroad, keep your expectations modest. This is an Italian law for the Italian market, and it sits on top of European Union labeling rules that other member states and exporters follow differently. Italian producer groups will be watching how Brussels reacts to a member state writing its own, stricter rules.
- Look for the word “miscela” on the front: it means the oil is not all Italian.
- Check the best-before date, then remember it counts from bottling, not from pressing.
- In a restaurant, ask to see the bottle.
The 18-month cap is good news, but read it carefully: it runs from the day the oil is bottled. Bulk oil can sit in a tank for many months before it goes into glass, so a bottle with a year left on the clock can still hold oil from two harvests ago. The only date that really tells you how fresh the oil is remains the harvest date, and very few big brands print it.