Embrapa obtains certification for olive oil analysis

The International Olive Council (IOC) has approved the second sensory panel for olive oil from Brazil at Embrapa Agroindústria de Alimentos (RJ). With this certification, the country gains yet another technical competence that contributes to the consolidation of an indigenous olive oil production industry. This is recognition that the panel has the technical quality to perform sensory analyses of olive oil samples, expanding the capacity to analyze olive oils in the country.

“The function of a sensory panel is to combat irregularities. The regulations that deal with the Standard of Identity and Quality of olive oil specify chemical analyses and sensory evaluation to verify the authenticity — whether it is really olive oil — and the quality of the oil — which indicates the degree of preservation of its freshness or conservation,” explains researcher Daniela De Grandi Castro Freitas de Sá, leader of the panel.

She explains that the product is analyzed using methods such as gas chromatography, mass spectrometry and sensory analysis. “Our sensory perception, obtained through our senses, is extremely efficient. The panel is a group of people trained in the standardized international methodology to perform the sensory analysis of olive oil, and the statistical result of this evaluation classifies the oil based on its sensory characteristics as extra virgin, virgin and lampante,” explains the scientist.

The group was assisted by consultant Marcelo Scofano, an olive oil expert trained in Spain, who provided the team with initial training. He explains that olive oil is the only food whose commercial classification can be changed by a certified panel. “If the panel concludes that the product does not meet the classification under which it is being sold, it will be reclassified in the category indicated by the panel. This means that it has the legal power to carry out the commercial classification,” emphasizes the expert.

The new Embrapa panel will be able to provide services to the Ministry of Agriculture (Mapa) in classifying olive oil samples for inspection purposes after obtaining accreditation under the ISO 17025 standard, granted by the National Institute of Metrology, Quality and Technology (Inmetro). This is the second panel certified by the IOC in the country; the first was that of the Federal Laboratory of Agricultural Defense of Mapa, located in the capital of Rio Grande do Sul, the state with the largest national production of olive oil.

Panel helps combat fraud

By supporting inspections, the panel positively collaborates with the market and benefits the consumer. This is the opinion of federal agricultural inspector Helena Pan Rugeri, general coordinator of Plant Quality at the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock and Food Supply's Agricultural Defense Secretariat. “Since we began inspecting imported olive oils, with samples collected at ports and borders and in the retail market, we have found that there was a high incidence of fraud due to the release of low-quality products into the domestic market,” says Rugeri, emphasizing that defective, low-quality products presented as extra virgin are a source of illegal competition with quality domestic products.

“Brazilian olive oils have been internationally recognized as being of very good quality, and have repeatedly received awards in international competitions. This quality is also the result of high production costs. Brazilian products cannot compete with low-quality imported products; the latter must adapt or have their classification reclassified to reflect their true quality,” argues the auditor.

If the product is reclassified by the sensory panel, the importing or bottling company has the right to contest it and, when this occurs, two other recognized panels, which do not exist in the country, are used. Helena Rugeri reports that certified panels in Argentina and Uruguay have been used, “which, although expensive, is extremely important. Therefore, Brazil needs at least two more certified panels”, argues the auditor. 

For Rugeri, the creation of these panels also contributes to health education and the dissemination of good practices in olive oil production, improving the overall quality of this chain. “It is necessary to educate the production sector, consumers, producers and companies, and society in general, about the good and bad attributes of olive oil and how to identify them.” She points out that the MAPA provides a website to alert consumers about the risks related to products that are most subject to fraud and counterfeiting, such as olive oil, beans, and roasted coffee.

Olive Oil in Brazil: A History of Recent Advances

“Until 2012, Brazil did not have a specific standard for the marketing and production of olive oil in the country. In 2009, public debates began and, in January 2012, Normative Instruction IN 1/2012 of the Ministry of Agriculture was published”, recalls Scofano.

He says that the regulation provided for sensory analysis as a complementary tool for quality control of olive oils sold and produced in Brazil, in addition to the analysis of physical and chemical parameters. “And it only began to be fully implemented after the formation of the Rio Grande do Sul sensory panel, in December 2021. Since then, the panorama of olive oil trade in Brazil has changed radically thanks to the work of the panel from the Federal Laboratory of Agricultural Defense, in Porto Alegre. It reclassified hundreds of batches of imported olive oil as extra virgin when, in fact, they were virgin,” says Scofano. (see explanation below)

Brazilian olive oil production, although small, 700 tons, is growing, focused on high-quality products and concentrated in RS and on properties in the Serra da Mantiqueira, between SP, MG and RJ. Brazil is the third largest importer of olive oil in the world, after the USA and the European Union, importing approximately 88 thousand tons per year. One challenge is monitoring this volume of imports to determine whether the products offered to consumers meet the IOC classification standards and are labeled accordingly, such as extra virgin, virgin and lampante.

“Culturally, we have been buying olive oil that has been very depreciated for many years. Until 1995, Brazil did not import extra virgin olive oils; they began to enter in 1997 and 1998 and began to diversify in 2000. In other words, our history with the product is very recent. This began 30 years ago; it has only been 16 years since Brazil extracted its first olive oil, and it has only been 12 years since a regulation was published and two years since our first panel was approved,” says Scofano.

Panel formation

The formation of the newly approved panel began in 2019. The work was interrupted by the lockdown resulting from the pandemic in 2020 and resumed in mid-2021.

Daniela De Grandi recalls that the panel was accredited five years later and involved selecting evaluators through specific tests, followed by training the group through extensive contact with olive oil samples. “The IOC provides reference samples so that evaluators can be trained, both in identifying the main sensory attributes that classify the olive oil and in the ability to measure the intensity of each of these attributes,” explains the researcher. Each evaluation session requires 8 to 12 tasters, who work on a voluntary basis.

How is olive oil classified?

Olive oil, classification and tolerances

Olive oil is the product obtained only from the fruit of the olive tree (Olea europaea L.) through an exclusively physical process applied to the raw material, without the use of solvents, and without mixing with other oils, regardless of their proportions. Olive oil is classified into three types called extra virgin, virgin and lampante, according to the physical-chemical and sensory quality parameters defined in Normative Instruction No. 1, of January 30, 2012, which establishes the Technical Regulation for Olive Oil and Olive Pomace Oil, as per the table below.

How to choose and preserve olive oils

Researcher Daniela De Grandi points out aspects that consumers should consider when purchasing olive oils. “Despite factors such as price, availability — greater or lesser variety of brands at different points of sale —, brand tradition, country of origin, among others, two points can simplify the decision: the bottling date and its sensory characteristics, that is, aromas, flavors and sensations perceptible by the nose and mouth,” she teaches.

The tip is to identify the harvest year and bottling date on the label, that is, when the olives were harvested and when the oil was bottled. The younger the oil, the fresher and more preserved in its sensory and nutritional characteristics it can be; unlike wine, which gains complexity as it ages.

 When opening a bottle of olive oil, you can assess its quality by its sensory characteristics, such as bitterness and spiciness. Spiciness is a type of burning sensation in the throat, but it is not hot like pepper. “Smoother, sweeter oils have fruity aromatic notes of banana, apple, or almonds and nuts, not as spicy and not as bitter,” says De Grandi.

Scofano reminds us that olive oil, like all natural juices, depreciates over time. This is why they cannot be stored and must be consumed immediately, as they do not last more than 18 months at most; normally, they last a year. “Olive oils should be stored away from light, at a temperature of around 18ºC to 20ºC in a cool place in the house and, once opened, they should be consumed within 30 days,” recommends the specialist.