Testing extra virgin olive to international standard is affordable and desirable

The perceived cost of testing olive oil to full International Olive Council (IOC) Trade Standard is frequently quoted as the reason for not requiring this level of testing for Australian and New Zealand extra virgin olive oils.

The Australian Extra Virgin Brand and Olives New Zealand Certification both accept testing regimes that do not include adulteration testing.

In trying to analyse the reason for this cost perception, Olive Business has made some comparisons between testing laboratories in Australia recognised by the Australian Code of Practice, and an overseas laboratory.

We have compared the costs of testing between the New South Wales Department of Primary Industry Olive Oil Testing Service (NSWDPI) and Modern Olive Laboratory in Victoria. For further comparison we have included the costs from Chemiservice laboratory in Bari, Italy. The NSWDPI laboratory and Chemiservices are recognised by the International Olive Oil Council, the former for chemical and organoleptic tests, and the latter for chemical tests.

The table shows that there is considerable difference in the cost of individual tests and the packages for testing to IOC international trade standard. The prices have been taken from online pricelists or direct quotations. The different listing of the tests in the price lists has required some interpretation, so the overall prices should be regarded as reasonably accurate estimates.

The pricing is for single samples. If multiple samples are submitted there are significant discounts which will reduce the cost of testing per sample.

Test	Testing Laboratory Cost/test single sample
	1NSW DPI Olive Oil Testing Service	Modern Olives Laboratory	2Chemiservice Bari, Italy*
	$	$	$
Fatty acid composition and trans fatty acid content	116.95	99.00	51.64
Free acidity	58.70	27.50	10.00
Peroxide value	61.50	33.00	20.00
Absorbency in ultra violet	60.35	44.00	31.00
Sterol composition Erythrodiol + uvaol	338.60	572.00	104.00
Wax content	202.00	176.00	82.64
ECN-42 Triglycerides	111.75	150.00	104.00
Stigmastadiens	270.75	253.00	82.64
2-Glyceril Monopalmitate	111.75 (tri acyl glycerides)	100.00 (tri acyl glycerides)	82.64
Unsaponifiable matter	231.00	110.00	51.66
Organoleptic evaluation	95.65	49.50	61.98
Total cost of Individual tests	1659.00	1614.00	682.20
International trade package cost	1002.60	1606.00	682.20
Postage	4.40	4.40	50.35
TOTAL COST OF TESTING	1007.00	1610.40	732.55
Cost per litre 1000 litres	$1.00	$1.61	$0.73
Cost/500ml bottle	$0.50	$0.81	$0.37
Cost per litre 10,000 litres	$0.10	$0.16	$0.07
Cost/500ml bottle	$0.05	$0.08	$0.04
Cost per litre 100,000 litres	$0.01	$0.016	$0.007
Cost/500ml bottle	$0.005	$0.008	$0.003
Turn around (including delivery time to lab)	10 working days	7 working days	10 working days

^{1 International Olive Oil Council accredited for chemical and organoleptic tests}

^{2 International Olive Oil Council accredited for chemical tests}

^{* Converted to Australian $ at $0.50 to 1.00 Euro}

Taking the package costs as the most cost effective, the lowest cost of testing for an enterprise that produces 1000 litres of one brand of olive oil a year is 37c per 500ml bottle at Chemiservices in Italy. This comes down to 4c for a production of 10,000 litres of a single brand and 1/3c for 100,000 litres.

It may be reasonably argued that the impost of 37c on small producers producing 1000 litres will reduce profit margins, but this argument is more difficult to justify for the 4c or less per bottle for larger volumes.

These costs will be further reduced by submitting multiple samples if producers cooperate in submitting samples for testing.

Given the importance of assuring the quality of both Australian and New Zealand extra virgin olive oils to consumers, and to provide certified analysis in the case of disputes, it is difficult to understand why the custodians of quality standards do not simply adopt the IOC international trade standard as the basis of their quality branding.

Comparison of testing results between laboratories

To get an idea on the accuracy of testing from the three laboratories compared above, Olive Business sent a sample of the same refined olive oil for sterol composition testing at the three laboratories at the same time. The results are given in the table below.

The percentage variation in the testing is concerning, especially when a sterol may be close to the IOC standard limit. The variation could have one laboratory showing the oil inside the standard with another showing it does not meet the standard.

This reinforces the importance of testing samples for monitoring at two different independent IOC accredited laboratories.

Sterol Composition of refined olive as a % of total sterols
	Refined Batch 2	Refined Batch 2	Refined Batch 2	IOC Standard	% Variation
Sterol	Sample 1	Sample 2	Sample 3
Cholesterol	0.4	0.2	0.4	<0.5	50%
Brassicasterol	0.1	<>	0.1	<>	0%
Campesterol	3.8	3.27	3.6	<>	14%
Stigmasterol	1.0	0.73	1.2	< campesterol	39%
Delta-7-stigmasterol	0.3	0.27	0.4	<>	32%
Beta-sitosterol+delta-5 avenasterol +delta-5-23 stigmastadienol + clerosterol + sitostanol +delta 5-24 stigmastadienol	93.3	95.0	93.1	> 93.0	2%