Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil - Buy Online at Olive Oils Italy

Organic Extra virgin olive oils from Italy

You can buy the best organic extra virgin olive oil from our online store. Italian Organic Olive Oil has been increasingly popular with consumers who value their health and environmentally friendly products for some years.

A growing number of quality-conscious Italian extra-virgin oil producers have converted to organic cultivation. These include top names such as Quattrociocchi, Cutrera, Agraria Riva del Garda and Sommariva. You can buy their products directly from our "OliveOilsItaly" online store.

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What does "organic extra virgin olive oil" mean and how do I recognize organic olive oils from Italy?

Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

To be classed as “organic”, extra Virgin Olive Oils must first meet the strict quality guidelines that apply to all extra virgin olive oils:

They may only be produced using a mechanical process in which the olives are cold pressed at a maximum temperature of 27°C. The acidity must not exceed 0.8%.. An "extra virgin" olive oil must also be must be recognizably fruity, bitter or hot, and free of defects overall.

EU Organic Olive Oil Seal
EU Organic Olive Oil Seal

N.B. Organic extra virgin olive oil is also cold-pressed, quality olive oil.

The olive oil organic label - Strict standards of cultivation...

The "organic" label means that olive oil has been produced in accordance with EU Regulation 834, 2007. This applies to all food and other products from certified organic farms. Olive oil bottles are labelled on the front or back with the EU seal for organic products. This bears a stylised leaf with its central rib and the edge marked by stars in white on an olive green background (see illustration on the right).

Food from certified organic products that bear this seal must meet several requirements. In the case of plant products, these are primarily the complete elimination of mineral synthetic fertilisers, chemical pesticides for weed and pest control, and genetic engineering.

To protect the soil instead of leaching it out, fields may only be fertilised using mulch, liquid manure or green manure.The ban on artificial fertilizers also means fewer nitrates are released into the ground and surface water. Pest control is also organic - for example by using insects that prey on plant pests – rather than by using often highly toxic pesticides.

...and processing

The EU regulation also applies to the processing of plant products. This means no artificial products, dyes or flavour enhancers may be used. If a company produces the same product from both conventionally and organically grown olives, they must be processed separately. Organic extra virgin olive oil is therefore produced in special facilities in which the organic olives are stored and processed separately from conventionally grown ones.

Healthy for you, good for the environment

Organic farming does not only protect the environment and nature by avoiding the use of synthetic active ingredients for fertilisation and pest control. Other measures such as greening the soil and planting the edges of cultivated areas also help agriculture remain in harmony with nature. The cultivation of organic olives therefore makes a valuable contribution to preservation of the landscape in the Mediterranean.

At the same time, organic farming ensures the end product is free of harmful substances by prohibiting the use of pesticides and other products that are toxic for the environment, which often have a strong taste. This also applies to our organic extra virgin olive oils. They are healthy for you and good for the environment.

Obviously compared with conventional methods, organic farming involves a significantly higher workload. Constant monitoring of pests is necessary in order to ensure that organic methods can be used to combat them in good time.

Organic farmers also need to have extensive knowledge and know-how. Organic methods can never achieve the same productivity as conventional agriculture. However organic farmers do not aim for maximum output, but for the best possible management of their land in harmony with nature and the environment.

Higher labour input and lower productivity naturally lead to higher prices. Food from organic farms is always more expensive than conventionally produced food, and this naturally also applies to our organic olive oils.

Organic Italian olive oil

In Italy, organic farming has been gaining ground for many years. In spring 2017 the Italian Parliament even passed a Framework Law on Organic Farming, elevating it to an “activity of national interest” due to its social function.

The law explains that organic agriculture is based on the "quality of its products and processes that guarantee food safety, animal welfare and protection of the environment and biodiversity". It aims to provide the organic farms in Italy with a secure framework, innovative tools and sufficient resources. It is therefore no wonder that a growing number of Italian companies from agriculture and food production are converting to organic farming. The olive oil industry is no exception.

Some of the producers whose olive oils we stock in our online store have been practicing organic cultivation for years. One example is small-scale producer Sommariva, based in Albenga, in Liguria. The farm has been certified as organic since 1972.

We also stock organic olive oil by large-scale producers such as Quattrociocchi from Frosinone, in Lazio. Their farm offers a wide range of organically produced extra virgin olive oils in glass bottles or cans.

BUY ORGANIC 5 LITRES OF EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

All our organic oils are multiple award-winning extra virgin olive oils of the highest quality. Take a look at our large selection of organic extra virgin olive oils!

Award-winning organic extra virgin olive oils

The growing importance of organically grown olive oils is reflected in the many organic cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil competitions. Almost all of the numerous competitions held around the “green gold” have now launched one or more organic olive oil sections. The most well-known example is the New York International Olive Oil Competition, which involves an online search for the best organic olive oils of the year.

BIOL - Association for the Improvement of Organic Agriculture Products

BIOL is an Italian association for the improvement of organic agriculture products. Every year BIOL organises the world's most important competition to determine the best organic extra virgin olive oil, the BIOL Prize.

Products from all over the world are tested and awarded prizes by BIOL. The competition is held under the patronage of the international manufacturers' association IFOAM in Andria, in Puglia. The organisers include the Italian Ministry of Agriculture as well as several regional and local organisations and authorities.

Some of the leading producers to win the BIOL prize for their organic olive oils are: