What specific controls are in place in exporting countries to protect the integrity of oils coming to the United States?

All olive oil produced in EU member states, which includes more than 80% of the olive oil consumed by Americans, is legally required to undergo risk analysis and is subject to controls to check for authenticity and conformity with labeling rules at every stage of marketing, including before they are exported.

For example, Spain and Italy combined account for close to 90% of the olive oil exported from the EU. Spain, which produces more than half of the world’s olive oil and is the leading exporter to the United States, takes the following steps:

• All exporting companies must be registered in the EU Economic Operators Registration and Identification (EORI) system to be approved to export goods. To ensure accountability, an entity can’t have more than one EORI number, which helps maintain an accurate export history database to track performance over time.
• Spain has three different points of inspection and analysis:
    
  • There are 17 autonomous communities that make up Spain, and they each conduct inspections of olive oil in the manufacturing facilities where it’s produced.
  • Spain’s Official Service of Surveillance, Certification and Technical Assistance of Foreign Trade (SOIVRE) samples olive oil to be exported and conducts physico-chemical and sensory testing to ensure authenticity and quality. Olive oil bound for the United States is specifically targeted for additional testing. SOIVRE also checks olive oil to ensure labeling requirements are met.
  • Spanish Customs also collects samples and conducts physico-chemical and sensory testing.

In Italy, the National Agricultural Information System (SIAN) tracks every move olive oil makes in the country, whether it’s imported or produced domestically. This makes olive oil one of Italy’s most verified products. Companies that fail to update the information in SIAN are sanctioned, and every police force across the country has access to the information in the system to aid enforcement against bad actors.

Across the EU, these rigorous processes ensure the integrity of olive oil shipped to the United States – Europe’s most important export market.

Other exporting countries outside of the EU also have stringent requirements. For example, Morocco has a rigorous process for inspecting and monitoring each batch of olive oil intended for export. Olive oil can only be released for export once it’s met the trade standard of the destination market. Morocco also has a network of internationally accredited labs specializing in olive oil analysis, which test for quality and purity.