Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC 1. — ARTICLE 1. Olive Oil Grades [112875. - 112880.] | Health and Safety Code - HSC — California

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 112875. Section 112875.

“Olive oil,” as used in this chapter means the edible oil obtained solely from the fruit of the olive tree (Olea europea L.) to the exclusion of oils obtained using solvents or reesterification processes and of any mixture with oils of other kinds except in the making of flavored olive oil, as defined in Section 112878.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 112876. Section 112876.

The hierarchy for virgin olive oil grades shall be, from highest to lowest, extra-virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil, and virgin olive oil not fit for human consumption, sometimes known as lampante virgin olive oil, which shall be the lowest level of quality among the virgin olive oils. In terms of hierarchy, olive oil and refined olive oil shall fall below the virgin olive oil category. Olive oil grades shall be in the following categories: (a) Virgin olive oils. (1) Extra virgin olive oil. (2) Virgin olive oil. (3) Virgin olive oil not fit for human consumption without further processing, sometimes known as lampante virgin olive oil. (b) Olive oil. (c) Refined olive oil.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 112876.5. Section 112876.5.

The hierarchy for olive-pomace oil grades shall be, from highest to lowest, olive-pomace oil, refined olive-pomace oil, and crude olive-pomace oil, which is the lowest level of quality among the olive-pomace oils. Olive-pomace oil grades shall be in the following categories: (a) Olive-pomace oil. (b) Refined olive-pomace oil. (c) Crude olive-pomace oil.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 112877. Section 112877.

Olive oil grades are defined as follows: (a) “Virgin olive oils” are the oils obtained from the fruit of the olive tree solely by mechanical or other physical means under conditions, including thermal conditions, that do not lead to alterations in the oil, and that have not undergone any treatment other than washing, decanting, centrifuging, and filtration. Virgin olive oils without further processing include: (1) “Extra virgin olive oil” is virgin olive oil that has excellent flavor and odor expressed as a median of defects equal to zero and a median of fruitiness greater than zero, has a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.8 grams per 100 grams oil, has a peroxide value of not more than 20 milliequivalent peroxide oxygen per kilogram oil and meets the additional requirements for “United States Extra Virgin Olive Oil” outlined in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the Federal Register that are in effect on October 25, 2010. (2) “Virgin olive oil” is virgin olive oil that has reasonably good flavor and odor expressed as a median of defects between zero and 2.5 and a median of fruitiness greater than zero, has a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 2 grams per 100 grams oil, has a peroxide value of not more than 20 milliequivalent peroxide oxygen per kilogram oil, and meets the additional requirements for “United States Virgin Olive Oil” outlined in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the Federal Register that are in effect on October 25, 2010. (3) “Virgin olive oil not fit for human consumption without further processing,” sometimes known as “lampante virgin olive oil,” is virgin olive oil which has poor flavor and odor expressed as a median of defects between 2.5 and 6.0 or when the median of defects is less than or equal to 2.5 and the median of fruitiness is zero, has a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, of more than 2 grams per 100 grams, and meets the additional requirements of the “United States Virgin Olive Oil Not Fit For Human Consumption Without Further Processing” as outlined in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the Federal Register that are in effect on October 25, 2010. This grade of olive oil is intended for refining or for purposes other than food use. (b) “Olive oil” is the oil consisting of a blend of refined olive oil and virgin olive oils fit for consumption without further processing. It has a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 1 gram per 100 grams oil and meets the additional requirements for “United States Olive Oil” described in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the Federal Register that are in effect on October 25, 2010. (c) “Refined olive oil” is the olive oil obtained from virgin olive oils by refining methods that do not lead to alterations in the initial glyceridic structure (basic glycerin-fatty acid content). It has a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.3 grams per 100 grams oil, and meets the additional requirements for “United States Refined Olive Oil” described in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the Federal Register that are in effect on October 25, 2010. (d) “Olive-pomace oil” is oil obtained by treating olive pomace, which is the product that remains after the mechanical extraction of olive oil, with solvents or other physical treatments, to the exclusion of oils obtained by synthetic processes and a mixture with oils of other kinds. Olive-pomace oils shall be labeled and marketed with the following designations and definitions: (1) “Olive-pomace oil” is the oil comprising the blend of refined olive-pomace oil and virgin olive oils fit for consumption without further processing. It has a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 1 gram per 100 grams oil, and meets the additional requirements for “United States Olive-Pomace Oil” outlined in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the Federal Register that are in effect on October 25, 2010. (2) “Refined olive-pomace oil” is the oil obtained from crude olive-pomace oil by refining methods that do not lead to alterations in the initial glyceridic structure. It has a free fatty acid content, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.3 grams per 100 grams oil, and meets the additional requirements for “United States Refined Olive-Pomace Oil” outlined in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil Published in the Federal Register that are in effect on October 25, 2010. (3) “Crude olive-pomace oil” is olive-pomace oil that is intended for refining for use for human consumption or that is intended for technical use and that meets the requirements for “United States Crude Olive-Pomace Oil” outlined in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the Federal Register that are in effect on October 25, 2010.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 112878. Section 112878.

“Flavored olive oil,” as used in this chapter, means extra virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil, or olive oil, that is mixed with a flavoring, or olives that are processed into oil with any fruit, vegetable, herb, nut, seed, or spice and the product resulting from either process contains not less than 90 percent extra virgin olive oil, virgin olive oil, or olive oil, and is labeled for sale as an olive oil that has been flavored.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 112879. Section 112879.

“Imitation olive oil,” as used in this chapter, means the mixture of any edible oil artificially colored or flavored to resemble olive oil.

Cal. Health and Safety Code - HSC § 112880. Section 112880.

For purposes this chapter, the following definitions shall apply: (a) “Median of defects” means a calculation of the median score from a panel of tasters that characterizes the negative flavor and odor attributes of virgin olive oil, such as, but not limited to, musty, fusty, winey-vinegary, muddy-sediment, and rancid. (b) “Median of fruitiness” means a calculation of the median score from a panel of tasters that characterizes virgin olive oil produced from olives, such as, but not limited to, olive, apple, green, sweet, grass, nutty, and tomato. (c) “Panel of tasters” means the method of analyzing organoleptic characteristics of virgin olive oil, as defined in the United States Standards for Grades of Olive Oil and Olive-Pomace Oil published in the Federal Register that are in effect on October 25, 2010.