wff_ng_7 wrote:

Incorrect. There are two general phrases in the USA used for the
origins of olive oil. One phrase is "Imported from Italy". This just
means the olive oil was shipped from Italy, but the olives could have
come from anywhere. The other phrase is "Product of Italy", which
means the olives themselves were grown in Italy. There are a couple
of variants of these two phrases.

Nope: the only thing which can assure you of the origin of the olives are
the DOP and IGT labelings (EU rules). All the rest is BS. Let's see it in
detail.

I've got two bottles of Safeway Select olive oil in front of me. The
first bottle is "extra virgin olive oil". It is labeled "Produced and
Packed in Italy".

So olives can still come from anywhere.

It further says "extracted from ripe Italian olives".

Another phrase which has no legal definition nor a set of rules regarding
the requirements to use it. So now *some* of the olives (even 0.0001% if
they like so) must be from Italy, while the rest remains mistery olives.

Get IGP or DOP and you'll be sure of what's in that oil. Note that DOP and
IGP labels are ruled by European Union, so there must be the same labeling
also in Spain and probably in Greece, too. BTW, spanish oil is a very good
one and it's prices are rising, so if you buy italian oil without DOP or IGP
labels, you'll be probably getting something inferior in quality and (most
of all) in price than oil made with spanish olives: probably it will be from
turkish or lybian olives.
--
Vilco
Think pink, drink rose'