Los aceite de oliva etiquetados como aceites de oliva 0,4º y 1º, suave o intenso, o 0.4 y 1, son todos aceites de oliva de la categoría comercial "aceite de oliva" que son aceites resultantes de la mezcla de aceites de oliva refinados y aceites de oliva vírgenes.

Así en la etiqueta se indica "contiene exclusivamente aceites de oliva refinados y aceites de oliva vírgenes".

Pero lo que nunca se indica es el porcentaje de cada uno de ellos. En la mayoría de los casos el porcentaje de aceites refinados es de 80 al 90% y el resto es aceite de oliva virgen, lo justo para dar un poco de color y aroma al aceite.

El aceite refinado no tiene sabor, olor ni color, y como han reducido la acidez químicamente, ésta es muy pequeña, 0º a 0,20º. Por lo que el olor, el sabor, el color y la acidez los aportan los aceites de oliva vírgenes usados.

Debido a lo anterior, en el argot de la industria aceitera, añadir aceite virgen a un refinado, se llama encabezar, pues el aceite virgen aporta todas las características que aprecia el cliente y el refinado aporta volumen.

Entonces, ¿La diferencia entre aceite de oliva 0,4 y 1?

En puridad las diferencias entre uno y otro solo las conoce cada envasador, pues no están reglamentadas por ley, y por tanto cada envasador puede hacer las mezclas que considere, con la simple condición que la acidez de cada uno sea 0.4º y 1º.

Solo podemos elucubrar cómo se hacen y qué diferencias hay. A continuación:

La diferencia está en la cantidad de aceite de oliva virgen que se añade a la mezcla o la intensidad o variedad de sabor. Es decir, para hacer el aceite de oliva 1º, que tiene un sabor más intenso, suele usarse más aceite de oliva virgen en la mezcla, o una variedad de sabor más intenso, como el picual.

Por eso nuestra recomendación, si no tiene preferencia entre suave e intenso, es usar el intenso pues puede que contenga mayor cantidad de aceites vírgenes. (Con sus correspondientes sustancias naturales beneficiosas para la salud)

Hay que añadir que estos aceites de oliva, al ser en su mayor parte aceites refinados, a los que se les ha eliminado los antioxidantes naturales, se le añade de manera industrial tocoferoles para que el aceite se conserve mejor. Este hecho no se indica en las etiquetas pues la legislación permite esta práctica y no obliga a declararlo en la etiqueta.

Historieta de los aceites de oliva 0.4º y 1º.

Desde hace más de 30 años, cuando la categoría de aceites de oliva virgen extra estaba en pañales, los grandes envasadores vendían principalmente la categoría "aceite de oliva" (aún sigue siendo la categoría de aceite de oliva más vendida en España), es decir, la mezcla de aceites de oliva refinado y vírgenes.

Desde el punto de vista comercial, en absoluto reglamentado por la administración, algún envasador empezó a sacar dos líneas de aceite: el aceite de oliva 0.4º y el aceite de oliva 1º, el primero de sabor más suave, y el segundo más intenso, al contener más aceite de oliva virgen. Estas dos líneas tuvieron mucho éxito comercial, de tal forma que muchos otros envasadores imitaron al pionero, y entre los consumidores cuajó la división, así como la idea de que una menor acidez implicaba una mayor suavidad en el sabor.

Al tiempo, se fue desarrollando comercialmente la categoría de mayor calidad, el aceite de oliva virgen extra. Estos son aceites de oliva de calidad superior obtenidos directamente de la aceituna solo por procedimientos mecánicos. Estos aceites de oliva tienen una acidez menor de 0.8º, (pueden llegar a ser menor de 0,1) Cuanto menor es la acidez, mejor es la calidad y sanidad del fruto, y el proceso de obtención del aceite.

Este hecho generaba confusión entre los consumidores:  Por un lado el aceite de oliva 0.4º es el que tiene mayor proporción de refinado y tiene sabor suave, y por otro lado tenemos los aceites de oliva virgen extra con acidez baja pero sabores intensos.

Por otro lado, la nueva categoría "aceite de oliva virgen extra", de baja acidez natural, beneficiaba a los aceites de oliva 0.4, prestigiándolos injustamente.

Por tanto, se cambió la legislación del etiquetado del aceite de oliva. Los envasadores que quisieran indicar la acidez de sus aceites deberían indicar también otros parámetros de calidad (peróxidos, K270, K232, Delta K,..)

El resultado fue que los envasadores eliminaron de sus etiquetas las referencias 0.4º y 1º, y empezaron a poner simplemente, 0.4 y 1. Debieron recibir un toque por parte de la Administración Pública y los sustituyeron por suave e intenso. Pero en el fondo sigue siendo lo mismo. (Últimamente he visto algunos aceites de oliva que han vuelto a indicar aceite de oliva 0.4º y 1º indicando el resto de parámetros de calidad que les obliga la legislación )

Es decir:

aceite de oliva 0.4º = aceite de oliva 0.4 = aceite de oliva suave

aceite de oliva 1º = aceite de oliva 1 =aceite de oliva intenso

Nuestra opinión sobre el asunto (interesada o no):  Mejor Aceite de Oliva Virgen Extra

Visto lo visto, y viendo en el mercado la diferencia de precios entre los aceites de oliva virgen extra y los aceite de oliva 0,4º ó 1, creemos que merece la pena comprar un aceite de oliva virgen extra. 

El aceite de oliva virgen extra es un aceite totalmente natural, su sabor y aromas son más intensos y además aportan más antioxidantes beneficiosos a la salud que los 0,4 y 1.

En muchos caso, se prefiere los aceites 0,4 y 1 porque son más suaves. La solución a esto es usar aceites de oliva virgen extra de variedades que de forma natural dan un aceite de oliva dulce, suave y amable, sin amargor. (Aquí puede consultar algunas de estas variedades)

Nuestra conclusión es clara:

Durante los últimos años se han producido cambios en el cultivo del olivar, con plantaciones nuevas y más tupidas, colocando los olivos en hilera formando un seto y separados por estrechas calles por donde pasa la maquinaria para realizar las labores de trabajo y recolección. Esta forma de cultivar el olivar, conocido como cultivo superintensivo, se ha convertido en una amenaza para las aves migratorias.

Las aves migratorias utilizan los setos del olivar superintensivo para sus horas de sueño. Cuando las cosechadoras realizan la recolección nocturna, estos olivares se convierten en una trampa para ellas ya que se desorientan con los focos de luz y no tienen margen para escapar. 

Estos hechos fueron trasladados por Ecologistas en Acción y el Seprona al gobierno regional de Andalucía, que realizó un informe técnico sobre el impacto generado por la explotación del olivar en superintensivo sobre las especies protegidas en Andalucía, concluyendo que existe la relación entre esta práctica agrícola nocturna y la mortandad de estas aves y que se trata de un problema ambiental que afecta a nivel europeo, dado que muchas aves afectadas son migratorias. Este organismo se comprometió a regularlo.

 Olive is the fruit of the olive tree. Specifically it is a drupe, like the cherries, plums and peaches.

As the rest of the drupes, it has a skin called pericarp and an intermediate fleshy area, called mesocarp and a single central bone called endocarp.

The olive has two particularities that make it unique among all the drupes. First, its flesh is not sweet but bitter (please, do not attempt to taste an olive picked up directly from the olive tree, you will regret it!); and second, and most important, is that its fleshy part contains a large amount of an oily substance inside.

This is important, because this oily substance can be extracted as if it was orange juice, through mechanical procedures: squeezing, crushing or pressing the olives. On the contrary, to extract oil from seeds, it is necessary to use chemical procedures by using solvents.

The juice obtained from the olive only using mechanical processes is called Virgin Olive Oil.

Like any other juice, Virgin olive oils are of good quality if the milled fruits are not damaged, they are at their just maturing point, they are milled in a short period of time after being harvested, and finally, the production system is the adequate.

Based on the different qualities, and sorted from highest to lowest quality, Virgin Olive Oils are classified as:

1. Extra virgin olive oil, the higher quality among all the olive oils
2. Virgin olive oil, the second in quality among all the olive oils
3. Lampante virgin olive oil, which is not suitable for human consumption.

Extra virgin and virgin olive oils are categories of commercial products and the requirements that must fulfill to be labeled are regulated by the legislation.

On the other hand  lampante virgin olive oil, or simply lampante, because that is not suitable for consumption, must be refined in order to be consumable, and therefore, it will leave to be Virgin.

This classification is a bit confusing, because the three are virgin olive oils, and one of them, virgin olive oil has the same name as the generic one. To avoid confusions, we will try to call the general classification in plural, as 'virgin olive oils'; and within it, we will call in singular, 'virgin olive oil' to the second in quality.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is, within the virgin olive oils, the category of olive oil with highest quality.

To consider as extra virgin olive oil, the product must have two conditions: a chemical condition, summarized in the percentage of acidity, and the organoleptic analysis, of flavor and aroma, which is checked by trained tasting panels.

Many people do not understand why it's needed to do a tasting panel to classify an extra virgin olive oil. In fact it is a requirement to classify all virgin olive oils because, as fruit juices, a large part of its quality is in its aromas and flavors, and, by now, no instrumental laboratory is capable of measuring as the human nose do.

Requirements of a virgin olive oil to be extra virgin:

1.- Acidity must be less than or equal to 0.8º.

2.- In a tasting panel, the median defects of the product must be zero, and the median of the fruitiness must be over zero. 

Apart from these two requirements, the legislation adds some other additional parameters that are designed to detect fraud and mixtures with other oils, rather than to classify virgin olive oils.

What does it mean that the median of the defect should be zero?

The olive oil must be tested by a tasting panel composed by several experienced tasters, between seven and twelve normally. This helps to increase the objectivity and validity of the final results.

Let's suppose that the panel is composed of nine tasters and each scored the defect more intense. If the taster does not detect any defect the product is scored with zero. Once finished the taste, the scores are sorted from lowest to highest, as you can see below:

The median is the score given by the taster with the number five, because it is the center rate, between 1 and 9, in this case 0,0 . Therefore the median of the defect will be 0. In cases where the number of tasters is pair, the median average will be the average  between the two central boxes.

Now suppose these tasters valued fruitiness. Scores are sorted again from lowest to highest:

We look for the score of the taster located in fifth position and the result is 1.5. Therefore the median of the fruity is over zero. This way, following the tasting panel rules, it would be extra virgin oil.

As a conclusion, 'median of the defect zero' means that the majority of the tasters in the panel do not detect any defects and 'medium of fruity over zero' means that the majority of the tasters in the panel consider that the olive oil is fruity.

Labelling

Olive Oils classified as extra virgin olive oil must include the following descriptive information on their packaging:

'Olive Oil top category obtained directly from olives and solely by mechanical procedures.'

Virgin olive oil is, within the virgin olive oils, the second of them in quality, behind the extra virgin olive oil, and in front of lampante virgin olive oil. 

1) Requirements to classify an olive oil as "virgin olive oil"

For its classification as virgin olive oil it must meet two conditions: 

1.- its acidity must be less than or equal to 2º. 

2.- In a tasting test, the median of the defect must be less than or equal to 2.5 and the median of the fruity must be more than zero. 

Like extra virgin olive oil, the legislation includes additional chemical requirements, mainly focused on the detection of fraud through blends with other oils. 

In reference to the constraints of the tasting, the "translation" in a simple way would be to say that virgin olive oil may have a low intensity defect and must have fruity aromas and flavors. If you want to know exactly how to determine the médium values, you can see our post about of extra virgin oil. 

2) Labelling:

Virgin olive oils shall bear on their labels the following information: 

"Olive oil obtained directly from olives and only by mechanical means."

Lampante olive oil has traditionally been the olive oil of worse quality. Lampante olive oils have high level of acidity, a flavor and a very unpleasant smell that prevents its consumption. In fact the traditional name of lampante comes from its use as a fuel in oil lamps.

According to the current spanish legislation, a virgin olive oil is lampante when it does not meet any of the requirements to be Virgin olive oil. So, it will be lampante when it meets any of the following characteristics:

1.  Its acidity is more than 2 grams of free oleic acid per 100 grams (2º)
2.  In the tasting panel, the median of the defects is more than 2.5 .
3.  In tasting, the median of the fruityness is zero. 

Lampante Olive Oil is often an olive oil of unpleasant taste and smell, and a high level of acidity. Sometimes its colour is different to typical green and gold of the extra virgin and virgin olive oils. They usually come from olives in a bad state of conservation due to pests, frost, and time-consuming falls on the floor without collecting.

Like the other two categories of virgin olive oil, the legislation includes other chemical parameters to avoid fraud among producers and refiners.

Given the poor features of this oil it is forbidden to sale it directly to consumers. For its consumption it is necessary to refine it.

The characteristics of Lampante Virgin Olive Oils are so bad that they are not fit for consumption. These oils have high levels of acidity, very unpleasant flavors, and sometimes an unnatural color.

Therefore, to be able for consumption Lampante Olive Oils must be submitted to a series of chemical and physical processes that make up the refine procedure to eliminate their poor features. The problem is that in most of these processes are also removed the substances that contribute to the healthy properties of the olive oils.

Some of the processes that we are going to explain have as sole purpose to improve the appearance of the olive oil and have no relation to improve the olive oil features to make it suitable to people consumption.

Processes for refining of virgin olive oils.

1.- Debug or gumming. With the addition of water and phosphoric acid some compounds are removed such as phospholipids and gums that may cause the formation of mucilages in the packaging (see sediments in the olive oil), whose appearance is unattractive to the consumer. In the process are inevitably removed other desirable components as some proteins.

2.- Neutralization. It is the process to remove the acidity. With caustic soda the acids of the olive oil are separated, leaving the levels of acidity to practically zero. This process involves the removal of a large amount of carotenes, vitamin A components, in the virgin olive oils.

3.- Fading. It consists on the removal of the substances responsible of the color. These are mainly carotenes and chlorophyll. The olive oil is treated with activated clay to 100 ºC.

4.- Deodorization. All the compounds responsible for unpleasant tastes and odors are removed using heat. As most of these compounds are volatile, they are removed by passing the oil by a stream of air at 200-250 ° C. Secondarily also free fatty acids are removed. In this process the majority of tocopherols, sterols, and polyphenols, and their important antioxidant properties are also removed.

5.- Winterising. This process is made to remove the high melting point triglycerides, what gets that olive oil remains liquid at lower temperatures. Simply cools the oil with water, solid triglycerides are removed and then separate. Its function, as well as first step, is to improve the appearance of the product. (see grounds).

The final product after refining Lampante Virgin olive oil is refined olive oil. It can be said that from the original composition of the Virgin olive oil only remain the triglycerides, thus almost the unsaponifiable fraction have been removed. All the smells, tastes and unpleasant lampante oil colors have been removed, but also all the substances responsible for the antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties of Virgin Olive Oils.

As a result refined olive oil is a colorless, odorless and tasteless vegetable fat, and that only distinguishes itself from the rest of the vegetable oils in its high content in oleic acid, the sole nutritional advantage that remains in the product after refining. Under these conditions, the refined olive oil  can not be commercialized, since it would not be accepted by consumers. To make it consumable it must be mixed with a virgin or extra virgin olive oil to transmit something of color, flavor and aroma of the Virgin olive oils.

Lately it is being attempted to replace the chemical processes of refining, Cleansing and Neutralization, by more aggressive physical processes which keep the oil at a higher temperature and longer period of time. This new option avoids the addition of chemical products, but exposure to higher temperatures can change the composition of fatty acids, especially linoleic acids (omega 6) and linolenic (omega 3).

Refined olive oils, as it has been explained here, are only a colorless, odorless, and tasteless fat. In these conditions they are not desiderable for the human palate, and therefore are not allowed their marketing and consumption.

On the other hand, in the refining process, the virgin olive oil loses practically all the unsaponifiable fraction, whose substances are responsible for much of the healthy properties of virgin olive oils.

To be acceptable for consumption, refined olive oil should be mixed with a virgin olive oil or an extra virgin olive oil to provide it color, flavor and aromas.

The percentages of mixture are very low, between 15 to 10% generally. The mixture of refined oil and virgin or extra virgin is the commercial category "olive oil" and it is the top in sales in Spain. In their labels you can read: "contains refined olive oil and virgin olive oils exclusively", without mentioning the percentage of mixture.

The main condition that must meet the mix is that the acidity must be less than or equal to 1º.

What are “intense” and “smooth” olive oils?

These classes inside the category "olive oil" are not already regulated. By approximation they could correspond to the former categories of 0.4º or and 1º, which were prohibited by law because they confused to the consumer attempting to present the acidity as a quality parameter in the olive oils that were not virgins.

Intense and smooth olive oils are those with different proportion of virgin oils. The industry  prefers to make these marketing tricks better than putting them the real ratio of the mixture.

Intense olive oils have more flavor because the amount of virgin oil is greater, and the smooth, on the contrary, have less proportion of virgin olive oil. Therefore, if you decide to consume the category "olive oil" we recommend you to use the intense. This way you will have a greater proportion of virgin olive oils.

Early harvest olive oil is considered to be everything that is obtained from olives harvested at veraison, at the moment when the color changes from green to purple, even a little earlier.

There is no fixed date for the harvest of this early olive, since it depends on the area, the variety of the olive, and on the weather conditions, although we can establish a time period roughly starting around the beginning/middle of October and ending around the middle of November.

Since on these dates, and in some areas, temperatures are still at an average level, special care and caution must be shown during the harvest in order not to damage the fruit or cause damage to the olive tree, and this work must be done during the hours of the day with lowest temperatures.

The yield of early harvest olive oils is inferior to that of traditional extra virgin olive oils. If regarding traditional virgin olive oil we have a yield of oil/olive weight ratio of between 20-25%, the fat yield in olive oil of early harvest is between 12-14% on average. This means that in the production of early harvest olive oil, more kilos of olives must be used than for extra virgin olive oil produced on more mature olives.

It should be noted that the concept "early harvest" is not regulated by any normative law, and therefore, no controls are carried out. It is a quality label created and assumed by the extra virgin olive oil producers themselves.

Features of early harvest olive oil

Early harvest olive oils are characterized by their bright green color (given their higher chlorophyll content) and by their herbaceous and fresh fruity aromas and flavors; more powerful and fruity than olive oils harvested from more mature olives, which, while still excellent, have slightly more attenuated and mature nuances. They generally tend to be stronger, spicier and more bitter.

Furthermore, green olive oils, in addition to having lower acidity ranges and lower levels of peroxides (they measure the degree of oxidation), have a higher concentration of polyphenols and natural antioxidants, and are as such olive oils with more health benefits.

Moving towards early harvest Extra Virgin Olive Oils

A few years ago, the term "early harvest olive oil" didn't exist.  Members of the cooperative cultivated their olives with the purpose of optimizing their weight and fat yield. The olive harvest began, according to Puente Genil's popular tradition, on December 8, after "la Virgen", the feast celebrating the immaculate conception.

However, small private oil mills, such as Las Valdesas, began to produce this type of oil.

Little by little, producers, even cooperatives, are joining the production of early harvest olive oils, reserving part of their harvests to be used to produce this type of oils, highly appreciated internationally and with an increasing number of national consumers. Thus, based on official data, we see a growth in the production of these oils in recent years in which we have gone from 5% of the total volume produced in 2010 to 20% in 2016.

It was formerly called pomace to the remains of olives after obtaining the virgin olive oils.

Pomaces were composed by the pulp, skin and bones, water, and a residual amount of olive oil, approximately between 2 and 3%. Currently, with the mills of two phases, the by-product obtained is called 'alperujo', and it is a compact mass formed by the same components and with olive oil in its interior in the same percentage.

To be able to extract this small amount of olive oil, chemical solvents are used, commonly hexane, and the procedure is performed in the orujeras (extraction companies) or extractors.

Obviously this is not virgin olive oil. Its name is raw pomace olive oil.

This pomace olive oil has the same fatty acid profile than if it had been removed by physical processes. However, like the lampante olive oils, they have acidity and some unpleasant aromas and flavors that do not fit for consumption, and therefore they have to be refined.

The raw pomace olive oil, once refined using the same process used with lampante olive oil, is called refined pomace olive oil, and like the refined olive oil, has no taste, no smell, no color; and is it not permissible for consumption.

Finally, and like the refined olive oils, refined pomace olive oils are mixed with virgin or extra virgin to provide them flavors, color and aromas. This final product, already acceptable for its consumption, is called pomace olive oil,which consumers can find in shops and supermarkets.

More types of olive oils

Here you can find out all types of olive oils and their origin.

There are several processes used in the production of virgin olive oil. From the most traditional in which a stone mill is used, the press with straining and natural decanting in pools, to the most modern, where the two-phases centrifugation process is used. All of them have in common that they use only mechanical and physical procedures.

Below we will explain the steps for the production of virgin olive oil through the extraction in two phases, which is the most modern process to date, and is that we use in Las Valdesas.

1)     Reception of the olives in the mill:

Olives are received in the mill. The first process is the removal of leaves mixed with the olives during the harvesting.  Olives are dropped a small height in which a fan generates a stream of air that makes the leaves fly away. These leaves will be used for preparing a compost.

In cases in which the olives are covered with mud or dirt, they are washed through an industrial washing machine for disposal. Finally, they are weighed and taken to the mill.

2)    Grinding of the olives:

The milling is the crushing of the olives to make it a paste. This is achieved through a metallic hammer. They turn to high revs and crushed olives on a mesh of a caliber which is usually between 3 and 5 mm. With this you can get thick or thin olive pulp according to the preferences of the miller.

3)    Kneading the pulp (Malaxation):

We believe that this is the most unknown process in the production of olive oil. Once obtained the pulp in the grinding process, it contains between 15 and 20% of olive oil. The rest is composed of bone, water and vegetable solid remains.

The problem is that olive oil is in the pulp in tiny drops, which makes very difficult to remove from the pulp. To get larger droplets that may be extracted, it is necessary to knead the pulp. This is achieved by using kneading machines, consisting of a bowl of stainless steel with a blade that knead and turn the mass slowly.

On the other hand, the bowl is surrounded by a pipe with hot water to control the temperature of the pulp. The higher the temperature, the lower the viscosity of the olive oil and therefore it will ease get large droplets needed for the extraction. However, at high temperatures the olive oils loose aromas and flavors, therefore, high quality extra virgin olive oils are produced in "cold extraction" (what are the oils of cold extraction?). The temperature often used during the process is between 25º and 35º C.

Therefore the kneading is a key stage in the production of olive oil. The miller can play with the temperature and the time of kneading of the mass. The kneading time is usually between 30 and 60 minutes.

4)    Extraction by centrifugation

Once the pulp is prepared, the centrifugation process begins. This is done in a horizontal axis centrifuge commonly called "decanters". Centrifugation process uses the different densities of the components of the pulp to separate them. Olive oil is the least dense of all of them, followed by water and vegetable remains and bones.

The centrifuge consist of a cylindrical body with a horizontal axis that rotates at about 4000 rpm. This gets that the dense paste concentrate on the outside of the cylinder and the less dense concentrate in the central part. Once the pulp has advanced and the separation has been made, a diaphragm or plate retains the olive oil and let the rest of the components of the pulp pass through

5)    Vertical centrifugation

As we have seen above the olive oil is retained by a diaphragm. This mechanism is not very precise and olive oil may even contain in its interior solid remains. A vertical centrifuge is used to remove them.

To remove these traces the olive oil passes by centrifuge, where water is added in the center of the disk of oil. Due to the difference in density, water is moved to the perimeter of the disc, dragging all the solids that have been left in the oil. After this last process, the olive oil is sent to stainless steel tanks for its storage.

6)    Storage and filtering (optional)

Oil is stored in inerted atmosphere stainless steel tanks. In all cases the olive oils contains very small vegetable solids remains and water. These will slowly decanting and stood at the bottom of the tanks.

Most mills filter their olives oils just before packaging. This get that oil has a clear and bright appearance and is guaranteed to not appear remains at the bottom of the bottles.

Other mills filter their olive oils just after vertical centrifuge process or a few days later. Other mills, like Las Valdesas, prefer not to filter olive oils to let them decant naturally not only in tanks but also in packagings.

Organic olive oil is olive oil produced following the European regulation on organic production and labelling of organic products (EU Regulation 2018/848).

We are going to be a little more specific.

What is the difference between an organic olive oil and a conventional one?

Las Valdesas produce Organic olive oils and Integrated Production olive oils (a production scheme between conventional and organic production). The differences between organic and conventional are mainly based in the way of cultivation and managing the olive grove according to the following aspects:

1) Pest Control. Organic cultivation does not allow neither the use of pesticides nor synthetic pesticides. On the contrary, alternative methods must be used, such as traps, encourage the proliferation of natural predators of the pest, use of olive-tree varieties resistant to frequent or endemic pests, or heat treatments (as used against Verticilium). It can also be used in a restricted way an approved list of natural products (animal, vegetable, microbianor mineral) to fight against pests.

2) Weed Control. Like for pest, synthetic herbicides are not allowed for weed removal. Some organic farmers graze herds of sheep or goats among the olive groves to eliminate weeds. It has the added advantage of the organic fertilizer as a contribution to the soil. We harvest the herbs and remove them from the olive trees feet by using manual machinery.

3) Fertilizers. Organic olive oils farms cannot use synthetic fertilizers. (Urea Ammonium Nitrate, etc.). It can only be used organic fertilizers, from animal origin (manure) or vegetable (compost). In our case, we use alperujo from our mill to produce a compost that we incorporate the soil after a maturation process of about a year. Under our point of view, it is more expensive, since the application and extension of compost is considerably more expensive than entering urea in the irrigation water or by foliar application.

With all the above requirements, we are capable to produce organic olives. The following measures must be taken during the organic olive oil production process:

1) In the reception at the mill and during the drafting process, olives and olive oil must always be in contact with stainless steel, rubber food (for the conveyor belts) or resins food. We began doing it more than ten years ago, when we started with the olive oil of Integrated Production.

2) In mills like Las Valdesas which grinds ecological olives and integrated production olives, it is necessary to fulfill a strict traceability process by controlling when you mill each type of olive. This aspect was already required in Integrated Production.

3) Analytical tests in pesticide residues to confirm that olive oil is free of them.We have been doing such controls for many years in our integrated production olive oils, in which the result has been always the absence of them.

Buy Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil->>

Does organic olive oil have a better taste than a conventional one?

Let us be clear in this point: We are convinced that the production of olive oil following the organic methods does not add more quality compared to other produced by conventional means.

The key aspects to produce a high quality extra virgin olive oil, such as getting olives in perfect health conditions, harvest them at the right moment of maturation, milling them quickly after harvesting, at a low extraction temperature, and preserving the olive oil against oxidation is not the responsibility of organic way of farming. More can still hinder their achievement.

We are convinced that an experienced olive oil taster in a blind tasting test in not able to distinguish an organic extra virgin olive oil from another extra virgin oil of conventional production.

In other organic products, such as eggs, chicken, or meat; the fact of being from ecological production can contribute to their quality and that could be appreciable by the consumer, but in the olive oil we believe that it is not possible. We think so because conventional extra virgin olive oil is already a natural food, it is olive juice, and it has neither preservatives nor additives.

Then, why to buy organic extra virgin olive oil?

We believe that there are two reasons:

1) For health and food safety. By consuming organic virgin olive oil you have the safety and confidence of consuming an olive oil without traces of pesticides or other contaminants.

2) To contribute with its purchase to the sustainability of the environment, with a production more respectful with the natural resources.

Is it the same ecologic olive oil, biological olive oil and organic olive oil?

Yes, all these terms refer to the same product, produced according to the ecological agriculture rules.

In some countries like Spain, it is more used the word "ecologic", whereas in France they prefer "biologic". In Germany both terms are used at the same time.

European regulations cover both terms, ecological and biological, and allow to use both, "Bio" and "Eco" in their labelling.

“Organic” olive oil is used as a synonym for the previous two but is not collected in the standard labelling.

Another adjective that is also heard is "biodynamic", coming from the world of wine. All we know is that to be able to put the biodynamic word to a product, it is necessary that it has been certified as ecological previously.

How are organic food producers controlled?

The European Regulation (2018/848) specifies that the control to the producers of organic food is carried out by a control agency, ie private companies authorized by the Ministry of Agriculture to certify that the producer follow all the European regulation requirements.

They request documentation from the producer and perform field audits to detect possible frauds: they check machinery, tools, take samples of soil, leaves and fruits if they consider it necessary. They also carry a control of the traceability of the ecological olives until their production into olive oil in the storage.

The control agency that certify the olive oils of Las Valdesas is CAAE (Andalusian committee of Ecological Agriculture), which even having that name,is a private company. It is the most experienced company in Andalusia about organic farming.

Labelling of organic olive oil

Organic olive oil must have in its labelling the European logo and the code of the control organism that certifies it. It should also be explained whether the product is of European origin or not byindicating "EU agriculture" or "non-EU agriculture". In our case it is "ES-ECO-001-AN" and "EU agriculture".

It is optional to add the control agency logo.

Las Valdesas ecological olive oil

Las Valdesas ecological olive oils comes from the enlargement of our fields, when buying a plot next to it. It is a surface about 34 hectars of Hojiblanca and other two parts of Arbequina intensive olive grove.

It was bought in 2015 and it is necessary that the field be worked for three years under the regulation of organic farming before certifying its olives as ecological. So, in 2018/2019 we will already have organic olive oil available for sale.

It will be available as a coupage of the two commented varieties and only in a 2,5 litre can format.

In the map below you can see in green color the situation of the new ecological plot inside our olive tree fields.

There is a lot of confusion, about the different types of olive oil and which are their differences. Below you can see a summary of all of them. They are classified by families. 

Virgin olive oils, obtained only by mechanical processes:

This family of olive oils are the most natural ones. They are like an orange juice, simply squeezed without using any chemical product for their production. They are prepared in olive oil mills. There are three different types, according to their quality. From highest to lowest quality are: 

Extra Virgin Olive Oil. This is the higher quality type of Olive Oil. It has a level of acidity below 0,8º and a taste and smell irreproachable. Directly on sale to the consumer. (more info)

Virgin Olive Oil. It has less quality than the previous one. It can have a máximum level of 2 degrees in acidity and slight defects of scent and flavor. Directly on sale to the consumer. (more info)

Lampante Virgin Olive Oil. It has an acidity of more than 2 degrees and an unpleasant taste and smell. It is not suitable for its consumption directly and it is necessary to refine it. (more info)

Olive oils extracted by chemical processes:

The remains of the olive fruits in the mills once virgin olive oil have been removed are called alperujo and still contains olive oil. This olive oil is extracted by using solvents in the so called "orujeras" (chemical factories) and is called raw pomace olive oil. It is not marketable and it is always necessary to refine it. (more about pomace olive oil)

Refined olive oil:

Lampante olive oils and the raw pomace olive oils have to be refined in refineries because its taste and smell are very unpleasant. 

As a result of the refining process these olive oils are obtained: 

Refined olive oil. From the refining of lampante virgin olive oil. It is a colorless, tasteless and odourless olive oil and can not be sold directly to the consumer. 

Refined pomace olive oil. From the refining of raw pomace olive oil, and like the previous one, is a colorless and odourless and tasteless olive oil. It can not be sold to the consumer either. 

More information about the refining of olive oil, here.

Types of olive oils that are a blend of the above ones.

Olive oil. It is the most consumed olive oil in Spain and probably around the world (sadly). Is a blend of refined olive oil and virgin or extra virgin olive oils. The proportion, which does not usually appear on the label, is between 10 and 15% of virgin olive oil, and the rest is refined. (more about "olive oil" type)

Pomace olive oil. Like olive oil, is a blend of pomace refined olive oil with a percentage of virgin  or extra virgin olive oils.

Summary 

According with the European law, there are 8 different types of olive oils, 3 of them are virgins (extra virgin, virgin and lampante), 1 has been produced chemically (raw pomace olive oil), 2 have been refined (refined olive oil and refined pomace olive oil) and finally 2 that are a blend of the previous ones (olive oil, pomace olive oil) 

Of the 8 types of olive oils, only 4 can be sold directly to the consumer: 

- Extra virgin Olive Oil (virgin) 

- Virgin Olive Oil (virgin) 

- Olive Oil (blend) 

- Pomace Olive Oil (blend).

Classifications or subtypes within the extra virgin olive oil. 

Within the type of extra virgin olive oil, it could have been produced by following some rules or legislations:

- Pressure in cold. Produced by pressing at a temperature below 27º C. 

- Cold extraction. Produced by removal at a temperature below 27º C. (more info)

- Integrated Production. Produced following the rules of this regulatory board.

- Ecological (Bio). Produced following the rules of this regulatory board. (more about Bio olive oil)

- Origin Denomination. Produced following the guidelines of its Regulatory Board.

Other subtypes of extra virgin olive oil without regulatory framework. 

- Filtered or unfiltered extra virgin olive oils. (more info)

- Single varieties olive oils, produced with a single variety of olive (Picual, Hojiblanca, arbequina, etc.) (more info)

- Early harvested Olive Oils: They are produced approximately from October to the beggining of November. (more about early harvest Olive Oils)

- First pressed or first extraction Olive Oils. Most of the extra virgin olive oils are produced from the first extraction or pressing. Those of second extraction or pressed, called mend olive oils, are almost always lampante olive oil. Being very careful it is posible to get virgin olive oils during this second process in exceptional cases. (Which is the difference between first pressed or first extraction oil?)

Other more or less questionable subtypes:

Sales techniques encourage the indications striking on the labels in olive oils. Some of the most commonly used are: 

- Olive oil from hundred or thousand years old olive oils. Under our point of view, the age of the olive tree has no influence on the quality of the olive oil. 

- Countryside or mountain Olive Oils. Among them there could be some difference but imperceptible for the consumer. 

- Unirrigated or irrigatied Olive Oil. Among them there could be some difference but imperceptible for the consumer.

Former denominations:

La recolección de la aceituna inicia las fases de producción de los aceites de oliva. El olivar ha sido cuidado durante todo el año para llegar al momento de esta labor agrícola, de cuya correcta planificación, fechas de recogida, técnicas y medios utilizados, estado de madurez del fruto y finalmente, de la experiencia y conocimientos de los operarios, dependerá en gran medida la calidad del producto final. El objetivo fundamental es hacer confluir todos los factores mencionados para llegar a obtener la mayor cantidad de fruto con los máximos estándares de calidad posibles.

¿Cuál es el periodo óptimo para la recolección?

Como en otros cultivos, en la recolección de la aceituna es preciso establecer racionalmente los parámetros que determinan (en función del tipo de plantación, tipo de aceituna, metodología y técnicas aplicadas en la recogida, y el estado de la maduración del fruto), el momento óptimo para su recogida. En lo que al fruto se refiere, hay que considerar que la aceituna va aumentando paulatinamente de tamaño y a partir de un cierto momento, comienza a transformarse cambiando sus tonalidades, que van determinando su estado de maduración. Hay una serie de factores que se tienen en cuenta para discernir el momento óptimo para la recolección:

• • Contenido de aceite en el fruto.
• • Evolución de la calidad del aceite en el fruto.
• • Resistencia del olivo a la tracción mecánica de la maquinaria usada para la recolección.
• • Fechas de recolección de la cosecha anterior.

El contenido de aceite en el fruto aumenta con la maduración. El alcance máximo se produce cuando desaparecen los frutos verdes en el olivo. Las características organolépticas del fruto, y consiguientemente, del aceite que se obtiene del mismo, van disminuyendo conforme la recolección se retrasa, obteniéndose los aceites más afrutados y aromáticos al inicio de la maduración, incluso con un porcentaje de aceitunas verdes. En Las Valdesas comenzamos la recolección de la aceituna entre finales de octubre y comienzos de Noviembre. Considerando que tenemos 5 tipos de aceites diferentes (Hojiblanca, Arbequina, Picual, Manzanilla y Frantoio), vamos escalonando la recolección atendiendo al momento ideal de maduración de cada una de ellas. Nuestros aceites son de cosecha temprana con la finalidad de obtener por un lado unos excelentes aceites frutados de apreciadas cualidades culinarias y por otro, la máxima concentración de polifenoles (compuestos presentes en la aceituna con acciones antioxidantes y antiinflamatorias). Ver más sobre polifenoles en nuestros aceites.

¿Cuáles son los sistemas de recolección?

La utilización de los diferentes sistemas de recolección (más o menos automatizados) dependerá del grado de tecnificación de la finca y del tipo de plantación del olivar, que pueden ser:

• • Plantación Tradicional: Se trata de plantaciones con baja densidad de olivos por hectárea (entre 80 y 120), siguiendo un esquema cuadriculado de 10-12 metros entre los vértices donde están plantados los olivos. Los olivos cuentan con dos o tres pies para incrementar la producción.
• • Plantación Intensiva: Serían aquellas con una densidad de entre 200 y 600 olivos por hectárea. Se trataría de olivos de un pie colocados en marcos de 6x6 o 6x3 metros con calles de 6 metros. La recolección en este tipo de marcos se suele hacer con vibradores con paraguas para la recepción de la aceitunas y vibradora con vareo con recepción de la aceituna sobre telones.
• • Plantación Superintensiva: Plantaciones con densidad de entre 1200 y 2000 olivos por hectárea. En este tipo de plantaciones la mecanización de las labores de recolección es íntegra.

Los sistemas de recolección ordenados por la tradicionalidad de las técnicas utilizadas (de más tradicionales a más avanzadas) son:

1. 1. Ordeño: El operario trabaja desde el suelo o utilizando escaleras, deslizando la mano por los ramos cargados de fruto para dejarlos caer sobre telones extendidos previamente bajo los árboles. Los costes de la recogida siguiendo este sistema son muy altos ya que es un método muy artesanal y con poco volumen de recogida pues se hace manualmente.
   2. Vareo: El operario, provisto de una vara con una longitud entre uno y cuatro metros, golpea los ramones del olivo procurando que los golpes incidan de manera lateral a las zonas donde se encuentra la aceituna sin causar daño sobre el olivo, ya que ello podría afectar a la producción del año siguiente. Al igual que con el sistema descrito anteriormente, el fruto cae sobre los lienzos colocados bajo los árboles previamente, para su posterior volcados a los medios de transporte y su traslado al molino.

1. Vibrador: Se trata de una técnica por la cual se acopla un brazo mecánico adherido a máquina tractora o manipulada por una persona y lo hace vibrar hasta que caen las aceitunas debido a este impulso depositándose en los telones colocados bajo el olivo. En el caso de vibrador en tractor, se acopla sobre el tronco del olivo, si es manipulada por un operario, se acopla a la rama. La última técnica vibradora es la utilización de máquinas llamadas “buggies”, también por vibración pero con un mayor grado de maniobrabilidad dentro de los marcos de trabajo.

¿Cuáles son las fases de la recolección?

La recolección de la aceituna para la elaboración de aceite puede dividirse en:

• • Preparación de suelos. Incluye tanto la limpieza de la zona para la posterior recogida de la aceituna como la adecuación de los marcos de plantación para que las calles tengan la suficiente amplitud para poder facilitar la movilidad de las máquinas.
• • Recogida del fruto. La aceituna puede ser recogida de “vuelo”, que es aquella que se recolecta directamente del árbol siguiendo alguna de las técnicas expuestas en el apartado anterior, o de “suelo”, que son aquellas que se recogen tras haber caído del árbol por su propia maduración. Evidentemente el grado de maduración de las aceitunas recogidas de suelo es mucho más alto que las recogidas de vuelo y por consiguiente, la calidad del aceite obtenido de ellas es inferior.
• • Transporte. Cuando la aceituna se recibe sobre los telones situados en el pie de los olivos, es fundamental su desbroce y limpieza tanto en el campo en la recogida, como posteriormente en el molino para liberar los frutos de posibles ramas y hojas que se hayan desprendido bien con los ordeños, vareos o vibraciones. El periodo de tiempo que debe transcurrir entre la recolección de la aceituna y su posterior molienda en la almazara debe ser el mínimo posible y el medio de transporte utilizado debe ser aquel que procure el menor daño posible al fruto.