The Olive Oil Commission of California (OOCC) was founded in 2014 by California

olive oil Olive oil is a liquid fat obtained from olives (the fruit of ''Olea europaea''; family Oleaceae), a traditional tree crop of the Mediterranean Basin, produced by pressing whole olives and extracting the oil. It is commonly used in cooking: f ...

farmers. It is an entity of the

State of California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

which was established as a result of a bill introduced by

Lois Wolk Lois Wolk (born May 12, 1946) is an American politician and former member of the California State Senate. A Democrat, she represented the 3rd Senate District, which encompasses the Sacramento–San Joaquin River Delta region and portions of the ...

. The primary goal is to improve the sales of olive oil grown in California.

Grades and Standards

The OOCC has developed its own grading and standards for olive oils from California out of its belief that the standards set by the

International Olive Council The International Olive Council (IOC) (formerly the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC)) is an intergovernmental organization of states that produce olives or products derived from olives, such as olive oil. Originally established in under t ...

were not applicable to olive oils from California. The organization collects samples of olive oils from member producers and has them tested in a laboratory in Australia for sensory and

chemical analysis Analytical chemistry studies and uses instruments and methods to separate, identify, and quantify matter. In practice, separation, identification or quantification may constitute the entire analysis or be combined with another method. Separati ...

. The standards have been criticized by the

North American Olive Oil Association The North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA) is a trade association of producers, packagers and importers of olive oil. The organization was established in 1989. Certification of olive oil quality The North American Olive Oil Association of ...

. The NAOOA claims that commission's standards fail to address product adulteration and "do not ensure authenticity or quality of the olive oil".

Board Members

* Adam Englehardt, Kbar Farming * Larry Maben, Maben Family LLC * John Williams, Cal Ag Properties LLC * Deborah Rogers, McEvoy of Marin LLC * Jeff Colombini, Lodi Farming * Richard Marchini, Marchini Ag * Liz Tagami, Lucero Olive Oil * Jim Lipman, California Olive Ranch * Jim Etters, Seka Hills Olive Mill * Brady Whitlow, Corto Olive LP * Bruce Golino, Santa Cruz Olive Tree Nursery

References

External links

* {{official, http://www.oliveoilcommission.org Government of California Olive oil Agriculture in California