Products called “condiments” are multiplying on the market, which combine flavorings, spices or herbs with various vegetable oils. A reader writes to us to share a doubt about the label of one of these products. Below is the letter and the company’s response.
The letter on seasoning
Hi, I’m writing to point out that the Coppini company’s product is sold as a “condiment”, but if you look at the list of ingredients it would appear to be made up of only extra virgin olive oil. Since other ingredients are missing, it cannot be presented as a “condiment”. Furthermore, isn’t the correction of the taste/odor of extra virgin olive oil irregular in the EU? At least this is my opinion, you can ask the producer what he thinks. Thank you, Alfredo.
The company’s response
As your reader pointed out, our “Smoky” product is classified as a condiment. The legislation provides that the addition of flavourings, spices and aromatic plants to an oil means that it can no longer be defined as extra virgin oil, olive oil or vegetable seed oil, but must necessarily be defined as a “condiment”. This means that this type of product comes out of the olive oil legislation as its product nature is changed. Therefore, even if the main ingredient of our product is extra virgin olive oil, since the oil undergoes a smoking process, the resulting product must necessarily be defined as a “condiment”.
We remain available for any further explanations deemed necessary.
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