Aldi Australia has signed up to the Australian Olive Association’s (AOA) Industry Code of Practice.
The Code of Practice guarantees the authenticity and quality of certified extra virgin olive oils and distinguishes these products from others. To be certified, every drop of oil in a bottle labelled extra virgin olive oil must meet or exceed standards for quality and must be free of smell and taste defects with a free fatty acid level of less than 0.8 per cent.
Aldi uses the code as its own internal standard for all of its extra virgin olive oils, so from now on all extra virgin olive oil for sale by Aldi supermarkets in Australia – Australian or imported – must meet the criteria set out in the Code of Practice.
“The AOA has demonstrated clearly that not everything labelled extra virgin olive oil is the same,” said Matthew Barnes, Aldi’s managing director – buying.
“We were stunned to discover that some imported extra virgin olive oils in the market were not fit to be labelled as such. So, we signed up to the AOA Code of Practice and we are proud to comply with these requirements to ensure our extra virgin oils are always fresh, of the highest quality and never mixed with any refined oils or contaminants.”
Paul Miller, AOA’s president, says this is an excellent first step.
“Germany has the highest standard of olive oil testing in the world to ensure anything labelled extra virgin olive oil actually is what it says. We’ve brought some of the testing standards and methods to Australia and Aldi has agreed to take part.”
In addition to other obligations of the Code of Practice, Aldi participates in independent and random testing by the AOA and it voluntarily undergoes quarterly testing of its extra virgin olive oils to ensure they always pass FFA, Delta K, Peroxide and Organoleptic (taste) tests.