2024 Seal Certification Kit
The California Olive Oil Council is excited to announce the opening of the 2023 Seal Certification season. Please see the attached document for more information.
There are three related purposes of the California Olive Oil Council (COOC) Seal Certification Program:
- To provide producers and marketers with a standardized method of grading their 100% California olive oil as extra virgin.
- To provide producers and marketers who meet the certification standard with a means of distinguishing their products in the marketplace.
- To provide consumers and retailers with assurance that the oil they purchase is in fact extra virgin grade.
Overview of the Certification Process
To gain COOC certification, an oil must comply with requirements for both a chemical analysis and a sensory evaluation. COOC producing members must undertake this process following every harvest to ensure their oil meets the criteria to be considered extra virgin grade. Additionally, the Seal Certification Program guarantees traceability. Through participation in the program, an oil is verified to be from the most recent harvest and produced only from olives grown in California.
Standards & Requirements
All COOC members who produce and/or label an oil as extra virgin must comply with the COOC Standards & Requirements annually under the Seal Certification Program. Chemistry and sensory testing by an approved laboratory is required as a first screen to determine if an oil is extra virgin. Levels for the required chemistry testing are outlined below, which are among the strictest requirements worldwide.
Table 1: COOC Standards & Requirements for Certification
| All Producers | ||
|---|---|---|
| Sensory | Median of Defects | 0 |
| Median of Fruity | > 0 | |
| Free Acidity (FFA) (%m/m) | ≤ 0.5 | |
| Peroxide Value (PV) (meq O2/kg oil) | ≤ 15 | |
| UV Absorbency (UV) | K232 | ≤ 2.4 |
| K270 | ≤ 0.22 | |
| Delta K | ≤ 0.01 | |
| Producers > 5,000 gallons | ||
| Insoluble Impurities (INI) (%m/m) | ≤ 0.1 | |
| DAGs (%) | ≥ 35 | |
|
PPP (%) Induction Time |
≤ 17 | |
After proof of an oil’s chemical requirements has been verified, the oil then must undergo a sensory analysis to ascertain that the oil has fruitiness and qualifies as being free of defects, an important requirement in achieving extra virgin grade.
An oil only qualifies to display the COOC Seal once it has met both criteria. Seal Certification is a process which is ongoing following every harvest. View our list of certified oils for the most recent harvest to ensure you are using the freshest, most delicious extra virgin olive oil available.
If you are an olive oil producer and you are interested in submitting your oil to earn the COOC Seal, first you must become a member.