The legal loophole that allows you to buy olive oil from Jaén thinking it's Catalan

ReusThe labeling on olive oil bottles doesn't indicate the name of the town, the area, or the exact region where the olive extract we use to cook and season our food is produced. On the other hand, it does specify whether the product is made in Spain, the European Union, or elsewhere. What, then, does the address we read on the labels—often there's one on the back label—next to the brand name mean? Well, it corresponds to the name of the company that markets it, which may have packaged oil purchased outside of Catalonia there. This fact is what can lead consumers to think that if the address on a bottle is Catalan, it necessarily means that what they are buying is oil made in our country, when It may have been made at the other end of the State, for example in Jaén, which is the world's leading producer of olive oil.This approach, which could be interpreted as cheating, is entirely legal and permitted by industry regulations.

"The olive oil we produce wouldn't be enough to supply the Catalan market; we're not self-sufficient," warns Xavier Vicens, director of the Official Tasting Panel of Virgin Olive Oils of Catalonia (DARP), from Reus, with the year's forecasts in hand. "Catalonia produces between 3% and 5% of the state's olive oil, depending on the year, and this year we'll probably get closer to 3%," he continues. For his part, the director general of Agrifood Companies, Quality and Gastronomy, Joan Gòdia, points out the only criterion for consumers to ensure they're buying olive oil made in Catalonia: "Buy it with the Protected Designation of Origin certificate." If not, if the bottle of olive oil lacks any of the five local certifications, "then it's most likely an oil from outside the country," explains Gòdia.

The traceability of the company

Another way to determine the origin of olive oil is to "check the company's traceability," emphasizes Núria Rey, Head of Agri-Food Inspection and Control in the Department of Agriculture. One way to find out this traceability is through the company's website. If consumers don't check this, if they don't investigate, with the European regulations in hand, "we won't know where the olives come from or where the oil we buy was made, because the only thing we'll read on the label is that the olive oil was made in Spain," she points out.

In Jaén, extra virgin olive oil producers who prefer to remain anonymous confirm that they make and sell their oils to Catalan companies. These are well-known brands, widely available on the shelves of all supermarkets, as well as other prestigious brands that are well-distributed in the hospitality industry. These brands have registered offices in specific towns in Catalonia, such as Tàrrega or Tortosa. This could be considered a scam, but it isn't, because regulations allow it. In fact, it is so permitted that, in Jaén, producers can buy olives in Ciudad Real (an area with good olive production), press them in Andalusia, and then ship the oil in tankers to Catalan brands, which package and sell it in Catalonia. And it could also happen the other way around, if applicable. State olives and oil can be distributed throughout the country, with the only legal obligation being to mark the label as a Spanish product.

Finally, the director of the Official Tasting Panel of Virgin Olive Oils of Catalonia (DARP), Xavier Vicens, highlights the quality of olive oils produced in Catalonia, of all varieties. "Interestingly, in the first oil painting competition in Catalonia, an oil made with the Picual variety, which is one of the traditional varieties in Andalusia, which is also grown in our country, came in second place," he says. The production figures for Andalusian oils are indisputable, but the quality of the oils produced in Catalonia is comparable to what the regulations require.