Clearer labels to highlight benefits and the name of the national oil

Greater product diversification, more specific and clear regulation on health benefits labels and a Spain designation of origin brand are some of the challenges set out in the virtual round table 'Perspectives and challenges of the oil sector', organized by the AINIA food technology institute.

In 2018, oil of national origin only represented 3% of the total oils consumed in the world. However, in recent decades, Spain has become the largest producer of olive oils, concentrating half at a global level, a fact that highlights the importance of this product.

The sector tries to convey to the consumer a broader vision of olive oil, its benefits, for this it uses labels where it tries to show concepts such as the amount of oleic acids, its antioxidant and sensory profiles or its culinary uses. Let's not forget that olive oil is known as 'the king of fats'.

For the director of the DCOOP company, Rafael Sánchez de Puerta, currently, vendors miss a clear European regulation that allows indicating these health benefits on the label. "We are immersed in a battle to define the future of the extra virgin in which it should not be a gourmet or very elitist product, but a product with a lot of variability and for many segments", said this businessman.

This same vision is the one that Urzante's manager, Jesús Marín, has, calling on the unit to create a designation of origin for the oil produced in Spain. "There is no product in the world more controlled than olive oil. We can say that 99.9% of the oil that is produced and packaged in Spain meets all the identity requirements", stressed the Director of Operations of the Acesur Group , Carlos Jiménez Ot.

Another aspect to take into account is that more than 50% of the olive oil that is marketed in Spain does so under a white label. "We have to inform the consumer that not all olive oils are the same; it is wonderful, with many capacities and uses, they must know them so that they can choose and stop being a claim product," the Acesur representative claimed.

Therefore, once again the importance of labels on products is clear as well as the need to acquire quality printers and labels so that the information is attractive and clear for the consumer.