[abeppu]

> At least for California, you have to look for the California Olive Oil Council seal if you want to be sure

Is there a ranking of olive oil certifying organizations? I ask b/c I when I googled for olive oil testing, I came across the Olive Oil Commission of California, which apparently both does testing and requires members to also do testing, and California Olive Ranch is still a member in good standing of that one. http://www.oliveoilcommission.org/trusted/

Does this mean that even if they sourced olives from outside of California, it still meets some lab tests for pure extra virgin olive oil? If I care more about the "is actually extra virgin olive oil" question than where the olives were grown, I should be satisfied?

Also, I'm annoyed that even if multiple parties are doing tests, we don't really see published that "Brand X isn't pure olive oil, according to independent lab", or even "Brands X, Y, Z were tested, and Brands Y, Z are real olive oil". I'm assuming this is for legal reasons?

[jancsika]

> Is there a ranking of olive oil certifying organizations?

Even skimming, the COOC guidelines look to be more rigorous.

In addition to lab tests (by one of three labs approved by COOC), there's a blind sensory test by olive oil experts, a requirement to print the harvest date on the vessel, and a requirement to print a "best by" date as well.

I understand your desire to find out the quality regardless of the provenance of the olives. But given the rampant fraud in the industry, I just can't see a persuasive argument for speculating about an oil that doesn't pass both certifications in California. Especially when the company in question has the word "California" in its name, more especially when its oil was previously certified by COOC. By the time you figure out the answers to all your questions, we'll be on to the next harvest and the bottle of olive oil you wanted to buy will have gone bad.