When you buy organic olive oil, what are you actually being told? The answer depends on the claim, the evidence behind it and whether the product carries independent certification.
For anyone looking for organic high-polyphenol olive oil, it helps to separate two questions: how were the olives grown, and what has been measured in the finished oil?
Does organic olive oil have to be certified in Australia?
According to the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, products supplied to Australia's domestic market do not have to be certified to be described as organic. However, businesses must be able to prove the organic claims they make. A claim of certification must also be genuine. Read the ACCC's guidance on organic claims.
This is not a reason to dismiss certification. It is a reason to read the label carefully. A recognised certification mark and a general description of farming practices are different forms of information.
What does certification tell you?
Certification identifies a certifying body and the requirements a business has committed to meeting. Different certification schemes can use different standards. If certification matters to your purchase, check who issued it and what the certification covers.
Where a producer does not claim certification, ask for a concrete explanation of its practices rather than relying on broad words such as natural. The ACCC specifically recommends asking businesses how they ensure a product is organic when no certification is used.
Ask specific questions about the grove
- Where were the olives grown?
- Which fertilisers, herbicides and pesticides are used or excluded?
- Does the farming description apply to this particular grove and oil?
- Is the product certified, or is the producer describing its farming methods?
- Can the producer explain how the fruit moves from grove to bottle?
Specific answers are easier to understand and check than an impression created by packaging alone.
Organic and high polyphenol answer different questions
An organic farming claim describes aspects of production. A polyphenol result describes a measured aspect of the finished oil. Neither is a substitute for the other.
If you want an oil that meets both preferences, look for separate evidence for each: a substantiated account of farming practices or certification, and relevant analytical results for the oil. Do not treat an organic label as a polyphenol test, or a high-polyphenol result as proof of organic farming.
The Bellarine FORTE grove
Our Bellarine FORTE Corregiola comes from a dryland-grown grove between Swan Bay and Port Phillip Bay. The trees rely on seasonal rainfall and are farmed without synthetic fertilisers, herbicides or pesticides. Native trees and grasses have been restored across the property, along with the creek on its northern boundary.
These are descriptions of the Bellarine grove's practices. They are not a claim of certified organic status, and they should not be assumed to describe every oil in the FORTE collection.
Choose with the whole picture in view
Farming practices matter. So do provenance, flavour and clear information about the oil you are buying. The most useful producer is one that can explain each part without asking a single label to stand in for everything else.
Explore the FORTE range and compare its origins and published specifications.