The Chamber of Commerce in the southern Italian city of Bari has launched an extra-virgin olive oil identification system to help tackle fraud and to recognise quality oil.
According to the project's organisers, 'In Oleo Veritas' is an analytical tracing system that can be used to identify extra-virgin olive oil throughout the supply chain, creating a sort of “natural barcode”.
The tracing is done by applying four analytical tools to the oil. These include testing for pesticide residues; determining isotope ratio of stable elements; and ascertaining possible changes in metabolic profile.
Olive oil producers will pay €500 to undergo the testing, while companies registered with Bari's Chamber of Commerce will pay only €100.
After the analysis, producers will be given a QR code (lot number) they can apply to packaging, which buyers can use to access all the information about the oil via smartphone, or on the project’s website.
© 2016 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Branislav Pekic. To subscribe to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine, click here.
