In France, it is now tolerated, in Belgium, it remains prohibited. The sale of extra virgin olive oil is highly regulated. The sale in bulk too. So it's not surprising that the sale of olive oil in bulk is heavily monitored by the food authorities.
In Europe, a directive is very clear on this subject: extra virgin olive oil (if you want to know what this term means, go to this article) must be sold in sealed containers. What you need to understand: the sale of extra virgin olive oil in bulk is prohibited. This is a way for Europe to fight against fraud. It is easy to cut extra virgin olive oil to lower costs.
"Yet, next door to me, they sell olive oil in bulk." Yes, in Belgium, there are two ways to offer bulk extra virgin olive oil. The first is to cheat: put the olive oil in a vat, display the words extra virgin olive oil and fill the bottles. This method is illegal. The second is to flavor the oil. There is still a small hole in the law, which allows the oil distributor to circumvent the rules. By flavoring extra virgin olive oil, it loses its extra virgin status. In doing so, the oil thus transformed can be sold in bulk.
At Occhiolino, the question of "bulk or not bulk" has long been a concern for us. At first we were against the idea. It is important to know that bulk does not always meet the conditions of conservation for olive oil. In contact with light and oxygen, (as is often the case in bulk sales) it suffers and its quality deteriorates rapidly. Providing a sealed container guarantees the freshness of the oil (in addition to protecting it from fraud).
The pressure of the consumers and the motivation to propose a more eco-responsible packaging solution pushed us to think of a solution. To discover it, go to a partner store (for the moment at Vrac in Box in Ans and at Vrac&Go in Saive). Our solution guarantees the freshness of the oil, allows the consumer to take away the desired quantity at an interesting price and above all, respects the legislation.