What is Extra Virgin?

This is one of the the few topics that will cause confusion in the minds of most sane people. It is a source of much concern for the olive oil maker as well. Basically, extra virgin means that the oil "comes from the first pressing of the olives, contains no more than 0.8% acidity, and is judged to have a superior taste. There can be no refined oil in extra-virgin olive oil."

A 1996 study by the USFDA found that 96 percent of the olive oils they tested from the US market, while being labeled 100 percent olive oil, had been diluted with other oils. To complicate matters more, the term "extra-virgin" has no official meaning in the United States. In fact, the US Department of Agriculture doesn’t even recognize the term “extra virgin” as having ANY meaning. Further, the U.S. is not a member of the International Olive Oil Council, so olive oil sold here can be labeled extra-virgin without meeting the accepted international standards.

Sylverleaf does not and will not use anything other than a true extra virgin olive oil in our products. We submit our olive oils to independent testing each year. We also follow all of the international standards for processing extra virgin olive oil.