I recently posted a link to our most recent chemical analysis for our the Sylverleaf Estate and Foothills Blend extra virgin olive oils. I have since received a few queries, asking “What?!” So, to soothe your inner EVOO nerd, here is what’s in a chemical analysis:

Free Fatty Acid (FFA):

From the IOOC (International Olive Oil Council, Madrid, Spain): “This is a crude indicator of the quality of the fruit and handling procedures prior to milling. It is a measurement of hydrolytic breakdown of the fatty acid chains from triglycerides into diglycerides and monoglycerides, liberating free fatty acids. It is usually expressed as percent (%) free fatty acids on the basis of the oleic acid, because that is the predominant fatty acid in olive oil.”

What it means: This is a measure of the amount of oleic acid present in each sample. Oleic acid is a compound that makes olive oil, well, olive oil.  The lower this number, the better.  The international standard for FFA is that it must be ≤ 0.8%.

Being at 0.2% and 0.4% FFA, both of our olive oils are well within the standard.

Peroxide (PPV):

From the IOOC: “This is a crude indicator of the amount of primary oxidation that has occurred, forming peroxide compounds within the oil. A high value indicates that the olives, or paste, was likely handled improperly, the oil could be defective, and the oil might not keep well. The Peroxide Value is a measure of the active oxygen content.

What it means: This is the level of active oxygen, suspended in the olive oil. Generally speaking, the higher the number, the shorter the shelf life. Most any extra virgin olive oil, if stored properly, will last for 12-16 months in the bottle. See our website for our storage recommendations. The international standard for PPV is that it must be ≤ 20.

The PPV values we see this year are higher than we normally have, and I’m working out how that’s possible.  The only rational idea that I have is that we tested the oils much later this year than in years past…  That being said, values of 12 and 16 are just fine.

UV Light Absorbency:

From the IOOC: “This is a more delicate indicator of oxidation, especially in oils that have been heated in the refining process. It measures the quantity of certain oxidized compounds that resonate at wavelengths of 232 and 270 nanometers (nm) in the ultraviolet spectrum in a spectrophotometer. Delta (Δ) K detects oil treatments with color removing substances and the presence of refined or pomace oil by measuring the difference between absorbance at 270 nm and 266 nm – 274 nm.

What it means: An unscrupulous olive oil maker can blend an olive oil with other oils (walnut, safflower, etc.) and achieve acceptable results for the FFA and PPV tests (and be within current US law). These UV Absorbency tests check for the presense of other, lower-grade oils. Fail these tests and you’re a cheater.  The higher these numbers are, over the standard, the lower the grade of oil.

UV232: The standard is a value ≤ 2.5. We’re all good, with results of 2.046 and 2.169.

UV270: The standard here is a value ≤ 0.22. We’re sitting at 0.125 and 0.133.

Delta K: To be extra virgin, the olive oil must test ≤ 0.01. We tested out at 0.00 and 0.012.

So, there you have it. Dare any other olive oil producer to give you these numbers every year. Geek out!