EU cooks up tighter olive oil labelling rules

(BRUSSELS) - The origin of olive oil sold in Europe will have to be clearly labelled in the future under new rules adopted Wednesday in order to prevent consumers from being misled, the European Commission said.

The new rules will require the country of origin for virgin and extra virgin olive oil to be clearly marked from July while blended oils will have to indicate the countries of origin.

Labelling an oil's origin has been optional under existing rules dating from 2002, which the commission said had "proved insufficient to avoid consumers being misled about the true characteristics and origin of certain products."

"As a result of agricultural traditions and local extraction and blending practices, such oils may be of quite different taste and quality depending on their geographical origin," it added.