April 24, 2025
Regulated parties, including importers, distributors, retailers and businesses that prepare olive oil (including processing, packaging, and labelling) are responsible for ensuring the requirements for olive oil sold in Canada are met.
Canada's regulatory requirements for olive oil
Olive oil sold in Canada must comply with the Food and Drugs Act (FDA), the Food and Drug Regulations (FDR), the Safe Food for Canadians Act (SFCA) and the Safe Food for Canadians Regulations (SFCR).
As per these requirements, all food sold in Canada must be safe for consumption and shall not be sold, packaged, labelled or advertised in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive [5(1), FDA; 6(1), SFCA].
Products that are represented or sold as olive oil are subject to the standard for olive oil which states, in part, that olive oil is obtained from the fruit of the olive tree (Olea europaea L). The addition of any other oil, or olive pomace oil, to a product represented as olive oil is considered adulteration. Adulterated olive oil is not authentic and cannot be sold as olive oil in Canada.
In addition, olive oils are expected to meet international standards and definitions, including those of the CODEX Standard for Olive Oils and Olive Pomace Oils (CXS 33-1981) (PDF – under revision) and the International Olive Council (IOC) Trade Standard Applying to Olive Oils and Olive Pomace Oils (COI/T.15/NC No 3) (PDF). These standards require, among other things, that virgin olive oils be cold pressed products that do not contain any refined olive oil, olive pomace oil, or any other types of oil. The standards also describe various quality grades of olive oil and distinguish between "extra virgin" and "virgin" olive oils based on free fatty acid content and other characteristics.
Learn more about labelling requirements and other regulatory requirements for food, and specific labelling requirements for fats and oils by visiting the Canadian Food Inspection Agency's (CFIA) website.
Obligations of industry
Industry is responsible for ensuring compliance with regulatory requirements. This protects consumers from deception and contributes to a fair marketplace. Under the SFCR, licence holders must maintain a written preventive control plan. This preventive control plan must include measures to ensure the safety of the food, as well as ensuring that the food is not represented in a manner that is false, misleading or deceptive. Measures must also be in place to ensure compliance with applicable standards.
Control measures include exercising due diligence in sourcing, blending, packaging and labelling products, to prevent adulteration, substitution, or mislabelling. These measures may involve conducting assessments of foreign supplier controls, obtaining valid assurances such as certificates of analysis from suppliers, testing products, assessing food fraud vulnerabilities in their operation, and implementing mitigation measures.
It is important to note that the quality of virgin olive oils deteriorates over time and is affected by various factors including light and temperature. Businesses that sell or distribute olive oils are responsible for ensuring that the olive oil quality declared, such as "extra virgin" and "virgin", meets the requirements for those grades at the time of sale to the consumer, and throughout the product's shelf life (best-before date), as long as the original package remains unopened and is stored under appropriate conditions.
The CFIA offers guidance to the industry on preparing a preventive control plan.
Surveillance activities of the CFIA
The CFIA verifies these requirements are being met through various activities, including preventive control inspections, commodity inspections, and sampling activities. The CFIA has a testing program to analyse for authenticity of olive oil and test for adulterants such as other vegetable oils added to olive oil and/or refined oil added to virgin olive oils. Samples are assessed as unsatisfactory if test results fail to meet applicable standards.
The CFIA publishes findings of its targeted surveillance activities to verify the authenticity of olive oil samples. This information is available in the reports section of its food fraud web page. Since the CFIA's surveillance activities continue to detect non-compliance, the Canadian olive oil industry is requested to remain vigilant. The CFIA encourages all parties that are aware of deceptive or fraudulent practices to report these to the CFIA.
Penalties for non-compliance
Industry is reminded that failure to comply with the above requirements with respect to the importation, distribution, or sale of olive oil will be considered a contravention of the FDA and the SFCA and/or their associated regulations.
The CFIA has a variety of control and enforcement measures at its disposition, including product detention, disposal, order to remove from Canada, administrative monetary penalties (AMPs) and prosecution. Enforcement actions in cases of non-compliance take into consideration the harm caused, the compliance history of the regulated party, and whether there was intent to violate federal requirements. Additionally, under the SFCR, the CFIA has the ability to suspend or cancel a licence.