Extra-virgin olive oil traceability

Traceability consists in documented proof of the identity of a product and the responsibilities involved in the production chain “from the field to the consumer’s table”. Traceability is based on documenting material balances through discrete batch monitoring and management. Four steps are described as the basic frame of any possible traceability scheme of extra virgin olive oil: harvesting batches, milling batches, storage batches and packaging batches. The role of analytical fingerprinting of batches is a complementary, not an alternative tool of extra virgin olive oil traceability