The excellence of theItalian olive oil does not only reside in the organoleptic quality, but also in a control system official which confirms itself as the most advanced and effective in the European Union. The ‘Special Report 01/2026’ of the European Court of Auditors (European Court of Auditors, ECA) – in monitoring the enforcement systems implemented by Member States to ensure the authenticity
authenticity , traceability of olive oil – indicates Italy as a reference model.
Thanks to a unique multi-level supervisory architecture and the integration of cutting-edge digital registries, the Italian system not only ensures compliance with legal requirements but also raises standards of market and consumer protection. This record of transparency is now being considered a best practice by the European Court of Auditors, along with other recommendations addressed to the European Commission to strengthen the entire EU olive oil sector.
The regulatory framework and compliance checks
THEolive oil represents an emblematic product for theXNUMX-XNUMX business days, che stops il world record as a producer (61%), consumer (45%) and exporter (65%) (European Court of Auditors, 2026). The sector is governed by specific regulations that define product categories, labelling requirements and control methods, in particular through Regulations (EU) 2022/2104 and 2022/2105 (Dongo, 2022).
– Member states are required to perform a minimum number of compliance checks proportionate to the volumes marketed, including laboratory physicochemical analyses and organoleptic evaluations by tasting panels. However, the ECA report highlights that ‘Member States do not always meet all the requirements’, noting significant gaps in the execution of the required checks.
Audit results: critical issues and best practices
The European Court of Auditors’ analysis covered the period 2018-2023, focusing on four Member States: Spain, Italy, Greece, and Belgium. The investigation found that despite the existence of a comprehensive European regulatory framework, the application of controls is uneven across producer and consumer countries. Some Member States, in particular, do not reach the minimum number of checks required by European legislation.
Greece has consistently under-inspected (except in 2023), while Spain has drastically reduced its controls on the category since 2020. Greece and Belgium have excluded significant market segments from their controls without adequate justification based on risk analysis, compromising the overall effectiveness of surveillance. laboratory analysis are often incomplete, as only the Spanish authorities have analysed all 15 mandatory parameters, while Greece, Belgium and Italy have omitted some tests (European Court of Auditors, 2026).
Italian excellence in controls and traceability
Despite some shortcomings in laboratory analysis, Italy it emerges as reference model for the ‘organization of controls and systems of traceabilityThe Italian authorities have developed a multilevel supervisory architecture that involves not only the Central Inspectorate for the Protection of Quality and Fraud Repression of Agri-Food Products (ICQRF) and the Customs Agency, but also three police forces with investigative powers (Carabinieri, Guardia di Finanza, and Port Authorities). In 2021, a specific focus group on the olive oil sector was established, supported by the Institute for Services for the Agricultural and Food Market (ISMEA), which annually examines and updates risk factors and potential critical issues (European Court of Auditors, 2026).
A distinctive element of the Italian system concerns the training of inspectorsMany receive training in organoleptic evaluation and are members of official olive oil tasting panels, so they can more accurately identify non-compliant oils during sampling. Italy has also introduced the mandatory indication of the year of collection for extra virgin and virgin oils of Italian origin and packaged in Italy sold on the national territory, when 100% of the oils come from this harvest (law 9/2013, article 7.3). sanctioning system The Italian system stands out for the speed of its procedures (1,2 months on average) and its effective deterrent, with sanctions commensurate with the quantities of non-compliant oils (Legislative Decree 103/2016, Article 9).
Electronic registers for complete traceability
Both Italy and Spain have developed national electronic registers mandatory traceability systems that document every movement of olive oil along the supply chain, a tool that significantly exceeds the minimum European ‘one step back, one step forward’ traceability requirements:
In Italy, operators must record every movement within six days in the SIAN (National Agricultural Information System) electronic register. See Ministerial Decree 16059/2013; MIPAAF, 2015).
In Spain, internal movements must be recorded in real time and external ones in advance (the system generates the transport document that accompanies the oil).
These registers allow authorities to verify the origin of products, right down to the olive growers and the land registry parcels where the olives were grown. During compliance checks, Italy and Spain systematically verify the origin at all stages of the process. supply chain and perform mass balances to prevent fraud and ensure quality (European Court of Auditors, 2026).
Il Italian system It also allows for the monitoring of uncategorized olive oil held in warehouses, requiring the mandatory indication of origin even for bulk products. capillarity of controls is reflected in the results: during the sample study conducted by the ECA, all Italian olive oils of national origin could be traced back to the geographical area of collection and pressing required by the legislation, with the 100% traceable At least up to the mills. Conversely, for oils of mixed origin or originating from multiple Member States, cross-border cooperation has proven less effective, highlighting the need to harmonize the various national systems (European Court of Auditors, 2026).
Contaminants and food safety
As regards the contaminant controlsThe audit found a clear regulatory framework for pesticide residues, with multiannual control programs coordinated at the European level. The Member States visited conduct risk-based controls, rarely finding cases of non-compliance. However, for contaminants other than pesticides (such as mineral oil hydrocarbons, plasticizers, dioxins, and PCBs), the system appears less developed.
A critical issue common to all the Member States visited concerns the controls onimported olive oil from non-EU countries: although the EU imports the equivalent of 9% of its annual production, checks on pesticides and other contaminants are non-existent or very limited (European Court of Auditors, 2026; European Food Safety Authority, 2023).
The recommendations of the European Court of Auditors
The ECA report makes five specific recommendations to the European Commission:
strengthening of supervision of Member States’ control systems, requesting appropriate information on risk analyses, controls carried out and sanctions applied, with assessment of compliance with European requirements and adoption of proportionate actions when the systems are found to be insufficient (implementation deadline: 2027-2028);
clarify the rules on blending of virgin olive oils that come from from different harvest years or different categories, an aspect currently lacking sufficiently explicit harmonized rules (deadline: 2026);
improve them guidelines for contaminant controls, requiring Member States to provide details on risk analyses, contaminants tested and the frequency of controls, with explicit consideration of imported olive oil (deadline: 2026).
provide clarification and guidance on the verification requirements of the traceability, specifying what these controls should cover and how the results should be reported (deadline: 2027);
improve the traceability of olive oil by encouraging and supporting Member States that have not done so to develop registers to document the movements of olives and oil, improving the compatibility of different systems to facilitate the cross-border traceability (deadline: 2028) (European Court of Auditors, 2026).
Conclusions
The European Court of Auditors’ report highlights how the existence of a comprehensive system of uniform rules does not automatically guarantee its effective application in the different Member States.Italian experience It demonstrates that the integration of multilevel controls, specialized training of inspectors, advanced electronic traceability systems, and rapid and effective sanctions constitutes a virtuous model for ensuring the authenticity and safety of marketed olive oil.
However, there remain common critical issues at European level, in particular regarding the completeness of laboratory analyses, the controls on imported products non-EU countries and cross-border cooperation for origin verification. Implementing the European Court of Auditors’ recommendations, along with the dissemination of Italian and Spanish best practices regarding traceability, could significantly contribute to strengthening consumer protection and the reputation of European olive oil on international markets.
Bibliography
Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2022/2104 of 29 July 2022 supplementing Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013 of the European Parliament and of the Council as regards marketing standards for olive oil. Current consolidated version: 10/06/2024 http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_del/2022/2104/2024-06-10
Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2022/2105 of 29 July 2022 laying down rules on conformity checks of marketing standards for olive oil and methods of analysis of the characteristics of olive oil. Consolidated text: 11/11/2024 http://data.europa.eu/eli/reg_impl/2022/2105/2024-11-11
Dario Dongo, lawyer and journalist, PhD in international food law, founder of WIISE (FARE – GIFT – Food Times) and Égalité.
Dining and Cooking