EN   EN 
 
 
 EUROPEAN  
COMMISSION   
Brussels, XXX  
[…](2018) XXX  draft  
 
COMMISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...  
of XXX  
amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 29/2012 as regards the requirements for 
certain indications on the labelling of olive oil    
EN 1  EN EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM  
1. CONTEXT  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
This delegated act aims at clarifying some existing provisions related to the labelling of 
certain optional indications for olive oil (Article 4 of Regulation (EU) No 29/2012 on 
marketing standards for olive oil).  
In particular, Regulation (EU) No 29/2012 foresees that the value of certain physico -chemical 
parameters have to be labelled in the case the acidity is mentioned (peroxide value, wax 
content and the ultraviolet absorption). This delegated act  specifies that those values should 
correspond to the va lues expected at the date of minimum durability. As it is known that the 
values of those parameters may evolve after the bottling, this clarification will avoid that 
misleading information is provided to consumers and will provide more guarantee to 
operato rs responsible for the labelling.  
The second clarification proposed is related to the harvesting year that may be labelled under 
certain conditions. Upon request from certain Member States, the delegated act proposes two 
options on how to label the harvest ing year.  
Finally, upon request from Italy and with a view to provide information to consumers 
regarding  the age of virgin olive oils, the delegated act gives to Member States the possibility 
to oblige their operators to label the harvesting year, under ve ry specific conditions. Indeed, 
such obligation is limited to olive oil produced at national level and intended for domestic 
consumption. Those limitations have been introduced with a view to ensure that the 
functioning of the single market is not altered.  
The proposals introduced in this delegated act are consistent with the provisions of Regulation 
(EU) No 1169/2011 . 
2. CONSULTATIONS  PRIOR  TO THE  ADOPTION  OF THE  ACT  
Delegates from Member States have been consulted through Experts Group meetings  of the 
common organisation of the ma rkets in agricultural products in order to exchange views on 
this act and to take  into account  of the expertise of the national authorities.  
3. LEGAL  ELEMENTS  OF THE  DELEGATED  ACT  
The delegated act is based on Article 75(2) of Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013. The provisions 
intended to clarify how to label certain optional indications should apply from 6 months after 
the date of the publication of the delegated act.  
  
EN 2  EN COMM ISSION DELEGATED REGULATION (EU) …/...  
of XXX  
amending Implementing Regulation (EU) No 29/2012 as regards the requirements for 
certain indications on the labelling of olive oil  
THE EUROPEAN COMMISSION,  
Having regard to the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union , 
Having regard to Regulation (EU) No 1308/2013  of the European Parliament and of the 
Council of 17 December 2013 establishing a common organisation of the markets in 
agricultural products and repealing Council Regulations ( EEC) No 922/72, (E EC) No 234/79, 
(EC) No 1037/2001 and (EC) No 1234/20071, and in particular Article 75(2)  thereof,  
Whereas:  
(1) Pursuant to Article 5 of Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 29/20122, 
operators have the possibility to indicate different optional indications in the labelling 
of olive oils and olive -pomace oils, under certain specific conditions. In particular, the 
acidity may appear on the label provided that certain physicochemical pa rameters 
(peroxide value, waxes content and ultraviolet absorption) are also indicated . With a 
view not to mislead consumers, where indicated on the labelling, the value of 
physicochemical parameters should be the maximum value such parameters could 
reach by the date of minimum durability . 
(2) The indication of the harvesting year in the label of extra virgin and virgin olive oils is 
optional for the operators when 100% of the contents of the container come from one 
single harvesting year. Since the olive harve st usually begins in late autumn and ends 
by spring in the following year, it is appropriate to clarify how to label the harvesting 
year.  
(3) In order to provide additional information on the age of  an olive oil to consumers,  
Member States should be allowed to  make the indication of the harvesting year 
compulsory. However, with a view not to disturb the functioning of the single market, 
such compulsory indication  should be limited to their domestic production, obtained 
from olives harvested in their territory a nd intended for their national markets only. By 
analogy with the transitional period provided for in relation to Article 5 of 
Implementing Regulation (EU) No 29/2012, Member States should allow olive oils 
already labelled to be marketed until the stocks ar e exhausted. In order to enable the 
Commission to monitor the application of such national decision  and to review the 
Union provision underlying it , in the light of any relevant evolution in the functioning 
of the single market , Member  States should notify  their decision in accordance with 
Article 45 of Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the 
Council3.  
                                                 
1 OJ L 347, 20.12.2013, p. 671.  
2 Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) No 29/2012 of 13 January 2012  on marketing standards for 
olive oil  (OJ L 12, 14.1.2012, p. 14) . 
3 Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 of the European Parliament and of the Council of 25 October 2011 on 
the provision of food information to consumers, amending Regulations (EC) No 1924/2006 and (EC)  
EN 3  EN (4) Implementing Regulation (EU) No 29/2012 should therefore be amended accordingly . 
(5) In order to respect legitimate expectations of o perators, a transitional period should be 
provided for p roducts labelled  in accordance with Implementing Regulation (EU) No 
29/2012  before the date of application provided for in this Regulation ,  
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:  
Article 1  
Implementing Regulation (EU) No 29/2012 is amended as follows:  
(1) the first paragraph of Article 5 is amended as follows:  
(a) point (d) is replaced by the following : 
"(d) indication  of the maximum acidity may appear only if it is 
accompanied by an indication, in lettering of the same size and in the same 
visual field, of the peroxide value, the wax content and the ultraviolet 
absorption, determined in accordance with Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91 and 
expected by the date of minimum durability referred to in Article 9(1)(f) of 
Regulation (EU) No 1169/2011 ;";  
(b) in point (e), the following sentence is added:  
"For the purpose s of this point, the harvesting year shall be indicated on the 
label either in the form of the relevant marketing year in accordance with 
Article 6(c)(iii) of Reg ulation (EU) No 1308/2013 or in the form of the month 
and the year of the harvest, in that order. The month shall correspond to the 
month of the extraction of the oil from the olives." ; 
(2) the following Article 5a is inserted:  
"Article 5a  
Member States may decide that the harvesting year referred to in point (e) of the first 
paragraph of Article 5 is to be indicated on the label of olive oils referred to in that 
point of their domestic production, obtained from olives harvested in their territory 
and intende d for their national markets only.  
That decision  shall not prevent  olive oils labelled prior to the date on which that 
decision takes effect from being  marketed until the stocks are exhausted.   
Member States shall notify that decision in accordance with Ar ticle 45 of Regulation 
(EU) No 1169/2011. ". 
Article  2 
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following that of its publication in the 
Official Journal of the European Union . 
Point (1) of Article 1 shall apply from six months after the date of entry into force  of this 
Regulation . 
                                                                                                                                                         
No 1925/2006 of the European Parliament and of the Council, and repealing Commission Directive 
87/250/EEC, Council Directive 90/496/EEC, Commission Directive 1999/10/EC, Directive 2000/13/EC 
of the European Parliament and of the Council, Commission Directives 2002/67/EC and 2008/5/EC and 
Commission Regulation (EC) No 608/2004  (OJ L 304 , 22.11.2011, p. 18) .  
EN 4  EN Olive oils labelled prior to the date referred to in the  second paragraph  may be marketed until 
the stocks are exhausted.  
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in all Member States.  
Done at Brussels,  
 For the Commission  
 The President  
 Jean -Claude JUNCKER