And to meet the most exacting labeling standards, it must also have less than one percent free oleic acid. Olive oils that are judged deficient after the pressing are sent to a refinery for mechanical, chemical or heat processing. Refined oil is colorless and tasteless. Before the oil can be sold as ordinary olive oil, some virgin oil is blended back in to provide color and taste. Light or mild olive oils are also made this way, but less virgin oil is added back in.
Olive groves are the most prominent feature of the Apulian landscape.
In fact Apulia is the largest olive oil producing region of Italy, most of it still produced according to centuries old traditions. September and October are olive harvest months, while production takes place in November. The fat component of the mediterranean diet is contributed mostly by olive oil. However, the fat found in olive oil is of the unsaturated kind which is not the risky kind. On the contrary, a certain percentage of fats is necessary in a healthy diet, the key is to limit it to the unsaturated kind.