1998R2815 — EN — 01.04.1999 — 001.001 — 1
This document is meant purely as a documentation tool and the institutions do not assume any liability for its contents
►B COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2815/98
of 22 December 1998
concerning marketing standards for olive oil
(OJ L 349, 24.12.1998, p. 56)
Amended by:
Official Journal
No page date
►M1Commission Regulation (EC) No 640/1999 of 25 March 1999 L 82 8 26.3.1999
1998R2815 — EN — 01.04.1999 — 001.001 — 2
▼B
COMMISSION REGULATION (EC) No 2815/98
of 22 December 1998
concerning marketing standards for olive oil
THE COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES,
Having regard to the Treaty establishing the European Community,
Having regard to Council Regulation No 136/66/EEC of 22 September
1966 on the establishment of a common organisation of the market inoils and fats (
1), as last amended by Regulation (EC) No 1638/98 (2),
and in particular Article 35a thereof,
Whereas as a result of agricultural traditions and local extraction and
blending practices directly marketable edible virgin olive oils may be ofquite different taste and quality depending on their geographical origin;whereas this may result in price differences within the same category asdefined in the Annex to Regulation No 136/66/EEC which disturb themarket; whereas there are no substantial differences linked to origin inother categories of edible olive oil; whereas, for those categories, indi-cation on immediate packagings of the designation of origin may leadconsumers to believe that quality differences do exist; whereas it istherefore necessary, so as not to distort the market in edible olive oils,to establish Community marketing standards which provide for a desig-nation of origin restricted to extra virgin and virgin olive oils whichsatisfy precise conditions;
Whereas the marketing standards relating to origin must take account of
the results of the current negotiations on the harmonisation of the rulesof origin in non-preferential trade with third countries; whereas asystem involving the compulsory designation of origin requires asystem for tracing and checking all quantities of olive oil in circulation;whereas such a movement tracing system will be examined at the sametime as the classification of the oils to which it applies as part of thework on olive oil quality strategy which must be carried out by 31October 2001; whereas an optional and provisional system for thedesignation of origin should therefore be set up within the EuropeanCommunity;
Whereas, in the case of imported olive oils, the provisions on non-pref-
erential origin contained in Council Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92 of 12October1992 establishing the Community Customs Code (
3), as last
amended by Regulation (EC) No 82/97 (4), must be complied with;
Whereas the designation of a regional origin may be the subject of a
protected designation of origin (PDO) or a protected geographical indi-cation (PGI) pursuant to Council Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92 (
5), as
last amended by Commission Regulation (EC) No 1068/97 (6); whereas
designations of a regional origin should be reserved for PDOs or PGIsso as to avoid confusion among consumers and therefore market distur-bances;
Whereas when the origin of a virgin olive oil relates to the European
Community or to a geographical area covering the entire territory of aMember State there can be no confusion in practice with PDOs or PGIs;whereas extraction practices and techniques, particularly in the olive oilproduction sector, influence the quality and taste of virgin oils; whereastransfers of olives from one country to another are extremely limited,mainly because of the substantial reduction in the quality of the oilobtained which they entail; whereas extraction of the oil should there-fore be regarded as conferring origin, which will also take account of
(1) OJ 172, 30. 9. 1966, p. 3025/66.
(2) OJ L 210, 28. 7. 1998, p. 32.
(3) OJ L 302, 19. 10. 1992, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 17, 21. 1. 1997, p. 1.
(5) OJ L 208, 24. 7. 1992, p. 1.
(6) OJ L 156, 13. 6. 1997, p. 10.
1998R2815 — EN — 01.04.1999 — 001.001 — 3
▼B
the difficulties as regards control and changing the class of product
which are involved for international trade;
Whereas in the European Community and the Member States a major
proportion of the virgin olive oil marketed is composed of blends ofolive oils so as to guarantee constant quality and the typical organo-leptic characteristics expected by the market; whereas the typical char-acteristics of the virgin olive oil in the areas in question are guaranteeddespite, or sometimes because of, the addition of a small proportion ofolive oil originating in another area; whereas, therefore, in order topermit regular market supplies in accordance with traditional tradeflows and taking account of the fluctuations in production volumesspecific to olive-growing, the designation of origin for such an areashould be maintained when the product is a blend containing a smallproportion of olive oil from other areas; whereas in that case consumersmust be informed that the product does not originate in its entirety inthe zone which is the subject of the designation of origin;
Whereas designations of origin must comply with Council Directive
79/112/EEC of 18 December1978 on the appr oximation of the laws ofthe Member States relating to the labelling, presentation and advertisingof foodstuffs forsale to the ultimate consumer(
1), as last amended by
Directive 97/4/EC (2); whereas it is necessary to ensure that the infor-
mation on labels does not confuse consumers as to origin; whereas,however, existing trade marks may continue to be used if they havebeen officially registered in the past in accordance with First CouncilDirective 89/104/EEC of 21 December 1988 to approximate the laws ofthe Member States relating to trade marks (
3), as amended by Decision
92/10/EEC (4);
Whereas, in order to ensure checking of designations of origin, provi-
sion should be made forthe packaging plants wishing to indicate adesignation of origin on the virgin olive oil they market to be subject toapproval;
Whereas to allow a period for adjustment to the new standards and the
creation of the means needed to apply them, and so as not to disturbcommercial transactions, application of this Regulation should bedeferred and provision should be made for the disposal of oil packagedbefore the Regulation is applicable;
Whereas the Management Committee for Oils and Fats has not deliv-
ered an opinion within the time limit set by its chairman,
HAS ADOPTED THIS REGULATION:
Article 1
The designation of the origin of extra virgin and virgin olive oil as
defined in points 1(a) and (b) of the Annex to Regulation No 136/66/EEC on packagings intended forconsumer s in the MemberStates oron labels attached to those packagings shall be optional. If that option istaken up by an operator designation of the origin shall be authorisedsolely in accordance with the provisions of this Regulation.
The designation of the origin of other olive oils and olive-residue oils as
referred to in the Annex to the above Regulation on packagingsintended forconsumer s in the MemberStates oron labels attached tothose packagings shall not be authorised.
Article 2
1. The designation of origin shall relate to a geographical area and
may mention only:
(1) OJ L 33, 8. 2. 1979, p. 1.
(2) OJ L 43, 14. 2. 1997, p. 21.
(3) OJ L 40, 11. 2. 1989, p. 1.
(4) OJ L 6, 11. 1. 1992, p. 35.
1998R2815 — EN — 01.04.1999 — 001.001 — 4
▼B
(a) a geographical area whose name has been registered as a protected
designation of origin or protected geographical indication in accord-ance with Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92;
and/or
(b) forthe pur poses of this Regulation:
— a MemberState,
— the European Community,— a third country.
2. Without prejudice to the national rules adopted pursuant to
Directive 79/112/EEC, the labelling and presentation of the designationof origin for the final consumer shall be in accordance with this para-graph.
The designation of origin shall be indicated on the packaging or the
label attached to the packaging within the meaning of Article 1(3) ofDirective 79/112/EEC in such a way that it can be easily understood bythe final consumer.
Any reference to a geographical area on the packaging or the label
attached to the packaging shall be regarded as a designation of originbound by the provisions of this Regulation, with the exception of:
— the names of brands or firms whose registration was applied for
before 1 January 1999 in accordance with Directive 89/104/EEC,
— designations granted pursuant to Regulation (EEC) No 2081/92.
Article 3
1. In the case of oils benefiting from a protected designation of
origin or from a protected geographical indication, the designation oforigin shall be in accordance with the provisions laid down pursuant toRegulation (EEC) No 2081/92.
2. The designation of origin, where this indicates the European
Community ora MemberState, in cases otherthan those r efer r ed to inparagraph 1, shall correspond to the geographical area in which the‘extra virgin olive oil' or ‘virgin olive oil' was obtained.
However, in the case of blends of ‘extra virgin olive oils' or ‘virgin
olive oils' in which more than 75 % originates in the same MemberState or in the Community, the main origin may be designated providedthat it is followed by the indication ‘selection of (extra) virgin olive oilsmore than (75) % of which was obtained in ... (designation of origin)'.
An extra virgin or virgin olive oil shall be deemed to have been
obtained in a geographical area for the purposes of this paragraph onlyif that oil has been extracted from olives in a mill located within thatarea.
3. In the case of an extra virgin or virgin olive oil imported from a
third country, the designation of origin shall be determined in accord-ance with the provisions regarding non-preferential origin contained inArticles 22 to 26 of Regulation (EEC) No 2913/92.
Article 4
1. The ‘extra virgin olive oil' and ‘virgin olive oil' whose origin is
designated in accordance with Article 3(2) shall be packaged in anestablishment approved for that purpose. Approval shall be granted bythe Member State concerned in whose territory the packaging facilitiesare situated.
2. Approval shall be granted and alphanumeric identification allo-
cated to any establishment so requesting which:
— possesses packaging facilities,
— undertakes to keep documentary records and separate storage facili-
ties permitting, to the satisfaction of the Member State concerned,checks on the provenance of the oils whose origin is designated and,
1998R2815 — EN — 01.04.1999 — 001.001 — 5
▼B
where necessary, of the constituents of the olive oil blends whoseorigin is designated,
— agrees to the checks laid down in application of this Regulation.
3. The packaging orlabel attached to the packaging shall bearthe
alphanumeric identification of the approved packaging plant.
Article 5
1. Member States shall carry out designation of origin checks in the
packaging plants concerned so as to verify correspondence between thedesignations of origin of the virgin olive oils leaving the plants and thedesignations of origin of the quantities of virgin olive oils used.
2. Member States shall adopt the necessary measures, in particular
by establishing a system of financial penalties, to guarantee compliancewith this Regulation. They shall notify the Commission of the measuresadopted to that end.
Article 6
The packaging requirements of this Regulation shall not apply to prod-
ucts that have been lawfully manufactured and labelled in theCommunity or lawfully imported into the Community and placed in freecirculation ►
M1before 30 June 1999 ◄.
Article 7
This Regulation shall enter into force on the third day following its
publication in the Official Journal of the European Communities .
It shall be applicable from the first day of the fourth month following its
entry into force until 31 October 2001.
This Regulation shall be binding in its entirety and directly applicable in
all MemberStates.