Labeling Regulations for Your EVOO Brand

All foods have specific things that need to be included on their labels if they’re going to be sold to the general public. For olive oil, there are additional food labeling regulations in Ohio and beyond that need to be followed.

Standard food labeling information

Most product labels typically include information about five things:

• Content: This conveys what the product is and what’s in it.
• Quantity: This tells how much of the product is in the package, either by weight or volume.
• Company/brand: This shows who is the manufacturer of the product.
• Contact information: Packaging will usually include a website or phone number as contact information, but sometimes will include a mailing address.
• Nutritional information: The nutritional breakdown of a product, including information on amount of calories, fats, protein, sodium and more, is printed on the label—even on water!

Extra virgin olive oil labeling

There are some specific rules for olive oil labeling in Ohio, in addition to the general guidelines stated above. For example, the primary display panel (usually the front label) must have the product name (extra virgin olive oil) as well as the quantity in both metric and U.S. measurements. Most products will also include the brand name here, but it is not required.

If the label states that the product is extra virgin olive oil, that quality statement must be certified. This is also true if the label states that the product is organic, in which case it must also be certified organic in accordance with U.S. regulations.

The secondary display panel (usually the back label) includes the contact info of the company, ingredient list, nutrition information and UPC bar code for scanning. The UPC code is not required by the FDA, but may be required for store sales.

In the ingredient list, it’s required to list any additional ingredients beyond olive oil, such as flavoring agents like herbs. The nutrition labeling is also required unless the company producing the product does less than $500,000 in gross product sales. This requirement is also exempted if the company has fewer than 100 full-time employees and sold less than 100,000 units in the U.S. in the past 12 months. This exemption must be applied for and approved by the FDA.

Olive oil has many known and accepted health benefits, such as reducing inflammation, but even still, most health claims on food labels must be approved by the FDA. Major claims like reducing cancer or lowering the risk of developing heart disease are difficult to get approved, while more general claims like “supports heart health” are easier to justify and therefore more likely to gain approval.

For more information on food labeling regulations and how they apply to your private label olive oil in Ohio, get in touch with Liquid Manufacturing Solutions, Inc. today. With properly labeled extra virgin olive oils from Italy, Spain, Greece, Morocco Argentina and beyond, we’re prepared to help you get your private label bottled and on store shelves. We look forward to working with you!

Categorized in: Labeling