How Storage Conditions Affect the Quality of Your Bulk Olive Oil

July 2, 2021

Just like any food product, olive oil needs to be stored in special conditions to prevent it from going bad prematurely. Unlike dairy products or meat, though, improperly stored olive oil is still safe to eat—but it won’t taste as good as if it’s stored properly.

As your local olive oil experts, we put together this post to dig into what happens to improperly stored oil and how you should be storing olive oil:

  • Taste: The first thing you’ll notice if your olive oil was stored improperly and has gone bad is the taste—it’s horrible! The oil will taste sour or bitter. And, although the oil won’t make you sick, the poor taste can ruin your recipe.
  • Odor: When something tastes terrible, it usually smells bad, too. That holds true for bottles of olive oil. The smell of olive oil that is past its prime can be described as musty or even like an old crayon. If you open a bottle of oil that has this odor, we recommend tossing it in the trash.
  • Color: The color of bulk olive oil can also change if it hasn’t been stored correctly. After a while, the olive oil will turn lighter in color. Eventually, it’ll look more similar to canola oil than olive oil.

How should you store your olive oil?

After four decades of working in the industry, you can trust that we know what we’re doing when it comes to storing olive oil. Olive oil has a lifespan of about two years before it starts to degrade. These are the methods we use to ensure it makes it those full two years:

  • Keep it cool: Olive oil does best when it’s stored at almost room temperature. Anywhere from 50°F to 70°F is perfect. While keeping it too cold is better than too hot, olive oil can solidify if it’s kept in a refrigerator.
  • Store it in the dark: Sunlight causes olive oil to break down faster than it normally would, so be sure to store your olive oil in a dark room. If you’re buying olive oil from a store, grab a green bottle instead of a clear one, as the green glass is better at blocking out sunlight.
  • Seal it from air: Oxygen is another element that can cause olive oil to break down before its two-year lifespan is up. To prevent oxidation at home, always remember to seal the bottle after using it. During bulk production, ensure containers are sealed as soon as the oil is poured into them.

Get your olive oil from Liquid Manufacturing Solutions, Inc.

Even if it’s perfectly stored and cared for, you won’t get the highest-quality olive oil unless it comes from us. Thanks to our overseas partnerships, our olive oil is sourced directly from the Mediterranean—you know you’re getting the best product each time you order a new shipment.

Regardless of your industry or business size, contact us today to get a quote for your next shipment of bulk olive oil.

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