Callahan & Blaine

While there are many organizations that oversee olive oil quality around the world, the US follows the USDA 1948 classification system. In California, the 2008 California State Senate Bill SB634 made olive oil labeling requirements much stronger for products sold in California.

According to California Law, olive oil labeled as “’Extra Virgin Olive Oil’ means virgin olive oil which has a free acidity, expressed as oleic acid, of not more than 0.8 grams per 100 grams, has a peroxide value of not more than 20 milliequivalent peroxide oxygen per kilogram oil and meets the sensory standards of extra virgin olive oil as determined by a taste panel certified by the International Olive Council, or, if the International Olive Council ceases to certify taste panels, meets the sensory standards of a taste panel that is operated by the University of California or California State University according to guidelines adopted by the International Olive Council as of 2007.”

According to the same law, it is a crime in California to manufacture or sell “imitation olive oil” and olive oil blended with other edible oils may not be labeled as olive oil or imitation olive oil.

Callahan & Blaine recently filed a class action lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court against some of California’s largest distributors and retailers of so-called “extra virgin olive oil.” The suit charges that certain olive oil manufacturers, distributors and retailers have been labeling olive oil mixed with other edible oils as “extra virgin olive oil” in violation of California law.

The plaintiffs’ class for this case is represented by attorney Daniel J. Callahan, who is best known for a $934 million verdict that involved public health and safety issues in which Callahan represented medical product manufacturer Beckman Coulter.

Stay tuned to the media and this blog for more information on this emerging case as it becomes available.