Organic farming is taking a lot of popularity lately. We are more and more concerned about the origin of our food. Thus, organic foods offer an extraordinary added value to know the origin and the methods used to obtain these products.

Today we can find many products from organic agriculture or cattles, and olive oil is one of those foods in which its ecological origin is highly valued. But do you really know the differences between a traditional extra virgin olive oil and an organic olive oil?

Traditional olive oil vs Organic olive oil

The main difference between a product from traditional agriculture and an organic one, is its method of production. For an olive oil to be considered organic, it must meet a series of requirements in the way of cultivating and using the olive grove.

These requirements that differentiate a regular olive oil from an organic olive oil are 3:

  1. No pesticides are used: In organic farming, the use of pesticides is not allowed. To control pests, manual measures or other products approved for use in organic farming must be used.

  1. No herbicides are used: To properly care for the olive trees, weeds need to be removed. In traditional agriculture, herbicides are used to make this task more comfortable and efficient. However, in organic farming the use of herbicides is not allowed, and to eliminate weeds, other manual methods must be used to mow those herbs.

  1. Natural fertilizers: For an olive oil to be considered organic, synthetic fertilizers must not have been used to  obtain it. Only organic animal (manure) or vegetable (compost) fertilizers can be used.

With these techniques, you can obtain a much more natural olive oil, and to ensure that you have not been in contact with undesirable chemical agents.

Is organic olive oil better?

Although the techniques used in obtaining them are much more natural than those used in regular oils, the truth is that their organoleptic characteristics are not so different. If the olives have quality and have been collected at the right time, it is practically impossible to distinguish an organic extra virgin olive oil from another that is not organic.

For example in organic cattles (eggs, meats…), it is easier to find differences in taste between organic and traditional products. But in the case of olive oils, the differences are not so obvious.

So, is there any advantage to consuming organic olive oil instead of regular olive oil? In our opinion, we do think that consuming organic extra virgin olive oil has some advantages.

Advantages of organic extra virgin olive oil

Your body will be free of chemical agents

Although at the taste level there are few differences (if any), if you choose an organic extra virgin olive oil, you are sure that you are not introducing unhealthy chemical agents into your body. After all, nobody likes to eat pesticides.

It is better for the environment

Supporting this type of agriculture is not only healthy for our organism, but for the environment. Organic farming has less environmental impact than traditional agriculture. And that´s why, by choosing organic products in some way you are contributing to the sustainability of the environment.

Quality certification

As we have already seen, organic farming has a series of rules that are supervised by official organisms. Specifically, organic olive oil must be prepared according to the European regulation EU 2018/848.

This homogenization in production processes guarantees that the organic extra virgin olive oil that we are buying has passed a series of official controls to be considered organic.

So, if you want to contribute to the sustainability of the environment or if you want to be sure that your olive oil does not contain pesticides or herbicides, then go for organic extra virgin olive oil.