Annex XII to Regulation (EEC) No 2568/91 is amended as follows:
point 3.3 is replaced by the following:
3.3.
<Strong>Optional terminology for labelling purposes</Strong>
Upon request, the panel leader may certify that the oils which have been assessed comply with the definitions and ranges corresponding solely to the following terms according to the intensity and perception of the attributes.
Positive attributes (fruity, bitter and pungent): According to the intensity of perception:
Robust, when the median of the attribute is more than 6;
Medium, when the median of the attribute is between 3 and 6;
Delicate, when the median of the attribute is less than 3.
Fruitiness
Set of olfactory sensations characteristic of the oil which depends on the variety of olive and comes from sound, fresh olives in which neither green nor ripe fruitiness predominates. It is perceived directly and/or through the back of the nose.
Green fruitiness
Set of olfactory sensations characteristic of the oil which is reminiscent of green fruit, depends on the variety of olive and comes from green, sound, fresh olives. It is perceived directly and/or through the back of the nose.
Ripe fruitiness
Set of olfactory sensations characteristic of the oil which is reminiscent of ripe fruit, depends on the variety of olive and comes from sound, fresh olives. It is perceived directly and/or through the back of the nose.
Well balanced
Oil which does not display a lack of balance, by which is meant the olfactory- gustatory and tactile sensation where the median of the bitter attribute and the median of the pungent attribute are not more than 2 points above the median of the fruitiness.
Mild oil
Oil for which the median of the bitter and pungent attributes is 2 or less.
List of terms according to the intensity of perception:
| Terms subject to production of an organoleptic test certificate | Median of the attribute |
|---|
| Fruitiness | — |
| Ripe fruitiness | — |
| Green fruitiness | — |
| Delicate fruitiness | Less than 3 |
| Medium fruitiness | Between 3 and 6 |
| Robust fruitiness | More than 6 |
| Delicate ripe fruitiness | Less than 3 |
| Medium ripe fruitiness | Between 3 and 6 |
| Robust ripe fruitiness | More than 6 |
| Delicate green fruitiness | Less than 3 |
| Medium green fruitiness | Between 3 and 6 |
| Robust green fruitiness | More than 6 |
| Delicate bitterness | Less than 3 |
| Medium bitterness | Between 3 and 6 |
| Robust bitterness | More than 6 |
| Delicate pungency | Less than 3 |
| Medium pungency | Between 3 and 6 |
| Robust pungency | More than 6 |
| Well balanced oil | The median of the bitter attribute and the median of the pungent attribute are not more than 2 points above the median of the fruitiness |
| Mild oil | The median of the bitter attribute and the median of the pungent attribute are not more than 2 |
point 9.1.1 is replaced by the following:
9.1.1.
The tasters shall pick up the glass, keeping it covered with the watch-glass, and shall bend it gently; they shall then rotate the glass fully in this position so as to wet the inside as much as possible. Once this stage is completed, they shall remove the watch-glass and smell the sample, taking slow deep breaths to evaluate the oil. Smelling should not exceed 30 seconds. If no conclusion has been reached during this time, they shall take a short rest before trying again.
When the olfactory test has been performed, the tasters shall then evaluate the buccal sensations (overall retronasal olfactory, gustatory and tactile sensations). To do so, they shall take a small sip of approximately 3 ml of oil. It is very important to distribute the oil throughout the whole of the mouth cavity, from the front part of the mouth and tongue along the sides to the back part and to the palate support and throat, since it is a known fact that the perception of tastes and tactile sensations varies in intensity depending on the area of the tongue, palate and throat.
It should be stressed that it is essential for a sufficient amount of the oil to be spread very slowly over the back of the tongue towards the palate support and throat while the taster concentrates on the order in which the bitter and pungent stimuli appear. If this is not done, both of these stimuli may escape notice in some oils or else the bitter stimulus may be obscured by the pungent stimulus.
Taking short, successive breaths, drawing in air through the mouth, enables the taster not only to spread the sample extensively over the whole of the mouth but also to perceive the volatile aromatic compounds via the back of the nose by forcing the use of this channel.
NB: When the tasters do not perceive fruitiness in a sample and the intensity of the classifying negative attribute is 3,5 or less the panel leader may decide to arrange for the tasters to analyse the sample again at ambient temperature (COI/T.20/Doc. No 6/Rev. 1, September 2007, section 3 — General specifications for installation of a test room) while specifying the context and concept of ambient temperature. When the sample reaches room temperature, the tasters should re-assess it to check solely whether fruitiness is perceived. If it is, they should mark the intensity on the scale.
The tactile sensation of pungency should be taken into consideration. For this purpose it is advisable to ingest the oil.
point 9.4 is replaced by the following:
9.4.
<Strong>Classification of the oil</Strong>
The oil is graded as follows in line with the median of the defects and the median for the fruity attribute. The median of the defects is defined as the median of the defect perceived with the greatest intensity. The median of the defects and the median of the fruity attribute are expressed to one decimal place.
The oil is graded by comparing the median value of the defects and the median of the fruity attribute with the reference ranges given below. The error of the method has been taken into account when establishing the limits of these ranges, which are therefore considered to be absolute. The software packages allow the grading to be displayed as a table of statistics or a graph.
Extra virgin olive oil: the median of the defects is 0 and the median of the fruity attribute is above 0;
Virgin olive oil: the median of the defects is above 0 but not more than 3,5 and the median of the fruity attribute is above 0;
Lampante virgin olive oil: the median of the defects is above 3,5 or the median of the defects is less than or equal to 3,5 and the fruity median is equal to 0.
Note 1:
When the median of the bitter and/or pungent attribute is more than 5,0, the panel leader shall state so on the test certificate.
For assessments intended to monitor compliance, one test shall be carried out. In the case of counter assessments, the analysis must be carried out in duplicate in different tasting sessions. The results of the duplicate analysis must be statistically homogenous. (See point 9.5). If not, the sample must be reanalysed twice again. The final value of the median of the classification attributes will be calculated using the average of both medians.
the following point 9.5 is added:
9.5
<Strong>Criteria for the acceptance and rejection of duplicates</Strong>
The normalised error, defined below, shall be used to determine whether the two results of a duplicate analysis are homogenous or statistically acceptable:
Where Me1 and Me2 are the medians of the two duplicates (respectively first and second analysis) and U1 and U2 are the expanded uncertainties obtained for the two values, calculated as follows as specified in Appendix:
U
1 = c × s* and
For the expanded uncertainty, c = 1,96; hence:
U1 = 0,0196 × CVr × Me1
where CVr
is the robust coefficient of variation.
For it to be stated that the two values obtained are not statistically different, En
must be equal to or less than 1,0.