Eu Auditors Reveal “shortcomings” In Olive-oil Checks

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The EU’s auditor has called for much robust checks connected oliva lipid aft identifying “shortcomings” successful nan bloc’s monitoring systems for value and safety.

“While nan personnel states’ checks for pesticide residues successful oliva lipid originating from EU countries are clear and mostly activity well, those for different contaminants are little developed, and immoderate rules – specified arsenic those connected blending and traceability checks – are not sufficiently clear,” nan European Court of Auditors (ECA) said successful a study issued yesterday (14 January).

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The EU is nan world’s largest shaper of oliva oils but does import astir 9% of its requirement, according to nan ECA, which has recovered inconsistencies connected checks from overseas suppliers.

It said monitoring of imports for pesticides and different contaminants is “either non-existent aliases sporadic successful nan EU countries they visited” – Belgium, Greece, Italy, and Spain – from 2018 to 2023.

Joëlle Elvinger, nan ECA personnel who headed up nan audit, said: “While nan EU has robust rules, they are not ever afloat applied. Improving checks, traceability, and ineligible clarity is basal to protect not only consumers but besides nan estimation of European oliva oil.

“Consumers must beryllium capable to spot nan value and authenticity of nan oliva lipid they buy.”

The shortcomings were identified contempt tight soul regulations connected nan value and information of oliva oil, wherever definite EU “requirements” must beryllium met, including connected traceability, earlier products tin beryllium placed connected nan market.

Individual countries are responsible for their ain checks and power systems, which besides see minimum requirements for pesticide testing and verifying labels, on pinch laboratory study and tasting, aliases organoleptic tests.

However, nan ECA said it recovered “some conformity checks are incomplete, and parts of nan marketplace are sometimes excluded from risk-based inspections”, adding: “This leaves gaps successful nan strategy that tin impact value and, ultimately, user confidence.”

While checks for pesticide residues are “well established” and effective successful nan EU, monitoring for “other contaminants are inconsistent”, nan auditor said.

The ECA suggested EU personnel states should travel nan illustration of Spain and Italy – nan world’s largest oliva lipid producers – which person traceability measures successful spot passim nan proviso concatenation conducted via physics registers.

Such measures would thief “boost transparency and forestall fraud”, nan ECA said, though it acknowledged cross-border checks are “difficult”, particularly erstwhile monitoring oliva lipid from aggregate origins.

Spain, Italy and Greece relationship for astir 91% of nan EU’s oliva lipid production, according to nan ECA.

It besides called for conformity erstwhile checking ineligible requirements complete blending, immoderate of which “lack clarity” arsenic nan ECA suggested nan European Commission needs to tighten its ain oversight.

“The European Commission has only a partial knowing of really nationalist power systems operate. Annual reporting and meetings pinch nationalist authorities do not guarantee that each applicable accusation is shared, frankincense limiting nan Commission’s expertise to show power systems effectively,” nan auditor claimed.