How to Spot High Quality Olive Oil
The Two Ways to Assess Olive Oil Quality
Knowing how to spot high quality olive oil comes down to two methods: chemistry testing and sensory evaluation. Grocery store brands rely on you not knowing either. At Old Metairie Olive Oils & Vinegars, we use both — every Veronica Foods oil on our shelves has already passed laboratory testing before you ever taste it.
Chemical analysis measures the objective markers of quality: polyphenol content (antioxidant strength), free fatty acid levels (freshness indicator), and peroxide values (oxidation/rancidity). These numbers are the difference between a genuinely fresh cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil and one that has been sitting in a warehouse for two years. Real premium olive oil publishes these numbers. Most grocery brands cannot.
Organoleptic analysis — tasting and smelling the oil — is the other half of the picture. A high-quality extra virgin olive oil will have distinct fruity, grassy, or peppery notes. It should never taste flat, greasy, or waxy. If it has no real flavor, it has no real polyphenols. That’s the test you can do yourself, and it’s why we offer free tastings daily at our store on Focis Street in Old Metairie — so you can learn exactly what fresh olive oil is supposed to taste like.
3 Chemistry Markers of a High Quality Olive Oil
Polyphenol Content
The Antioxidant Score
Polyphenols are the health-driving antioxidants in extra virgin olive oil. A high polyphenol count means the oil is fresh, correctly pressed, and from a high-quality variety. Our Kalamata Reserve carries 468 ppm of Oleocanthal alone. Grocery store oils typically don’t publish this number at all — because they can’t.
What to look for: 200+ ppm for everyday use, 400+ for high-phenol health benefit.
Free Fatty Acid Level (FFA)
The Freshness Indicator
Free fatty acid content measures how much the oil has degraded since pressing. The lower the number, the fresher the oil. True extra virgin olive oil must be below 0.8% FFA — but the best cold-pressed oils come in well under 0.3%. This tells you the olives were healthy, harvested at the right time, and pressed immediately.
What to look for: below 0.3% FFA for ultra-premium quality.
Peroxide Value
The Rancidity Test
Peroxide value measures oxidation — the process that makes olive oil go stale and rancid. A high peroxide value means the oil has been exposed to heat, light, or air during storage or transport. Ultra-premium extra virgin olive oil must be below 20 meq/kg at pressing. Veronica Foods oils typically come in significantly lower.
What to look for: below 10 meq/kg for genuinely fresh oil.
Understanding Olive Oil Grades
Because the United States is not a member of the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC), the term “extra virgin” carries no legal weight here. Producers can label any oil extra virgin without meeting international standards — and many do. Studies have repeatedly found that a significant percentage of olive oils labeled extra virgin in U.S. grocery stores fail to meet the actual chemical criteria.
The only way to be certain you’re buying a genuinely high quality olive oil is to buy from a retailer who sources from a verified supplier and publishes the chemistry data. That’s exactly what we do at Old Metairie Olive Oils & Vinegars through Veronica Foods — every oil comes with its polyphenol count, FFA level, peroxide value, and crush date.
Produced exclusively by physical pressing without chemical treatment, with no more than 0.8% free acidity and superior taste confirmed by sensory panel. This is the only grade that retains full polyphenol content and health benefits. Every oil at Old Metairie Olive Oils & Vinegars is ultra-premium extra virgin — held to a standard well above the 0.8% threshold.
Produced using only physical methods, no chemical treatment, with less than 2% acidity and acceptable taste. A step below extra virgin — still cold-pressed but with more flaws. Rarely sold at retail in the US under this label.
A blend of refined oil and a small amount of virgin oil. The refining process strips polyphenols, flavor, and nutritional value. Over 50% of Mediterranean olive oil production is of low enough quality that it must be refined before it can be consumed. This is what fills most grocery store shelves under the “extra virgin” label — despite not meeting that standard.
Extracted from the solid remnants left after pressing using chemical solvents, then refined. Safe to consume but nutritionally stripped. Not legally allowed to be labeled simply “olive oil.” Primarily used in commercial food service.
Produced from spoiled or insect-damaged olives, lampante oil is not fit for consumption without chemical refining. Historically used in oil lamps. After industrial refining it becomes “Refined-A” olive oil — the base ingredient in many products sold as “Pure Olive Oil” in U.S. supermarkets. This is exactly why the crush date, polyphenol count, and FFA level on a Veronica Foods bottle matter so much.
