How to Walk Out of Any Store With the Right Bottle of Olive Oil?
THE OLIVE OIL AISLE IS DESIGNED TO CONFUSE YOU
You walk into the grocery store to buy olive oil and face fifty bottles that all look basically the same. Every bottle says "extra virgin." They all have pictures of rolling hills and old stone mills. Some say "cold-pressed." Some say "imported from Italy." Some cost five dollars, some cost twenty-five. There is no obvious reason to pick one over the other.
That confusion is not an accident. The olive oil industry has spent decades exploiting loose regulations and vague labeling standards. A bottle can say "extra virgin" and still contain oil that has been adulterated, oxidized, or blended from multiple countries in ways that strip out the very thing you are paying for.
This guide cuts through the label noise. Not twenty things to memorize. Just the real factors, ranked by how much they actually affect quality, so you can make a fast, confident decision at the store or online.
Once you know the three things that matter, the rest of the label becomes easy to ignore.
WHAT HAPPENS TO MOST OLIVE OIL BEFORE IT REACHES YOUR KITCHEN
The problem with most olive oil on grocery store shelves is not that it is fake, though adulteration does happen. The bigger issue is that it is old, poorly handled, and made from olives that had already degraded before pressing.
Here is what commercial olive oil production usually looks like: olives are harvested, loaded into large bins, and transported to a central processing mill. That transport takes time. At the mill, the olives wait in large piles before pressing. That wait takes more time. In many operations, olives spend 24 to 72 hours between harvest and press. In that window, the olives are already breaking down.
Olives are fruit. The moment they leave the tree, they begin to oxidize and ferment. Enzymes inside the olive start converting healthy fats into free fatty acids. The compounds responsible for flavor, health benefits, and color begin degrading. By the time the oil is pressed, a significant portion of what made those olives worth pressing is already gone.
Research published in Food Chemistry confirmed that polyphenol content drops measurably based on harvest timing and malaxation conditions, even under controlled processing. The oil may still technically qualify as "extra virgin," but it is nutritionally a different product from oil pressed at the right moment.
The legal threshold for extra virgin is acidity below 0.8 percent. That is a floor, not a quality standard. An oil can scrape by at 0.79 percent and be sold alongside oil pressed within hours of harvest from intact olives. The label tells you the oil cleared the minimum bar. It tells you nothing about how far above that bar it actually sits.
THE THREE THINGS THAT ACTUALLY MATTER
Most olive oil guides give you ten or twenty things to look for. All of those details have some relevance, but they are not equal. Here are the three that account for the vast majority of quality differences. Get these right, and the other details take care of themselves.
1. How Quickly the Olives Were Pressed After Harvest
This is the single biggest quality factor in olive oil. Not where it came from. Not what the bottle looks like. The time between when the olives were picked and when they were pressed determines how much of the good stuff survives into the bottle.
When olives are pressed quickly, within a few hours of harvest, the oil retains high concentrations of polyphenols. These are the antioxidant compounds that give good olive oil its distinctive peppery bite, its grassy aroma, and its health benefits. The longer the olives sit before pressing, the more polyphenols are lost.
Research on harvest timing and phenolic content found that polyphenol concentration in extra virgin olive oil is significantly affected by both when olives are harvested and how quickly they are processed. The oil may still taste like olive oil, but it is nutritionally a lesser product. For more on why this window matters so much: why olive oil pressed within hours is superior.
Pressing speed is rarely printed on the label. Producers who press quickly tend to talk about it in their marketing, on their websites, and in their product descriptions. If a brand says nothing about timing anywhere, treat that as a red flag.
2. What Kind of Container the Oil Came In
Once olive oil is pressed, its biggest enemies are light and oxygen. Both accelerate the oxidation that degrades polyphenols and turns fresh oil stale. The container the oil sits in either fights that process or enables it.
Dark glass blocks nearly all ultraviolet light, which drives photo-oxidation in olive oil. A 2025 study published in Foods found that oil stored in clear glass under standard kitchen lighting lost around 40 percent of its polyphenols within two months. The same oil in dark glass retained significantly more.
Plastic is worse than clear glass. It allows more oxygen to permeate through the container walls and can leach compounds into the oil at higher temperatures. Plastic is used in cheap bulk olive oil products because it is lightweight and inexpensive, not because it protects the oil.
The practical rule: if the oil is in a clear or transparent bottle, put it back. Dark glass or tin is the minimum for any oil worth buying. For more on how packaging choices affect quality after bottling: how to store olive oil to maximize freshness and polyphenol retention.
3. Whether the Extra Virgin Label Is Backed by Real Standards
The term "extra virgin" is legally defined in most countries, but the standard is low, and enforcement is inconsistent. In the United States, the USDA has voluntary grading standards for olive oil, but the FDA does not actively police labeling the way it does for other foods. Multiple independent investigations have found that a meaningful share of imported olive oil sold as "extra virgin" in US stores does not meet the standard at all.
This does not mean all extra virgin olive oil is fraudulent. It means you cannot rely on the label alone. You need a second signal.
USDA Organic certification is one of the strongest trust markers available. The certification requires a documented, audited supply chain, third-party inspections, and verified production records. That same infrastructure that confirms organic farming practices also makes it much harder to adulterate or mislabel the oil without detection.
Single-origin sourcing is another useful signal. Oil from one specific farm or region is traceable. Blended oils from multiple unnamed countries are not.
For a full breakdown of what the terms on an olive oil label actually mean and which ones you can trust: how to read an olive oil label: every term decoded.
WHAT YOU CAN IGNORE ON THE LABEL
Now that you know what matters, here is what to stop worrying about. These label claims show up constantly and sound meaningful but do not reliably signal quality.
"Imported From Italy"
Italy is the most famous olive oil country in the world, and Italian producers do make some excellent oils. But "imported from Italy" does not mean the olives were grown in Italy. Under current EU and US labeling rules, olive oil pressed and bottled in Italy from olives sourced in Spain, Greece, Turkey, Tunisia, or Morocco can legally say "product of Italy." The bottling location determines the country of origin on the label, not where the olives grew.
Italy imports enormous volumes of olive oil from other countries, refines or blends it, and exports it under Italian brands. This is entirely legal. It is also one of the main reasons "made in Italy" tells you very little about what is actually in the bottle.
"Cold Pressed"
Cold pressed sounds premium, and in fairness it does exclude some bad practices. Heat extraction produces more oil but damages polyphenols and volatile flavor compounds. So cold pressing is a meaningful threshold.
The problem is that cold-pressed is now essentially standard for any oil calling itself extra virgin. Seeing it on the label is not a differentiator. It just means the producer cleared a minimum bar.
What cold pressing does not tell you is how fast the olives were pressed, what condition they were in when they arrived at the mill, or how the oil was stored before bottling. For the full explanation of what cold-pressed means and where its limits are: what does cold-pressed actually mean?
A Very Low Price
Good olive oil costs money to produce. The olives have to be harvested at the right moment, transported quickly, pressed the same day, and packaged in containers that protect the oil. All of that costs more than bulk industrial processing.
A bottle of extra virgin olive oil that costs four dollars is almost certainly not extra virgin in any meaningful sense. It may meet the legal minimum, but the corners that were cut to reach that price point are the same corners that determine quality.
Price is a rough floor, not a ceiling. At some point you are paying for packaging and marketing rather than better oil. But anything below roughly twelve to fifteen dollars for a 500ml bottle in the United States should be viewed with real skepticism.
The Color of the Oil
Many people assume that greener oil is fresher or higher quality. This is not reliable. Olive oil color varies naturally by olive variety, harvest timing, and production method. Early harvest oils from certain varieties are intensely green. Later harvest oils from the same variety may be golden. Neither color is inherently better or worse.
Color does shift as oil oxidizes over time, but slowly and inconsistently enough that you cannot use it as a freshness signal on a store shelf. Taste is far more reliable, and we will come back to that.
HOW TO PICK A GOOD BOTTLE IN 60 SECONDS
Here is a simple priority order. Work through it and stop when you find an oil that passes.
Step 1: Does the Producer Say Anything About Pressing Speed?
Look for language like "same-day pressing," "pressed within hours," or "pressed at the farm." If the brand says nothing about timing anywhere on the bottle, their website, or their product listing, treat that as a red flag. Producers who press quickly are proud of it. They talk about it. Producers using conventional methods tend to stay quiet on timing.
Step 2: Is the Bottle Dark Glass or Tin?
If the bottle is clear or translucent, put it back regardless of what the label says. Light degradation in a clear bottle on a grocery store shelf over weeks or months is significant enough to make container choice a disqualifying factor on its own.
Step 3: Is There a Certification or Clear Origin?
USDA Organic certification provides a documented, audited supply chain. Single-origin sourcing from one named farm or region is better than a country-of-origin label alone. A brand that publishes information about exactly where the olives were grown and processed is signaling accountability that most large commercial brands cannot offer.
Step 4: Does the Price Pass the Floor?
Under twelve dollars for a 500ml bottle is a warning sign. It does not automatically mean the oil is bad, but it means quality shortcuts were almost certainly taken somewhere. If budget is the constraint, use less oil and use it for cooking rather than raw finishing.
Step 5: Taste It Straight If You Can
Good fresh olive oil produces a peppery sting at the back of your throat when you taste it straight. That sting is caused by oleocanthal, a compound with anti-inflammatory properties. No pepper means the polyphenols are gone. Flat, greasy, or crayon-like notes mean the oil has already oxidized. You can use this test on any bottle you open, at home or in a restaurant.
EXTRA VIRGIN VS. REGULAR OLIVE OIL
Always buy extra virgin for raw use or any use where you want health benefits. Use regular or "light" olive oil only if you want a neutral fat and do not care about polyphenols.
Regular or "pure" olive oil has been refined. The refining process removes defects, but it also strips out polyphenols, volatile flavor compounds, and antioxidants. What remains is a stable, neutral fat that is chemically olive oil but lacks what makes olive oil worth eating for health.
"Light" olive oil is a marketing term that refers to color and flavor, not calorie content. It has been refined to tastelessness. It has a high smoke point useful for extreme heat cooking, but it is functionally a refined fat, not a health food.
Extra virgin is the only grade that retains the full spectrum of polyphenols and flavor compounds from the original olive. The legal standard is imperfect, and enforcement is inconsistent, but extra virgin is still the correct starting point for any quality purchase.
For a deep look at why acidity is the most objective quality signal and what a low number really tells you: low acidity olive oil: the true definition of extra virgin.
IS ORGANIC OLIVE OIL ACTUALLY WORTH IT?
This question deserves a direct answer, because "USDA Organic" gets thrown around as a marketing badge without much explanation of what it actually means in practice.
USDA Organic certification for olive oil prohibits synthetic pesticides, chemical fertilizers, and genetically modified organisms at the grove level. It also requires third-party inspection and documented production records throughout the supply chain. That last part is the part that matters most for an oil buyer.
The audited supply chain requirement means certified organic olive oil is significantly harder to adulterate than conventional olive oil. To pass inspection, every step from grove to bottle has to be documented and verified. That paper trail is a structural obstacle to the kind of blending, diluting, and mislabeling that independent investigations have found to be widespread in the conventional imported olive oil market.
A USDA Organic certification review confirms that certified producers must maintain production records, submit to annual inspections, and document any inputs used at every stage. An uncertified producer has none of those obligations.
Organic certification also correlates with smaller-batch production. The economics of maintaining organic certification push producers toward closer oversight of each step, which correlates with the same practices that produce better oil: faster pressing, more selective harvesting, tighter quality control.
Does organic automatically mean higher polyphenol content? No. Does it mean the oil is fresher? Not on its own. But for olive oil specifically, where adulteration is a genuine and documented problem, the supply chain integrity that comes with certification is a meaningful quality signal on top of the pesticide-free benefits.
For a full breakdown of what USDA Organic certification actually involves and what you are paying for: Is USDA Organic olive oil worth the price?
THE SUPPLY CHAIN PROBLEM NOBODY TALKS ABOUT
One of the least discussed quality factors is how long olive oil spends in the distribution pipeline before it reaches your kitchen. An oil that was excellent when it left the producer can arrive in poor condition after months in a warehouse and on a store shelf under fluorescent lighting.
Grocery store olive oil typically passes through several hands: producer, importer, distributor, retailer. Each step adds time. By the time a bottle reaches the shelf, it may be six months or more past the pressing date. Then it sits for additional weeks or months before you buy it.
Buying directly from a producer or a small specialty importer shortens that timeline dramatically. The oil reaches you faster, which means it is closer to its original quality. Direct producers also have a reputational incentive to get you the freshest oil possible, since you can contact them directly if something is off.
For an honest look at what is actually happening with the olive oil on most grocery store shelves: why most grocery store olive oil fails the extra virgin standard.
SINGLE ORIGIN VS. BLENDED OLIVE OIL
Most large-brand olive oils are blends of oil from multiple countries. Blending allows producers to stabilize flavor, manage supply variability, and source from wherever oil is cheapest that season. It is extremely common and entirely legal.
Blending also provides cover for quality issues. When you blend ten oils, the characteristics of any single oil become harder to detect. Defects get diluted. You have no way to know which component oils were fresh when pressed and which were not.
Single-origin oil comes from one place, often one farm or cooperative. You can trace it. If you like it, you know exactly what you bought. If something is off, you know where to look. Single-origin producers tend to be more accountable for quality because there is nowhere to hide.
Turkish olive oil has a strong single-origin tradition, with specific regional varieties that produce distinct flavor profiles. For the history and current standards: Turkish olive oil: an ancient origin with modern standards.
OLIVE VARIETY: DOES IT MATTER?
Different varieties produce different oils. Spanish Picual makes a robust, slightly bitter oil with high polyphenol content and good stability. Greek Koroneiki produces a grassy, intensely peppery oil prized for its antioxidant levels. Turkish Ayvalik produces an oil with a smooth, complex character and naturally high polyphenol content.
Variety matters for flavor and baseline polyphenol potential, but it is secondary to pressing speed. A high-polyphenol variety pressed 48 hours after harvest will have lower polyphenol content than a more modest variety pressed within 4 hours. Freshness wins over genetics.
When you see a specific variety named on a bottle, it usually means the producer knows what they are working with and is proud enough to specify it. But do not let variety be the deciding criterion if you have no information about pressing speed.
HOW TO CHOOSE OLIVE OIL FOR DIFFERENT USES
Raw Use: Salads, Finishing, Drizzling
This is where quality matters most. Raw olive oil is where you taste everything and where polyphenol intake is highest. Buy the best oil you can afford that passes the pressing speed, container, and origin checks. Use it within 30 to 60 days of opening.
Everyday Cooking: Sautéing, Roasting, Pan Use
Good extra virgin olive oil is perfectly suitable for most cooking temperatures. The idea that it burns or becomes dangerous is based on outdated information. Its high oleic acid content makes it quite heat-stable.
You can use a slightly less expensive extra virgin for cooking and save the best bottle for raw use. For what actually happens to olive oil at cooking temperatures: can you cook with extra virgin olive oil?
High-Heat Cooking: Deep Frying, Searing
For very high sustained heat, a more refined oil with a higher smoke point is more appropriate. Extra virgin handles most home cooking without issue, but at extreme frying temperatures over long periods, the polyphenols you paid for will degrade faster than you can use them. Save the premium oil for raw and moderate-heat use.
WHY THE POLYPHENOLS ARE THE WHOLE POINT
Olive oil is one of the most studied foods in human nutrition. Decades of research on Mediterranean populations and controlled clinical trials have associated regular extra virgin olive oil consumption with lower rates of cardiovascular disease, reduced inflammatory markers, and better metabolic health.
The most important clinical trial on this is PREDIMED, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, which followed 7,447 high-risk adults for nearly 5 years. The group eating a Mediterranean diet with extra virgin olive oil had a 39 percent lower rate of major cardiovascular events compared to the low-fat control group. The trial was stopped early because the benefit was too clear to keep withholding from the control group.
The key word in all of this research is extra virgin, specifically with intact polyphenols. The most important bioactive compounds are hydroxytyrosol and oleocanthal. These compounds are the reason researchers study extra virgin olive oil rather than refined olive oil. A refined or degraded oil that has lost its polyphenols does not carry the same evidence base.
The practical implication: if you are buying olive oil for health reasons, the quality of the oil matters. A bottle that has lost its polyphenols in the supply chain is not the same product as the oil used in the clinical trials.
For the full evidence base on olive oil and cardiovascular health: olive oil and heart health: what 40 years of research has found.
HOW TO TELL IF THE BOTTLE YOU ALREADY HAVE HAS GONE OFF
Most people have a bottle at home right now that has already significantly degraded. Here is how to check.
Look at where it is stored. Is it next to the stove? On a lit countertop? In a clear bottle near a window? If yes, degradation has been accelerating every day.
Uncap it and smell. Does it smell green, grassy, maybe a little fruity? Or does it smell like nothing much, like old cooking fat, or faintly like crayons?
Taste a small amount straight. Is there any pepper at the back of your throat? Even a little? If yes, polyphenols are still present. If the oil is flat, greasy, or neutral, they are gone.
If the oil fails the smell and taste test, stop using it for raw consumption or finishing. Use it for high-heat cooking where you are not relying on the polyphenols, or discard it and replace it with something better.
SIX RULES THAT MAKE EVERY BOTTLE BETTER
You do not need to spend a fortune to get good olive oil. You need to spend smart.
Buy smaller bottles and finish them faster. A 500ml bottle used within 30 to 45 days gives you better oil than a liter bottle that sits open for three months.
Prioritize producers who say something about their pressing process. If they mention pressing speed anywhere, that is a good sign. If they say nothing, be skeptical.
Stick to dark glass or tin. Reject clear bottles.
Look for USDA Organic certification or single-origin sourcing as a quality signal beyond the extra virgin label.
After opening, keep the bottle in a dark cupboard away from the stove. Not on the counter. Not by the window.
Taste your oil when you open a new bottle. Five seconds and a small straight taste tells you more about quality than any label ever will.
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At a Glance: The Numbers
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Four Hour Olive Oil: The Shortcut to Choosing Right If reading olive oil labels has ever left you confused, here is the simplest answer: buy from a producer who is transparent about their process. Four Hour Olive Oil presses Ayvalik olives within 4 hours of harvest. That is not a marketing line. It is the single biggest factor in how much goodness ends up in the bottle. Single-origin, certified USDA Organic, cold-pressed mechanically, sealed in Italian dark glass. No shortcuts between the grove and your kitchen. You do not need to decode a label. The process is the proof. |
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS
How do I choose a good olive oil if I cannot taste it first?
Focus on what the producer says about their process. Look for any mention of pressing speed, ideally "same-day pressing" or "pressed within hours of harvest." Check that the bottle is dark glass or tin. Look for USDA Organic certification or a named single-origin source. If a brand provides none of this information anywhere on the label or website, the process is probably not something they are proud of.
What does extra virgin actually mean?
Extra virgin olive oil is legally defined as oil with acidity below 0.8 percent and no sensory defects detectable by trained tasters. These are the minimum legal requirements. An oil that barely clears both thresholds is technically extra virgin but may be far inferior in polyphenol content and freshness compared to oil pressed quickly from intact olives. The label tells you the floor, not the quality.
Is expensive olive oil always better?
Not always, but price is a rough quality floor. Good olive oil costs more to make. An olive oil priced below roughly twelve to fifteen dollars per 500ml in the United States is almost certainly using shortcuts that affect quality. Above that threshold, you are increasingly paying for packaging and branding. The best value is a mid-to-upper price bottle from a transparent producer who talks openly about their process.
Is organic olive oil worth paying more for?
For olive oil specifically, yes — and not just for the pesticide-free reason. USDA Organic certification requires an audited, documented supply chain, which makes adulteration significantly harder. The independent investigations that have found widespread mislabeling in imported olive oil typically involve uncertified, blended oils. Organic certification is a structural quality signal, not just a farming preference. It also tends to correlate with smaller-batch production and closer oversight of each step.
Can I use olive oil for cooking or is it only for salads?
Extra virgin olive oil is suitable for most everyday cooking. It handles sautés, roasting, and pan cooking without issue. The idea that it becomes dangerous at cooking temperatures is based on outdated information. Its high oleic acid content makes it quite heat-stable compared to polyunsaturated oils. For extreme sustained heat like deep frying, a more refined oil with a higher smoke point may be more practical. For everything else, good extra virgin works well.
What is the difference between cold pressed and regular olive oil?
"Cold pressed" means the oil was extracted mechanically at controlled low temperatures rather than with heat. Heat produces more oil but damages polyphenols and flavor compounds. Cold pressing is now standard for all extra virgin olive oil, so seeing it on the label is not a meaningful differentiator. What matters more is how quickly the olives were pressed after harvest, which is a separate question from extraction temperature.
How long does olive oil last after opening?
For maximum polyphenol benefit, use an opened bottle within 30 to 60 days. The oil remains safe and usable for up to six months if stored well, but flavor and health-relevant compounds degrade steadily from the moment air enters the bottle. After six months open, the oil is likely rancid.
Is single-origin olive oil worth paying more for?
Single-origin oils are traceable in a way blended oils are not. You know where the olives came from and who produced them. Producers who name their origin are also usually the most transparent about pressing speed and standards. Blending provides cover for mixing in lower-quality oils without detection. For most buyers, single-origin is worth a modest price premium.
What is the peppery sensation in olive oil?
The peppery sting at the back of your throat when you taste good olive oil is caused by oleocanthal, a natural antioxidant with anti-inflammatory properties that researchers have compared to ibuprofen in its mechanism. The intensity of the pepper correlates with oleocanthal concentration, which correlates with overall polyphenol content. No pepper means little oleocanthal. Strong pepper is a very good sign.
Does the color of olive oil indicate quality?
No, not reliably. Olive oil color varies naturally by variety, harvest timing, and filtration. Some very high-quality early harvest oils are intensely green. Some equally high-quality oils from later harvests or different varieties are warm gold. Color does shift as oil oxidizes, but slowly enough that you cannot use it as a freshness signal on a store shelf. Taste and smell are far more reliable.
Why does grocery store olive oil taste so different from olive oil I had in Europe?
Several reasons. European olive oil consumed locally is often very close to its pressing date and has not traveled far through a distribution chain. Local oils in producing countries are frequently fresh-pressed and unfiltered. Travelers also often encounter premium small-producer oils unavailable in standard grocery distribution. The olive oil on a US grocery store shelf has typically passed through several layers of importers, distributors, and retailers over months.
Is it safe to buy olive oil online?
Yes, and in many cases buying directly from a producer online is one of the best ways to get high-quality oil. You can read about the producer's process before buying and receive the oil at home without it sitting on a store shelf for months. Verify that the producer ships in packaging that protects the oil from light and heat during transit.
What does rancid olive oil smell like?
Rancid olive oil smells like crayons, old paint, petroleum, stale walnuts, or a waxy candle. These are oxidation byproducts that form as the oil breaks down. Fresh olive oil smells green, grassy, or faintly fruity. If you open a bottle and any of the rancid descriptors hit you first, the oil has oxidized. It is not dangerous in small amounts, but it has no meaningful polyphenol content and is not worth using raw.
How do I store olive oil to keep it fresh?
Keep it in a dark cupboard or pantry away from the stove. Room temperature or slightly cool is ideal. Do not store it on the counter where kitchen light hits it all day, and do not store it near the stove where heat cycles accelerate degradation. After opening, seal the cap tightly after each use to limit oxygen exposure.
Does olive oil help your heart?
Yes, and the evidence is unusually strong for a dietary claim. The PREDIMED trial, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, found a 39 percent reduction in major cardiovascular events for the group eating a Mediterranean diet with extra virgin olive oil versus a low-fat control diet. A 2024 meta-analysis covering 2.7 million participants across 30 studies confirmed the association between higher olive oil intake and lower cardiovascular disease risk. The benefits are tied specifically to extra virgin olive oil with intact polyphenol content.
REFERENCES AND SOURCES
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[1] "Influence of Harvest Time and Malaxation Conditions on the Concentration of Individual Phenols in Extra Virgin Olive Oil Related to Its Healthy Properties." PMC7287853. View study [2] Cecchi, L. et al. "Impact of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Storage Conditions on Phenolic Content." Foods (2025). View study [3] Estruch, R. et al. "Primary Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease with a Mediterranean Diet." New England Journal of Medicine / PREDIMED trial (2018). View study [4] Ke Y, et al. "Olive oil intake and cardiovascular disease, cancer, and all-cause mortality: a systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies." Food Funct (2024). View study [5] Olmedo, R. et al. "The Effects of Packaging and Storage Temperature on the Shelf-Life of Extra Virgin Olive Oil." PMC (2018). View study |
This article references peer-reviewed research on olive oil quality, polyphenol chemistry, storage science, and cardiovascular health. Perspectives and editorial framing are original to Four Hour Olive Oil. These statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Consult a qualified healthcare professional before making significant dietary changes.