Extra virgin is decided in the grove and protected — or lost — in the mill. Olive oil is unrefined fruit juice: every hour between harvest and milling, every degree of malaxation temperature, every dirty press mat moves the oil down a grade. And the grade is the price.
Why the Mill Decides the Claim
Malaxation temperature is literally the number that decides whether you may call the process cold extraction. Around it sit the harvest-to-mill interval, variety segregation, extraction technology (hydraulic, helical or centrifugal), inert-gas storage, release testing against international criteria, and the disposal problem of olive mill wastewater.
What the AGS Olive Oil Guideline Covers
Fifty-four chapters and six annexes aligned with Codex CXS 33-1981 and the International Olive Council standard, with ISO 22000:
- Grades and designations — and the criteria that establish them
- The harvest-to-mill interval and variety segregation
- Crushing and malaxation — the temperature that decides the claim
- Extraction by hydraulic press, helical press and centrifuge
- Inert-gas storage, release tests and filtration
- Olive mill wastewater, pomace handling and press mat hygiene
Annex B tabulates the designations and the criteria that establish them alongside the verification indices used at release, plus the seven sections and facility tables. Annex C provides the establishment inspection checklist, Annex D the multi-stage washing method with additional rules for oil systems, and Annexes E and F the Codex/ISO 22000 conformance map and jurisdictional adaptation register.
Who It Helps
Olive mill and press operators, growing cooperatives, oil quality managers, and inspectors who grade and license olive oil production. Seasonal mills gain a pre-season checklist that prevents mid-harvest surprises.
Get the Guideline
Get the Olive Oil Presses guideline from AGS — instant digital download, fully editable Microsoft Word, ready to protect every grade your groves deliver. Because it arrives as a Word document rather than a locked PDF, you can add your logo, adjust values to your jurisdiction and issue it as a controlled document within your own management system — no retyping, no reformatting.
Product: Olive Oil Presses — available as an instant-download, fully editable package from AGS (SKU AGS-03-028).