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CEQ quality system

The Consortium promotes a “supply chain quality” that starts from the integration of all professionals who work in the various stages of the production process, since quality must be guaranteed by the close collaboration between producers, packagers and distributors.

All the companies that have been authorized to use the CEQITALIA quality label for an Italian extra virgin or a line of Italian extra virgin olive oils scrupulously respect a production specification with stricter rules than the national and European legislation.

The specification is constantly updated and contains rules and indications for guaranteeing the parameters required by the CEQITALIA quality label, from the olives production to the oil storage on the store shelf, establishing what must be done and what must be avoided along the entire supply chain.

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In particular, the Consortium to Guarantee Quality Extra Virgin Olive Oil:

  • establishes the oils characteristics at the time of packaging at the packaging companies;
  • sets the oils characteristics at the end of the preferable consumption time (TMC);
  • provides the quality certification guaranteed by the Consortium whose controls are carried out by independent specialized companies;
  • requires the use of independent and accredited quality analysis laboratories;
  • verifies the final product at the factories and on the stores shelves, checking compliance with the quality requirements guaranteed by the CEQITALIA quality label;
  • applies severe penalties for non-compliance with commitments, to the exclusion of the companies from the quality assurance program.
To strengthen the guarantee towards consumers and among the operators who use the CEQITALIA quality label, the Consortium has approved a control System that provides verification all along the downstream phases of the supply chain, from the oil packaging to the store shelves. The quality control system will be extended in the coming years to include the processing and cultivation of olives.
CEQ extra vergin olive oil quality system
  1. With the help of expert technicians and researchers, the Consortium has defined a standard that guarantees a high level of nutritional and sensory properties.
  2. The Consortium has applied the standard into a production specification with the fundamental requirements for producing a quality extra virgin olive oil.
  3. International certifying agencies carry out inspections at the companies that have requested to use and are using the trademark CEQITALIA.
  4. The oil samples are sent to certified laboratories and panels to evaluate compliance with the quality parameters.
  5. If the results are positive, the company is authorized to apply to the extra virgin Italian packaging the CEQITALIA quality guarantee label.
  6. The certifying agencies carry out further sampling from the stores to check the correct conservation of the product and the compliance with the quality standard.
  7. In case of negative results, the Consortium analyses the samples in other laboratories, to the point of demanding the withdrawal of the product and applying severe penalties to the company, including the definitive ban on the use of the label.
  8. In case of positive results, the use of the CEQITALIA quality guarantee label is confirmed.