A harvest date on a label can be an important piece of information for olive oil companies and consumers. Recently, the NAOOA shared a blog post from 2016 about the difference between a harvest date and a best buy date on a bottle of olive oil, and it generated some pushback on twitter. After reading it, I understand the concern that it understated the significance of the harvest date.
Last October, I was privileged to attend an early harvest festival in Spain at the facility of one of the NAOOA members. For that company, and others who are producing “early harvest” or “novello” extra virgin oil, the harvest date is an essential part of their marketing. For other companies whose business model includes marketing olive oils that the company has itself produced (or had produced for it), the harvest date can be an important part of the information provided to consumers who are looking for authenticity and to know the olive oil’s “story.” I for one when choosing an estate-bottled oil always look for and take into account the harvest date information in my purchasing decision.
Harvest date is therefore almost always a relevant piece of information . . . if it is included.
But it is important to know that the absence of a harvest date does not indicate a lack of quality. A company may decide not to include a harvest date on the label for a number of legitimate reasons. For example, if a product produced in October of year 1 is still on the shelf in November of year 2, a consumer who has been told only to purchase “fresh” olive oil may think the oil is old and choose something else—even though the oil may have as much as another year of shelf life. Indeed, a retailer might be reluctant to purchase new product from that company if oil from the prior harvest is still on the shelf.
Another reason can be that the producer has packed oils from different harvests which can mean different months and/or even years, given that harvest can continue over a few months in a given locale, and occurs at different times in different hemispheres. On such olive oils—which are obviously not “estate produced” and include the more economical everyday cooking oils you find in the supermarket—the inclusion of multiple harvest dates might be complicated and confusing.
Thus while harvest date can be relevant, the “best before date” is always the critical information consumers need to know when buying an olive oil. Here, to protect consumers, producers need to make their best efforts to estimate the shelf life of the oil at the time that it is bottled. This means taking into account variables such as harvest date(s), storage conditions prior to bottling, the physico-chemical properties of the oil, the opacity of the package, and anticipated shipping/storage prior to consumer purchase.
Unfortunately, although methods for estimating shelf life are getting better, they are not perfect. As a general rule, and as provided by the International Olive Council standards, and required by the NAOOA labeling guide, the “best before date” should not be more than 2 years from the date of bottling. In many cases, however, the BBD should be less than that.
Whatever the harvest date, or best before date, it is also important to realize that once you open the bottle of oil, all bets are off, and you should try to consume the bottle within 2-3 months.
Regarding the old blog post, we will seek to update that one and any others in our archives that we find need clarification.
