Bulk Olive Oil

A term that refers to large quantities of olive oil shipped to bottlers from various regions of a country or from several different countries. The various batches of olive oil are then blended before being bottled and sold. Many of the name brands sold in food stores in the United States (and in many other parts of the world) are a blend of bulk olive oils from one country or several countries, which allows the manufacturer to sell the product at a reasonable price. For example, a leading brand of virgin olive oil may contain a blend of virgin oils from Spain, Greece, and Turkey or a bottle of extra virgin oil may contain a blend of extra virgin olive oils from various regions throughout one country, such as Italy. The label will usually designate the origin of the oil blend. The blending of different batches of olive oil of the same grade does not indicate that the product is inferior. Many blended olive oils are among the most popular varieties available because of the high quality in spite of the relatively low price.