Is Retail Extra Virgin Olive Oil Truly Extra Virgin? Consumer Perceptions Versus Analytical Quality Across Price Ranges.

In recent decades, extra virgin olive oil demand has grown globally. The increasing popularity has led to a highly diversified commercial offer: supermarkets and discounters present a wide variety of brands and price ranges. However, price does not always correlate with quality, and label information can often mislead consumers. Understanding consumer preferences, knowledge, and drivers of perceived quality is crucial for maintaining trust in the extra virgin olive oil sector. This study investigates the alignment between consumers' expectations based on label information and the actual quality of extra virgin olive oils through a commercial and chemical analytical screening. The research objectives included a consumer survey to identify purchasing drivers, consumption habits, and knowledge of quality standards; a commercial survey on the extra virgin olive oil available in different stores, assessing brand, price variability, and transparency of information; and chemical and sensory analyses on selected extra virgin olive oils of different price ranges to evaluate whether the declared quality reflects the actual quality. The results showed significant inconsistencies in quality: although all oils were labeled as extra virgin olive oil, many medium- and low-priced samples presented sensory defects that EU regulations prohibit for extra virgin olive oil. Notably, oils with more detailed and transparent labeling, such as harvest year, cultivar, and extraction method, tended to perform better in chemical and sensory analyses, regardless of price. This suggests that consumers may better assess quality by scrutinizing label information rather than relying solely on price, highlighting the practical importance of comprehensive labeling.