Since I started selling olive oil, I have consistently said that Spanish olive oil is the best in the world and is also the largest producer in the world. My statement is now also confirmed by the EVOOLEUM guide 2024 , which awards the top 100 best olive oils in the world, 61% of which come from Spain. This guide is authoritative and is cited by the Spanish Minister of Agriculture.
EVOOLEUM
The EVOOLEUM 2024 guide has just been published, in which a professional jury gave their verdict on various olive oils submitted worldwide. EVOOLEUM is a guide published by Group Mercacei-Edimarket Editores, who publish various weekly and monthly trade magazines. The EVOOLEUM guide is a benchmark in the olive oil industry.
Of course I am critical of this, because the trade journal is written in Córdoba, Spain, and the competition is in Spain. However, it is one of the internationally recognized trade competitions and is the most authoritative competition in Europe, next to other major international competitions such as: Mario Solinas-Quality Prize (International Olive Oil Council), NYIOOC – International Olive Oil Competition of New York, Flos Olei, Athena International Olive Oil Competition.
The competition has a number of conditions to participate; for example, at least 2500 liters of extra virgin olive oil must have been produced and that stock must be accessible during the 30 days of the competition in order to be able to submit possible re-samples. In addition, the olive oil must be chemically tested or comply with ISO 17025. 980 samples were submitted from 12 different countries.
However, a press release from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food made me look at the EVOOLEUM awards. Based on a statement from the Minister who claimed that Spain produces the most high-quality olive oil in the world , something that Spanish farmers and olive oil producers can be proud of.
Spanish olive oil the best olive oil in the world
I have delved into the figures of the EVOOLEUM guide. The guide lacks an overview of the results. You can easily look per country which olive oil is in the top 100, but an overview is missing, so I simply started counting and this is the result.
Source: EVOOLEUM top 100 guide
However, this top 100 shows that not a Spanish, but a South African olive oil was the very best olive oil from the test, based on the score of the professional jury. Unfortunately, I can no longer say that the very best olive oil comes from Spain based on this.
What I can say is that of the list, no less than 61 types of olive oil on the top 100 list come from Spain, of which 45 from Andalusia, and of the top 10 best olive oils, there are also Spanish. This gives a very clear signal that Spanish olive oil belongs to the world top. I am curious how other international competitions will go and whether the same kind of results will come. I will keep you informed via this blog.
Are you curious or have I not convinced you? Try it yourself and order in my webshop .
Want to try the best olive oil from the Valencian Community? The extra virgin olive oil from Señorios de Relleu has been named the best olive oil from the Valencian Community for several years, achieving 95 points out of 100 in Flos Olei and reaching the top 20 of Evooleum.
