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<pre>Hi Vicky

I have not studied the INCI guidelines, but I suspect they are not too
attuned to the specific IOOC nomenclature for the varous olive oil grades.

As far as I know, "olea europa" is not normally used to describe olive oil.
The botanical name of the tree is, however, "Olea europaea".

The most common way of distinguishing between a refined and an unrefined
olive oil is to check the spectrophotometric absorption coefficient of the
oil at certain UV wavelengths, namely at 232 and 270 nanometers. This is one
of the normal IOOC, EP or CODEX tests for the presence of refined oil.

The refining process causes a change in bond structure in certain of the
fatty acid chains, leading the the formation of conjugated dienes and
trienes (sequential double-single-double-single-... bonds) along the length
of the chain, increasing the absorption coefficients at the specified UV
wavelengths.

If you need more info, I suggest you contact Profs. Stan Kailis or Alfred
Poulos of this group. Or I will try.

Regards,

Guido


----- Original Message -----
From: <vicki

> Hi Everyone
>
> We are trying to get some documentation together for a company that wants
to export our
> products overseas. One of their requirements is that our ingredients
listing is as per INCI
> (International Nomenclature of Cosmetic Ingredients).
>
> Olive oil is listed there as olea europa. Is there anyone on the list who
knows of a way to
> distinguish between olive oil and extra virgin olive oil, regarding INCI
guidelines
</pre>
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