Quality & testing
What do international olive oil awards mean?
Blind panels judge flavour. Labs judge numbers. They are different things.
11 October 2026 · 1 min read
Olive oil competitions judge samples through panels of trained tasters who do not know which brand they are assessing. This differs from laboratory testing, which measures chemistry rather than flavour.
The recognised competitions
- NYIOOC New York — among the largest in the world by number of entries
- Mario Solinas — run by the International Olive Council
- EVO IOOC — an international competition based in Italy
- Olive Japan — panel judging in Asia
- London IOOC — an international competition in the United Kingdom
What an award does not tell you
An award refers to the sample submitted in a particular year. It does not automatically tell you about the bottle in your hand today. That is why a laboratory report for the current batch still matters alongside an awards record.
Olivko has received more than 120 international awards, and its current batch is tested by ONH Tunis at 0.18% acidity.
