For extra virgin olive oil we mean the oil obtained from the first pressing of olives through mechanical processes, therefore without recourse to processes or chemical substances that do not cause alteration of the oil.
Chemical parameters: free acidity, expressed as oleic acid, does not exceed 0.8 g per 100 g
peroxides lower than 20 mEq O2 / kg.
K232 limit 2.5
K270 limit 0.2,
AK limit 0.01.
Organoleptic parameters the median of the defects is 0 and the median of the yield is greater than 0.
A quality oil has an acidity of less than 0.3 g and peroxides of less than 6 mEq 02 / kg. The beneficial and nutritional properties of extra virgin olive oil, rich in antioxidants such as vitamin E, A, oleic acid, polyphenols, which intervene on the prevention of cardiovascular diseases and on the correct development of the nervous system, are already known.
But the results of a scientific work, which shows particular attention, is the one conducted by LILT di Latina in collaboration with the Department of Medical-Surgical Sciences and Biotechnology of the Universitá Sapienza of Rome which highlights the effectiveness of polyphenols in counteracting growth of some types of tumors.