Italy on Friday welcomed a new European Union ruling that will require all virgin and extra virgin olive oils to be labelled with their country of origin from July 1.
The new law was announced Friday by European Agriculture Commissioner Mariann Fischer Boel, who said ''consumers deserve to know what they're buying and producers must be able to use quality production methods as a selling point''.
''Different agricultural traditions and varied extraction and blending practices mean that the taste of olive oils from different countries can be very distinct,'' she said.
Italian Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia said he was ''very satisfied'' with the decision, which will allow customers to distinguish Italian oil from that of other EU and non-EU countries.
''It's an important step in the defence of quality and transparency that we needed to help in the fight against imitation products,'' he said.
''Nobody will be able to pass off oil from other countries as Italian any more''.
Farmers' association Coldiretti described the move as a ''historic turning point''.
''It opens the way for transparent labelling for all food products that are still anonymous, including long-life milk, cheeses, pork, rabbit, lamb, and fruit juices,'' said Coldiretti President Sergio Marini.
Italy imported around 500 million kilos of olive oil in 2008 that ''in the absence of labelling people confuse with the national product'', according to Coldiretti.
