On 1 April 2011 Regulation (EU) No 61/2011 enters into force. This regulation adds parameters relating to fatty acid methyl esters (FAME) and fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) to the methods for analysing extra virgin oil as a means of identifying the presence of substances resulting from processes of fermentation and degradation in poor-quality olives.

However, in order to ensure that the extra virgin olive oil placed on the market is of the best quality and prevent the marketing of deodorised oils and fraudulent mixtures, many associations and businesses have pointed out that the alkyl esters parameter should be lowered from 75 mg/kg to 30 mg/kg if extra virgin olive oil is to be properly identified.

The current threshold — 75 mg/kg — is not stringent enough to protect producers and prevent the spread of impure mixtures containing lampante oil, which are still too often available on the market owing to the fall in extra virgin olive oil prices.

The start of the 2011-2012 olive oil production year has in fact once again been characterised by wholesale purchase prices that are too low and cannot even cover production costs. This has justifiably given rise to a strong reaction on the part of producers and oil pressers, who are exasperated by the adulteration that causes distortions of the market and ignore the rights of consumers.

In view of the above, the Commission is asked to answer the following: