Pomace olive oil ban lifted

The self-imposed ban on export of pomace olive oil has been lifted by the Spanish authorities, according to a statement issued by the country's embassy in the UAE yesterday. Detection of unacceptably high levels of potentially cancer-causing chemicals in oil extracted from pulpy residue or pomace of olives, had resulted in the Spanish government banning exports last month.

The General Secretariat of the UAE Municipalities had followed suit and recalled all pomace oil in the market as a precautionary measure on July 9. The grade four olive oil was found to be contaminated with the chemical alpha benzopyrenes, which is a carcinogen. It is introduced in the oil from the chemical and thermal processes used for extraction.

The statement from the embassy said: "The ban was imposed according to the health regulations for olive oil in Spain. The olive oil producers have already implemented the changes to the production line which caused the problem. "The Spanish authorities are satisfied that there have been no more batches of pomace oil containing the said element, and have therefore authorised sales and exports of all the olive oil produced after August 1, 2001.

"To confirm the safety of the product, all exports will be provided with a health certificate covering the contents of the said contaminant. To date, no cases of contaminated olive oil have been reported outside Spain."