Olive oil
This page is a scaffolded entry for HMTc Taxonomy v2.0 Category 7 (Oils, Condiments, and Specialty Foods), Row 1: Olive oil. Evidence ingest into this row is in progress; this page is the routing destination for source-page declarations of products: [olive-oil]. Sections below are populated by the routing layer (CLAUDE.md Part 5b) as sources land. Where a section is empty, the row has not yet accumulated contributing sources of the required kind.
Literature scope
The Heavy Metal Index source corpus is currently focused on food and food-contact materials. This page documents an HMTc Taxonomy v2.0 row in the category Oils, Condiments, and Specialty Foods for which no peer-reviewed primary or government sources have yet been ingested. The page exists as the routing destination for future ingest. Until sources land, the literature-evidence sections below are deliberately empty rather than guessed; HMTc certification thresholds for products in this row continue to be developed under the certification program at heavymetaltested.com, not on this public page.
Who this page is for
- Brand legal teams
- What the peer-reviewed and regulatory literature reports for heavy-metal occurrence in Olive oil, with applicable regulatory caps and source-traceable findings. Use this page to evaluate certification or class-action exposure on a literature-anchored basis.
- Brand regulatory affairs / QA
- The current evidence base for Olive oil, the levers most-effective at reducing heavy-metal load, and the applicable regulatory limits with jurisdiction and basis.
- Retailers and category buyers
- The row-level assortment risk profile and where the literature distinguishes higher-risk from lower-risk product configurations within this row.
- HMT&C staff (internal)
- HMT&C certification thresholds for products in this row are developed under the certification program at heavymetaltested.com, not on this public page. The Index and HMT&C operate on the same evidence base but apply different publication rules; see the methodology for the separation.
Methodology
This page reports what the cited sources say about heavy-metal concentrations in olive oil. Speciation is non-substitutable per CLAUDE.md Part 14 (iAs vs tAs, MeHg vs tHg, Cr-VI vs total Cr). Basis is preserved (finished-product as sold unless the source specifies otherwise; see each row for the basis label). Non-detect handling follows each source’s reporting convention. Pooling is avoided across LOD/LOQ, period, geography, and analytical-basis differences. HMT&C certification thresholds for products in this row are developed under the certification program at heavymetaltested.com, not on this page; this public page reports literature evidence only.
The applicable regulatory jurisdictions for this row are: FDA, EU, Codex.
Literature Evidence Summary
Literature Evidence Summary
The table below summarizes what the peer-reviewed and government literature cited on this page reports for heavy-metal concentrations in Olive oil. Values are pulled directly from cited sources without re-aggregation; pooling, percentile selection, and threshold math sit in the staff Standards Workbench rather than this public page.
Methodology rules for speciation, basis preservation, non-detect handling, and source pooling are stated in the Methodology section above and apply to every row below.
| Analyte | Subcategory | Reported concentration range | Detection rate | Applicable regulatory cap | Sources | Confidence | Basis |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pb | Olive oil (no contributing evidence loaded) | No concentration data loaded for this analyte | Sample-level detection rate not reported | 100 ppb | 0 | data gap | Basis not reported |
| Cd | Olive oil (no contributing evidence loaded) | No concentration data loaded for this analyte | Sample-level detection rate not reported | No applicable cap loaded | 0 | data gap | Basis not reported |
| tAs | Olive oil (no contributing evidence loaded) | No concentration data loaded for this analyte | Sample-level detection rate not reported | No applicable cap loaded | 0 | data gap | Basis not reported |
| Ni | Olive oil (no contributing evidence loaded) | No concentration data loaded for this analyte | Sample-level detection rate not reported | No applicable cap loaded | 0 | data gap | Basis not reported |
Source Evidence Inventory
Pending ingest. The routing layer populates this section from the source-page set declaring products: [olive-oil].
Broad Product Context: Author-Scope Index
Pending ingest. The routing layer surfaces sources whose author-stated scope is broader than this row (route_kind: broad_product_context) as they are added.
Federal/Regulatory Limits vs Field Findings
Pending ingest. The applicable regulatory jurisdictions for this row are recorded in the page frontmatter; the crosswalk table is generated by tools/apply-product-crosswalk-sections.mjs once regulation pages and field-evidence sources are routed to this row with structured limit values.
Levers to reduce contamination
Practical interventions to reduce heavy-metal load in this row, ordered by impact magnitude. Each lever names the magnitude of the effect with a cited source; cross-links to dedicated Mitigation pages where they exist.
- Sourcing levers — Pending ingest.
- Agronomic levers — Pending ingest. (See Agronomic mitigation for general agronomic mitigation context.)
- Processing levers — Pending ingest. (See Processing mitigation.)
- Formulation levers — Pending ingest. (See Formulation mitigation.)
- Testing and QC levers — Pending ingest. (See Testing and quality-control mitigation when published.)
- Packaging and storage levers — Pending ingest. (See Packaging and storage mitigation when published.)
How standards math uses this page
HMT&C certification thresholds for this row are developed under the certification program at heavymetaltested.com, not on this page. The row-standard for this row is an aggregate computed from the contributing source pool in the row’s native finished-product basis; it is not a per-source decoration of any single value cited on this page. This public page reports literature evidence only.
Historical recalls and enforcement
Pending ingest. Regulatory events (recalls, enforcement actions, import alerts) relevant to this row will be added as agency records are ingested into the corpus.
Sources
Pending ingest. The Source Legend below is auto-generated by tools/evidence/build-source-legend.mjs once source pages declaring products: [olive-oil] are added.
Sources
Auto-generated from source-page frontmatter. The “Used on this page for” column is populated by the orchestrator’s POPULATE-SOURCE-LEGEND action; pending entries appear as *[awaiting synthesis]*.
| # | Citation | Year | Type | Used on this page for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Charfi et al. 2026. Food safety in the production of olive oils. Presence of heavy metals and phthalic acid esters using different types of packaging, Journal of Food Science and Technology | 2026 | Peer-reviewed | ES Pb, Cd, tAs, Ni, Cr, Al, Cu, Zn, Fe, Sb, Mn, Mg occurrence in Commercial Spanish olive oil samples (extra virgin, virgin, olive oil, olive pomace oil) purchased from the Spanish market… (n=18) |
| 2 | Abedi et al. 2025. Comparison Between Emerging and Conventional Methods for Edible Oils Bleaching, Food Science & Nutrition | 2025 | Peer-reviewed | Pb, Cd, Ni, Cr, Co, Al, Cu, Fe occurrence in Narrative review of published literature on industrial and emerging bleaching technologies for edible vegetable oils. No primary measurements;… |
| 3 | Matei et al. 2025. Physicochemical Properties, Trace Elements, and Health Risk Assessment of Edible Vegetable Oils Consumed in Romania, Applied Sciences | 2025 | Peer-reviewed | RO Pb, Cd, Cu, Cr, Co, Mn, Ni occurrence in 24 edible vegetable oil samples (three samples each of eight oil types: sunflower, grapeseed, extra virgin olive, organic… (n=24) |
| 4 | Ntigoroku et al. 2025. Physicochemical Properties, Heavy Metals levels and Health Risk Assessment of selected Edible Oils purchased from major markets in Delta State, Nigeria, Journal of Applied Sciences and Environmental Management | 2025 | Peer-reviewed | NG Cd, Cr, Pb, Cu occurrence in Twenty edible vegetable oil samples purchased from major markets in Delta State, Nigeria, grouped as sunflower oil, soybean… (n=20) |
| 5 | Sallam et al. 2025. Traditional vs. Modern Olive Oil Extraction in Libya: A Comparative Study of Fatty Acids and Heavy Metal Contamination, The North African Journal of Scientific Publishing (NAJSP) | 2025 | Peer-reviewed | LY Pb, Cd, tAs, tHg occurrence in Olive oil and olive mill wastewater (OMWW) collected from one traditional (manual/mechanical pressing, no temperature control or centrifugation)… (n=12) |
| 6 | S-T et al. 2024. Determination, distribution, and health risk assessment of 12 heavy metals in various edible oils in Taiwan, JSFA Reports | 2024 | Peer-reviewed | TW tAs, Pb, Cd, Ni, V, Cr, Co, Cu, Fe, Zn, Mn, Ba occurrence in 12 types of refined commercial edible oils (n=25 samples) and 12 types of unrefined (cold-pressed/virgin) commercial edible oils… (n=50) |
| 7 | Vella et al. 2024. Investigation on the Concentration of Heavy Metals found in Local Olives and Waste Material through AAS, MCAST Journal of Applied Research & Practice, Vol. 8, Issue 2 | 2024 | Peer-reviewed | MT Cd, Ni, Fe, Cu, Co, Zn occurrence in Four olive cultivars (Carolea, Cipressina, Leccino, Bidni) from a single Maltese cultivator, with each cultivar sampled across four… (n=4) |
| 8 | Bodur et al. 2023. Spray assisted preconcentration method combined with HPLC - Continuous flow hydride generation - FAAS for inorganic arsenic speciation in olive oil samples, Journal of Food Composition and Analysis | 2023 | Peer-reviewed | TR iAs occurrence in Two olive oil samples supplied from the local market in Istanbul, Turkiye; real-sample results were non-detect for arsenite/arsenate… (n=2) |
| 9 | González-Torres et al. 2023. Comparative Study of the Presence of Heavy Metals in Edible Vegetable Oils, Applied Sciences | 2023 | Peer-reviewed | ES/EU/CN Pb, Cd, Cu, Fe, Ni, Sb occurrence in Systematic literature review: 35 vegetable oil types from 24 countries; studies published 2015–2022; n=64 studies synthesized (n=64) |
| 10 | Nazari et al. 2023. Impacts of Heavy Metals in Seed Crops and Oil Seed on Human Health: A Threat to Food Safety — Review, Carpathian Journal of Food Science and Technology, 15(2), 106-124 | 2023 | Review | global/EU/IR Pb, Cd, iAs, tAs, tHg, MeHg, Ni, Cr, Cr-VI occurrence in Narrative literature review of published studies on heavy metal occurrence in oilseeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, rape, mustard, linseed,… |
| 11 | Scutarasu et al. 2023. Heavy Metals in Foods and Beverages: Global Situation, Health Risks and Reduction Methods, Foods | 2023 | Peer-reviewed | IR/CN/GR Pb, Cd, tAs, Ni, Cr, tHg, Al, Cu, Zn occurrence in Narrative literature review covering heavy metals in fruits and vegetables, milk and dairy, meat, edible oils, wine, and… |
| 12 | Kabaran et al. 2020. Is there any potential health risk of heavy metals through dietary intake of olive oil that produced in Morphou, Cyprus, Progress in Nutrition | 2020 | Peer-reviewed | CY Pb, Cd, tAs, Ni, Cr, Co, Fe, Cu, Zn occurrence in 27 natural olive oil samples from Morphou and Lefka districts, Northern Cyprus (single harvest); 500 adults aged 30–49… (n=27) |
| 13 | Liang et al. 2019. Effects of Zinc and Copper Stress on Antioxidant System of Olive Leaves, IOP Conference Series: Earth and Environmental Science | 2019 | Peer-reviewed | CN Cu, Zn occurrence in Annual Olea europaea L. cv. ‘Foao’ cutting seedlings (plant height ~55-65 cm, soil weight ~3 kg per pot)… (n=50) |
| 14 | Luka et al. 2019. Investigation of trace metals in different varieties of olive oils from northern Cyprus and their variation in accumulation using ICP-MS and multivariate techniques, Environmental Earth Sciences | 2019 | Peer-reviewed | CY Cu, Cd, Pb, Cr, tAs, Ni occurrence in Fifteen olive-oil observations from northern Cyprus, including oils from olives harvested from the ground, olives harvested directly from… (n=15) |
| 15 | Ziarati et al. 2019. Determination of Toxic Metals Content in Iranian and Italian Flavoured Olive Oil, Acta Technologica Agriculturae | 2019 | Peer-reviewed | IR/IT Pb, Cd, Ni, tAs occurrence in Commercial olive oil samples (non-flavoured and flavoured: fungi, aroma vegetables, pepper) purchased from Lombardy, Italy and Tehran, Iran… (n=480) |
| 16 | Llorent-Martínez et al. 2014. Quantitation of Metals During the Extraction of Virgin Olive Oil from Olives Using ICP-MS after Microwave-assisted Acid Digestion, Journal of the American Oil Chemists’ Society | 2014 | Peer-reviewed | ES/EU Al, V, Cr, Fe, Co, Ni, Cu, tAs, Cd, Sb, Pb occurrence in Picual, Hojiblanca, and Arbequina olive fruits collected January 2012/13 from an irrigated orchard in Jaén (Andalusia), Spain; analyzed… |
| 17 | Acar 2012. Evaluation of cadmium, lead, copper, iron and zinc in Turkish dietary vegetable oils and olives using electrothermal and flame atomic absorption spectrometry, Grasas y Aceites | 2012 | Peer-reviewed | TR Pb, Cd, Cu, Fe, Zn occurrence in 53 vegetable oil samples (8 soybean, 12 sunflower, 8 flower-seed, 8 nut, 8 corn, 9 olive) and 70… (n=123) |
| 18 | Ashraf 2012. Levels of Selected Heavy Metals in Varieties of Vegetable Oils Consumed in Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Health Risk Assessment of Local Population, Asian Journal of Chemistry (Uncorrected Proof) | 2012 | Peer-reviewed | SA Pb, Cd, tAs, Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn occurrence in 161 edible vegetable oil samples (32 corn, 28 sunflower, 21 soybean, 19 sesame, 17 rapeseed, 17 peanut, 27… (n=161) |
| 19 | Zhu et al. 2011. Health risk assessment of eight heavy metals in nine varieties of edible vegetable oils consumed in China, Food and Chemical Toxicology | 2011 | Peer-reviewed | CN Cu, Zn, Fe, Mn, Cd, Ni, Pb, tAs occurrence in 109 commercial edible vegetable oil samples purchased from Chinese supermarkets during 2009-2010: 13 soybean, 12 corn, 14 peanut,… (n=109) |
| 20 | La et al. 2010. Classification of Sicilian Olive Oils According to Heavy Metal and Selenium Levels Using Canonical Discriminant Analysis (CDA), Olives and Olive Oil in Health and Disease Prevention (Elsevier, ISBN 978-0-12-374420-3), Chapter 18, pp. 155–163 | 2010 | Book chapter | IT Pb, Cd, Cu, Zn, Se occurrence in 49 virgin olive oil samples from three Sicilian PDO/PGI cultivars (Nocellara del Belice n=18; Biancolilla n=18; Cerasuola n=13)… (n=49) |
| 21 | Pehlivan et al. 2008. Determination of some inorganic metals in edible vegetable oils by inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy (ICP-AES), Grasas y Aceites | 2008 | Peer-reviewed | TR Pb, Cd, Cu, Fe, Mn, Co, Cr, Ni, Zn occurrence in 17 edible vegetable oil samples from Turkish food markets: soybean, hazelnut, almond, natural olive, riviera olive (3 types),… (n=17) |
Page history
The five most recent substantive edits to this page. The full version history lives in git; when DOI minting comes online (see schema docs), each entry below will also link to a version-pinned DataCite DOI.
| Commit | Date | Description |
|---|---|---|
| ae6c129 | 2026-07-01 | feat(auth): large login + role-based signup screens (design, burgundy) |