Argentina's San Juan Province Gets Geographic Indication for Olive Oil

Summary

The Argentine province of San Juan has received a Geographic Indication (GI) for its extra vir­gin olive oil, join­ing 19 other Argentine prod­ucts with sim­i­lar des­ig­na­tions, includ­ing a Mendoza GI for extra vir­gin olive oil. The San Juan Olive Chamber over­saw the GI, which requires the oil to be pri­mar­ily made from Arbequina olives and have a free acid­ity of less than or equal to 0.4 per­cent, high­light­ing the region’s opti­mal soil and cli­mate con­di­tions and tra­di­tional pro­duc­tion meth­ods.

Extra vir­gin olive oil from the Argentine province of San Juan has received a Geographic Indication (GI) from the country’s econ­omy min­istry.

Overall, there are 19 Argentine prod­ucts with Geographical Indications and Denominations of Origin, includ­ing a Mendoza GI for extra vir­gin olive oil for­mal­ized in 2022. 

“The geo­graph­i­cal area cov­ered by this GI encom­passes the entire province of San Juan, defined by opti­mal soil and cli­mate con­di­tions, tra­di­tional cul­tural prac­tices and pro­duc­tion meth­ods that define the qual­ity and iden­tity of the oil,” wrote the San Juan Olive Chamber, a pro­ducer asso­ci­a­tion respon­si­ble for over­see­ing the GI.

The Tulum Valley, the hub of the province’s olive oil sec­tor, sits 500 kilo­me­ters north­west of Buenos Aires. 

According to offi­cials, San Juan GI extra vir­gin olive oil must be made pri­mar­ily from Arbequina olives, with a per­mit­ted range of 50 to 70 per­cent. The rest of the blend may com­prise Changlot, Arauco, Coratina, Arbosana, Picual and Koroneiki.

Free acid­ity must be less than or equal to 0.4 per­cent, half the per­mit­ted level for extra vir­gin olive oil. 

“This oil stands out for its com­plex­ity, per­sis­tence and sta­bil­ity against oxi­da­tion, with a sen­sory pro­file fea­tur­ing light to medium bit­ter­ness and spici­ness and char­ac­ter­is­tic aro­mas of green leaves, tomato and arti­choke,” the San Juan Olive Chamber said.

The cham­ber added that the recog­ni­tion is the result of a mul­ti­dis­ci­pli­nary effort involv­ing pro­duc­ers, uni­ver­si­ties and provin­cial insti­tu­tions. 

The stake­hold­ers col­lab­o­rated to develop a tech­ni­cal pro­to­col, which was val­i­dated through tast­ings, lab­o­ra­tory analy­sis, and a trace­abil­ity sys­tem to ensure authen­tic­ity.

“The GI seal was designed by stu­dents from the National University of San Juan and com­bines the col­ors of the olive tree, a styl­ized olive, and a drop of oil in the shape of a foot­print, a sym­bol of iden­tity and ori­gin,” the cham­ber wrote.

The process to rec­og­nize the province’s extra vir­gin olive oil began in November 2008, with local pro­duc­ers work­ing to receive a Denomination of Origin. 

However, efforts stalled and were only recently revived by Marcelo Orrego, San Juan’s gov­er­nor, and the regional agri­cul­ture depart­ment.

“This gives our prod­uct added value, show­cases our his­tory and cul­ture, and high­lights the unique iden­tity of our extra vir­gin olive oil,” said Miguel Moreno, the sec­re­tary of agri­cul­ture, live­stock and fish­eries. ​“It allows us to enter the mar­kets with a unique value and show­case San Juan on every label.”

According to the Argentina Olive Federation, San Juan is the sec­ond-largest olive-grow­ing province with 18,000 hectares of groves after La Rioja, which has 26,000 hectares, and the province was respon­si­ble for 51 per­cent of the country’s olive oil exports in 2023. 

Along with quan­tity, pro­duc­ers from the province have long been rec­og­nized for their qual­ity, with Establecimiento Olivum win­ning eight awards at the NYIOOC World Olive Oil Competition between 2019 and 2023. 

Solfrut and El Mistol, one of the orig­i­nal com­pa­nies behind the push for the DO, also each won World Competition awards in 2022 and 2023, respec­tively.

• Argentine Economy Ministry
• Federación Olivícola Argentina