North Aegean Olive Oils: a registration stricter than the food codex
The mark of ten localities rather than one district — and unusually, it sets tighter limits than the national standard on peroxide, FAEE, waxes and K270.
This registration differs from the others in two ways. First, it is a geographical indication (mahreç işareti) rather than a designation of origin. Second, some of the quality limits it sets are stricter than the Turkish Food Codex.
The second is unusual, and it is the subject of this article.
The record
| Registration no | 392 |
| Registration date | 14.11.2018 |
| Application | C2016/111 · 16.12.2016 |
| Type | Geographical indication |
| Registered by | S.S. Tariş Olive and Olive Oil Agricultural Sales Cooperatives Union |
What a geographical indication means here
Under a designation of origin, every stage takes place within the defined area. Under a geographical indication, at least one stage does and the rest may happen elsewhere — a more flexible commitment. We set out the difference in detail.
That is why North Aegean is not tied to a single district as Ayvalık Olive Oil is.
The area: ten localities
The certificate defines the boundary as the region enclosed by the Kaz and Madra mountains, and names the settlements individually:
Ezine · Ayvacık (Küçükkuyu) · Edremit (Altınoluk) · Havran · Burhaniye · Gömeç · Ayvalık (Altınova) · Dikili · Bergama (Zeytindağ) · Aliağa (Şakran)
A strip running from Çanakkale to İzmir. What they share is not administrative but topographic: lying between two mountain ranges.
One cultivar
The product is extra virgin olive oil from the Ayvalık (Edremit Yağlık) cultivar, whose origin is known to be Edremit. For the cultivar itself: the Ayvalık (Edremit) olive.
The limits stricter than the codex
This is the certificate's most striking feature. The registration sets narrower ranges than the national standard allows:
| Criterion | North Aegean limit | Food Codex limit |
|---|---|---|
| Peroxide value (meq O₂/kg) | ≤ 18 | ≤ 20 |
| K270 | ≤ 0.2 | ≤ 0.22 |
| Fatty acid ethyl esters (mg/kg) | ≤ 25 | ≤ 35 |
| Waxes (mg/kg) | ≤ 100 | ≤ 150 |
| Oleic acid (%) | ≥ 69 | 55 – 83 |
The last line is the sharpest: where the codex allows a broad 55-83% for oleic acid, the registration requires at least 69%. Many oils that satisfy the codex therefore cannot carry this mark.
There is also a requirement with no codex counterpart: alpha-tocopherol of at least 150 mg/kg. Alpha-tocopherol is the principal form of vitamin E and contributes to the oil's oxidative stability.
Free acidity sits at the extra virgin ceiling: ≤0.8%.
The sensory profile
The certificate gives a list for fruitiness: almond, apple, flowers, grass, green, greenish fruity, olive leaf, ripe fruity, soft fruity and tomato. At least one must be present at low (<3.0) or moderate (<5.0-5.5) intensity.
Bitterness and pungency are low to moderate (<4.0). And in the certificate's own words the oil has a characteristic feel that is "lightly flowing and generally described as water-like".
That last description is interesting: most registrations praise density, while this one treats fluidity as distinctive.
In short
North Aegean Olive Oils is a geographical indication covering the oil of a single cultivar grown across ten localities between two mountain ranges. What distinguishes it lies less in the geography than in the thresholds: below the national standard on peroxide, FAEE, waxes and K270, and distinctly above it on oleic acid.
So the mark does not only say "it came from here" — it says "it is above this line".
Source: Turkish Patent and Trademark Office, Geographical Indication Registration Certificate No 392 — Kuzey Ege Zeytinyağları.
One rating per visitor; you can change yours at any time. Ratings are real reader votes — no seeded or default scores.
Related
Article
Milas Olive Oil: a press bed dated to 2000 BC
Registered in the European Union as well. The certificate's archaeological anchor is a press bed cut into rock at Pilavtepe — four thousand years old.
Article
Olive Oil Prices: Week 35 of 2026
Turkish exchange prices, European producer prices and exchange rates side by side: extra virgin at 300 TL/kg in Edremit, Spain's national average €3.52/kg.
Article
What Does Acidity Mean in Olive Oil?
The 0.3% or 0.8% on the label has nothing to do with sour taste. Acidity tells you the condition of the fruit before pressing.
Article
How Cold-Pressed Olive Oil Is Made
From tree to bottle: washing, crushing, malaxation and separation. Why the temperature must stay below 27°C.