EU Drops Plan To Ban Tabletop Olive Oil Dipping Bowls

The controversial decision by the European Union to ban restaurants from using refillable jugs and bowls of olive oil has been dropped.

After a deluge of criticism from the foodservice industry and consumers, bureaucrats in Brussels have scrapped the proposed regulations, which were described as “nonsense” by Martin Couchman, the deputy CEO of the British Hospitality Association.

The policy, which was to have been official in January 2014, would have required restaurants to serve olive oil in pre-packaged factory bottles fitted with tamper-proof dispensing nozzles adhering to EU labeling standards. The proposed regulations fell under the European Common Agricultural Policy, and originated with the Olive Oil Action Plan, which aims to safeguard olive oil producers from businesses putting lower-quality olive oil into branded bottles.

The European Commission also had cited hygiene as a reason for the move, although when contacted by Caterer & Hotelkeeper, the Food Standards Agency said it did not hold any documented records of hygiene incidents involving olive oil.