Q. Who may participate in the NAOOA Seal Program?
A. Regular Members of the NAOOA in good standing.
Q. What is required to participate?
A. Participants must sign a licensing agreement and pay the required fees. The licensing agreement and fees must be paid annually.
Q. What is the fee?
A. The fee for participation is $5,000 per license.
Q. Does the license cover all my company’s products?
A. No. The license covers one product. For example, a license will cover a company’s extra virgin olive oil. If the company wants to use the seal on its olive oil, it needs an additional license.
Q. My company markets several brands. Does my license cover all my brands?
A. No, the license is brand specific and covers one type of oil. For example, a license will cover a brand of extra virgin olive oil. If the company wants to use the seal on another brand of extra virgin olive oil it markets, it needs an additional license.
Q. Does the license cover all package sizes of the licensed product?
A. Yes. The product is being licensed, not the packaging.
Q. Can the NAOOA Seal be used on bulk olive oil?
A. Yes. Marketers of bulk olive oil may use the seal to sell to their customers.
Q. Can the NAOOA Seal be used on private label product?
A. Yes, if it can be documented that the product containing the seal is supplied a licensed member.
Q. Can the NAOOA Seal be used on invoices, literature, websites, etc.?
A. Yes, but these types of uses are subject to the same restrictions as use on the label and the same timeframes for stopping use of the seal should a license be revoked or not renewed.
Q. How are samples collected?
A. Samples are collected by NAOOA staff or by an independent third party hired by the NAOOA. Two samples of each product to be tested will be collected. One will be used for analysis. The other will be stored by the NAOOA until the results are received.
Q. How is the product tested?
A. Samples are sent in to laboratories accredited by the International Olive Oil Council and are tested against the IOOC standard in place at the time of production of the product.
Q. What happens if the test reveals a problem?
A. Licensees have a right to appeal. Appeal tests will be conducted using the second container collected and stored by the NAOOA. Members bear all costs associated with the appeal, including laboratory and shipping fees.
Q. Can the NAOOA Seal be used while an appeal is being conducted?
A. Yes.
Revocation of the License
A. The company’s product bearing the seal must be recalled. The company must provide to the NAOOA a recall plan and must provide further documentation to prove the recall has been completed.
Q. Can a company that has had a license revoked re-apply for a license?
A. Yes. Re-certification will not be permitted for at least six months after all previous product bearing the seal is removed from distribution.
