Olive (Olea europaea)

About

What it is and where it shows up.

Olive is the fruit of Olea europaea, consumed as table olives (after curing and fermentation to remove bitterness) or pressed into olive oil, the primary lipid source in the Mediterranean diet. It is valued both as a whole food and as a source of bioactive polyphenols such as hydroxytyrosol, oleuropein, and oleocanthal, which confer antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

Safety summary

The regulatory and scientific consensus.

Olives are widely regarded as safe for the general adult population with a strong evidence base supporting cardiovascular, anti-cancer, and metabolic health benefits; no established ADI applies to olives as a whole food. The primary dietary concern for table olives is their high sodium content from curing, which may be relevant for individuals managing hypertension or cardiovascular risk. No adverse toxicological outcomes or genotoxicity have been documented for olive polyphenol constituents such as hydroxytyrosol in human studies.

Regulatory landscape

What food-safety regulators have decided.

Jurisdiction	Status	Note
EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) (European Union)	Approved	EU Regulation No. 432/2012 (16 May 2012) established a list of permitted health claims for olive oil polyphenols (including oleic acid, vitamin E, and monounsaturated/polyunsaturated fatty acids). EFSA has assessed health claims for olive polyphenols related to LDL-cholesterol protection, blood pressure, and HDL-cholesterol maintenance. Whole olives are an unrestricted conventional food. EFSA has ongoing safety assessments for water olive mill by-products as novel foods.source
FSSAI (Food Safety and Standards Authority of India) (India)	Approved	Olive oil is recognised under FSSAI regulations as an edible vegetable oil. No specific restriction on whole olive consumption; olive oil standards are defined under the Food Safety and Standards (Food Products Standards and Food Additives) Regulations.source
FDA (Food and Drug Administration) (United States)	Approved	Olive-derived ingredients including polyphenol extracts (e.g., hydroxytyrosol, olive leaf extract) are self-affirmed or notified GRAS for use in multiple food categories including bakery products, beverages, dairy products, desserts, fats and oils, and fruit juices. Whole olives are a conventional food with no additive status required.source

Who should approach with care

Whose guidance would steer them away.

Hypertension — Cured table olives are high in sodium; consumption of >2 g sodium/day (equivalent to ~5 g salt/day) has been associated with elevated blood pressure and increased risk of CVD and stroke, per the table olives health review (PMC7737178).

Heart Disease — Individuals with established heart disease on sodium-restricted diets should monitor table olive intake due to high salt content from the curing process, although olive oil itself is cardioprotective.

Kidney Disease — Patients with chronic kidney disease requiring dietary sodium restriction should limit cured table olive consumption, as the high sodium load from brine-cured olives may worsen fluid retention and blood pressure control.

Other — Individuals with known allergy to Olea europaea pollen (olive tree pollen allergy) may rarely exhibit cross-reactive oral allergy syndrome symptoms upon consuming fresh olives; consultation with an allergist is advisable.

Research citations

The sources behind this verdict.

1PubMed. Olive oil intake and cancer risk: A systematic review and meta-analysis, 2022. ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
2PubMed. Table olives and health: a review, 2020. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
3FDA. GRAS Notice No. GRN 000600 – Hydroxytyrosol from olive, 2018. fda.gov
4PubMed. Olive oil consumption and human health: A narrative review, 2018. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
5FDA. GRAS Notice No. GRN 726 – Polyphenol extract from olive fruit (elaVida™), 2017. fda.gov
6PubMed. Olive oil intake and risk of cardiovascular disease and mortality in the PREDIMED Study, 2014. pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov

Independently researched7 citations