The Provincial Council of Badajoz announces the tenth extra virgin olive oil tasting competition

The Provincial Council of Badajoz has approved the regulatory bases for the 10th Edition of the Extra Virgin Olive Oil Tasting Competition “Province of Badajoz, Early Harvest 2026/2027,” a contest aimed at olive mills and producers based in the province. The call for entries is published in the Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz number 214, dated Monday, November 9, 2026, via Announcement 4394/2026, and applications may be submitted during the ten business days following its publication.

A competition to boost the quality of provincial oil

The text, processed by the Functional Area of Rural Development, Demographic Challenge, and Tourism, establishes that the objective is to encourage the promotion, dissemination, and knowledge of superior quality extra virgin olive oils from the province, as well as to stimulate producers to obtain higher quality oils. The Provincial Council defines the competition as an “institutional measure of impulse and development” for both conventional and organic production of the 2026/2027 campaign.

The organization is entirely the responsibility of the Provincial Council of Badajoz, which guarantees the anonymity and strict confidentiality of the samples through a “blind tasting” system. The bases are signed by the Delegate Councilor for the Area of Rural Development, Demographic Challenge, and Tourism, Ana Belén Valls Muñoz, by virtue of Decree 29/10/2025 (supplement I of the BOP number 206, dated October 29, 2025).

Requirements and three categories with minimum batches

All extra virgin olive oil producers, olive mill owners, and authorized olive mill associations with a registered office and primary activity in the province of Badajoz may participate. Olive mills with a final resolution for the withdrawal of authorization and participants with final sanctions for infringement of agri-food legislation in the previous two years are excluded.

Only oils produced by November 30, 2026, within the 2026/2027 campaign and that comply with the parameters of Regulations (EU) 2022/2104 and 2022/2105 will be admitted. One sample per mill and category is permitted, with the obligation to use a different commercial brand for each:

• Category A: conventionally produced oil, with a homogeneous batch of at least 5,000 liters (4,580 kg).
• Category B: organically produced oil, with the same minimum batch of 5,000 liters (4,580 kg) and verification of the organic operators’ registry.
• Category C: “limited production” oil, conventional or organic, with a batch equal to or greater than 2,000 liters (1,832 kg) and less than 5,000 liters (4,580 kg).

Participation is free of charge. The samples, 2.5 liters each, will be collected from the oil mills by technical personnel from the organization and will be divided into five sealed containers: three for sensory evaluation, one for physicochemical analysis, and one as a security sample.

Deadlines, jury, and tasting process

The deadline for submitting applications is ten business days starting from the day following the publication of the rules, which sets the closing date on November 23, 2026. Legal entities must process their registration exclusively electronically through the Provincial Council’s headquarters (https://sede.dip-badajoz.es/), while natural persons may also use the means specified in article 16.4 of Law 39/2015. The application forms and responsible declaration models are available at the electronic headquarters and at the Citizen Service Office.

The jury will consist of a minimum of eight expert tasters of recognized prestige. In the first phase, oils from the three categories will be tasted, and those reaching 70 points will pass the cut; in the second phase, the winner of each category will be chosen from among those selected. The finalist oils will also be subjected to physicochemical analysis, and those in the organic category to a phytosanitary residue analysis in accordance with Regulation (EU) 2018/848.

Prizes and promotion of the awarded batches

Each category will have a single prize, endowed with 6,000 euros intended for the purchase of the winning oil in 250-milliliter glass bottles, up to 25 centimeters in height and 7 centimeters in diameter, at the commercial price of the awarded brand. The Provincial Council may declare the prize void and grant up to two honorable mentions per category, without financial endowment; in the event of a tie for first place, the prize will be split equally.

Awarded companies may incorporate the contest logo along with the corporate identity of the provincial institution on the labels, back labels, or packaging of the awarded batch. Furthermore, all participants, whether selected or not, will have preference in the gastronomic promotional activities developed by the Tourist Promotion Office.

The competition reaches its tenth edition consolidated as a showcase for the province’s early harvest oil and as a differentiation tool for a sector, the olive oil sector, which in Badajoz faces the 2026/2027 campaign with the commercial incentive of a provincial seal recognizable in the market.

Source: Official Gazette of the Province of Badajoz, No. 214, November 9, 2026, Local Administration, pp. 2-8 (official reference: Announcement 4394/2026).