Ammon News - Director of the Amman Office at the Jordan Food and Drug Administration (JFDA), Mamoun Gharaibeh, said Tuesday that citizens can have their olive oil tested free of charge at the administration's food laboratories in Shafa Badran and Irbid to ensure its quality and suitability for human consumption.

Gharaibeh explained that the administration relies on laboratory tests measuring acidity levels and concentrations of different fatty acids to assess olive oil quality, stressing that quality cannot be determined by its color or whether it solidifies in the refrigerator, in an interview with Al Mamlaka TV.

The JFDA inspected 155 olive mills across the Kingdom before they began operating and is currently conducting a second round of inspections during production to ensure compliance with standards and labeling requirements, including the mill's name, weight and food product information, as well as recommendations to dispose of containers after use, he stated.

Also, Gharaibeh added that the inspections are carried out in cooperation with the Ministry of Agriculture, the Royal Department for Environmental Protection and the Olive Press Owners Syndicate, as part of efforts to monitor olive oil production and marketing.

He urged citizens to purchase olive oil from festivals and announced markets supervised by regulatory authorities, stressing that testing is available free of charge at the administration's laboratories, regardless of where the oil was purchased.