Rome, Dec 24 - Italy's Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia has won a hard-fought battle to obtain labelling for virgin and extra virgin olive oil that clearly states where the olives used to make it come from.

The victory is a boost for Italian olive oil producers, who are counting on the exceptional quality of the 2009-10 season's oil to make up for a 15 percent fall in output compared with the previous season.

"Since July 1, transparent labelling indicating the country of origin of the olives has been mandatory in all of Europe," said Zaia.

This means consumers will see 'Italian virgin and extra virgin olive oil' written on the labels of bottles, and will know where the oil comes from rather than unwittingly being sold blends of oils from various countries, he told journalists at a year-end press conference rounding up on his ministry's activities.

Around 500,000 tonnes of Italian virgin and extra virgin olive oil was produced this year, compared with 600,000 tonnes in 2008. Annual consumer demand in Italy is around 700,000 tonnes, according to producers.

The European labelling norms are the result of 15 years of negotiations, Zaia noted, adding that he is spearheading campaigns at the European Union to obtain labelling transparency for various agricultural products, most recently milk.

"Italy will in future be a standard-bearer of mandatory labelling that will give citizens clear and reliable information on products and on food safety," said Zaia.

"People want to know if what they are putting into their bodies is safe."  (IANS)