08/17/2026
Plastic versus glass bottles, does it really matter when it comes to olive oil? đ€·
It actually matters more than you might think.
Olive oil is often branded as a âhealth food,â and depending on how itâs grown, harvested, produced, and stored, a high-quality extra virgin olive oil can be incredibly beneficial due to higher polyphenols.
But even a great olive oil can be let down by poor packaging.
When olive oil is packaged in plastic, heat and prolonged storage can increase concerns around microplastics being released from the packaging into the olive oil. And beyond that, plastic also doesnât protect the oil from its biggest enemies as well as dark glass does: oxygen, light, and heat.
Exposure to oxygen and light speeds up oxidation, gradually breaking down the oil and the polyphenols youâre buying it for in the first place.
Thatâs why, first things first, look for a dark glass bottle. đ«
Does dark glass automatically mean the olive oil inside is high-grade and properly made? Absolutely not. A poor-quality olive oil can still be packaged in a dark glass bottle.
Dark glass simply means the packaging was done right, giving the olive oil a better chance of staying protected and preserving the quality it had to begin with.
So first, look for dark glass. Then, we can start looking at whatâs actually inside the bottle. đ
