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olives

photo of olives

International

Size-grading is compulsory for whole, stoned (pitted), stuffed and halved olives. In a sample of 100 olives of any particular size, the difference in the horizontal diameters of the olives must not exceed 4 millimeters, excluding the olive with the largest diameter and the one with the smallest.

Number per kilogram
Whole	Stuffed olives
60–70	Same as whole
71–80
81–90
91–100
101–110
111–120
121–140
141–160
161–180
181–200
201–230	201–220
231–260	221–240
261–290	241–260
291–320	261–280
321–350	281–300
351–380	301–320
381–410	321–340
411–460	341–360
and so on at 50-olive intervals	361–380
	381–400
	401–420

Codex Alimentarius Commission.
Codex Standard for Table Olives.
Codex Stan 66-1981 (Rev. 1-1987)

Names, many apparently influenced by the American names, have become attached to some of these size grades. Note that a name may have a different meaning than it does in the United States, For example, in Europe there are between 121 and 140 olives in a kilogram of Colossal olives, while in the United States a kilogram of Colossal olives contains between 70 and 90 olives.

Size	Number per Kilogram	Approximate Number per Pound
Bullets	351–380	159–172
Fine	321–350	146–158
Brilliant	291–320	132–145
Superior	261–290	118–132
Large	231–260	105–117
Extra Large	201–230	91–104
Jumbo	181–200	83–90
Extra Jumbo	161–180	74–82
Giants	141–160	65–73
Colossal	121–140	55–64
Super Colossal	111–120	50–54
Mammoth	101–110	46–50
Super Mammoth	91–100	41–45

United States

Olive size in the United States is based on the number of olives per pound.

To bring order to a welter of sizes used by individual packers, on 27 June 1917, the California Olive Association adopted the following sizes:¹

Size	Standard	Medium	Large	Extra Large	Mammoth	Giant	Jumbo	Colossal
# per pound	120-135	105-120	90-105	75-90	65-75	55-65	45-55	35-45

1. Canning Age, vol 1(?), no. 12 (January 1921), page 35.

If the American names of olive sizes have a faintly Cecil B. DeMille ring to them, it is because the names originated at the same time and place. According to a family story, Frank C. Bliss, an employee of Curtis, a Long Beach, California advertising agency hired to conduct an advertising campaign for olives, chose the names Jumbo, Colossal, and Mammoth – terms commonly being used to hype movies in those days. European producers use similar terms but with different meanings.

Canned Whole Ripe Olives (other than tree-ripened)
Size:	Small	Medium	Large	Extra Large	Jumbo	Colossal	Super Colossal
# per lb:	128–140	106–121	91–105	65–88	51–60	41-50	< 41
Approximate diameter. millimeters	16-17	17-19	19-20	20-22	22-24	24-26	26 and over

USDA, Agricultural Marketing Service,
United States Standards for Grades of Canned Ripe Olives.
[42 FR 38585, July 29, 1977, as amended at 46 FR 39564, Aug. 4, 1981. Redesignated at 46 FR 63203, Dec. 31, 1981, and amended at 48 FR 41012, Sept. 13, 1983.]

This is at odds with more recent regulations regarding California olives:

Canned Whole Ripe Olives (other than tree-ripened)
Size Designation	Count per pound
	Variety group 1		Variety group 2
	Ascolano, Barouni, St. Agostino	Other than Ascolano, Barouni, St. Agostino	Obliza	Other than Obliza
*Sub-petite	>180
*Petite	141-180
Small	NA	NA	NA	128-140
Medium	NA	NA	106-127	106-127
Large	91-105	NA	91-105	91-105
Extra Large	65-90	65-75	65-90	65-90
*Extra Large Sevillano "L"	76-88
*Extra Large Sevillano "C"	65-75
Jumbo	47-60	47-60	47-60	47-60
Colossal	33-46	33-46	33-46	33-46
Super Colossal	32 or fewer	32 or fewer	32 or fewer	32 or fewer

Tolerances are set by variety of olive.

7 CFR Ch. IX (1-1-07 Edition) §932.152.

Green Olives
Name	#	Number per pound	Approx. Number per kilogram
(smaller than Sub-Petite)		221 or more	more than 420
Sub-Petite	00	181-220	400-420
Petite or Midget	0	141–180	300–400
Small or Select or Standard	1	128–140	280-300
Medium	2	106–127	240-260
Large	3	91-105	200-220
Extra Large	4	76-90	160-200
Mammoth	5	65-75	140-160
Giant	6	53-64	120-140
Jumbo	7	42 -52	90-120
Colossal	8	33 to 41	70-90
Super Colossal	9	32 or less	60–70

U.S. Dept. of Agriculture,
United States Standards for Green Olives.
Effective September 8, 1967.