Products · Olive oil · McEvoy Ranch
McEvoy Ranch Cooking Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 500 mL (2025 harvest)
Reader ratings
California extra virgin oil from one estate and one olive variety, with its 2025-harvest lab results posted. A milder, cheaper oil than the maker’s organic bottle, at about $58 a liter. No one has tested it for phthalates.
Best for Everyday cooking and dressing at a middle price, from a maker that posts chemistry, for readers who accept that no outside lab has tested the bottle.
- Our rating
- Good (3.5 of 5)
- Price range
- Mid-range
- Size
- 500 mL dark glass bottle; the maker refills it from 1/2 gallon and 1 gallon growlers
- Made in
- Estate-grown at McEvoy Ranch, Petaluma, California; a single variety, Arbosana
approx. $28.95 for 500 mL (about $58 a liter); the 1/2 gallon is $99 and the 1 gallon $149 (about $39 a liter)
See it on McEvoy Ranch’s site → (opens in a new tab)We are not affiliated with McEvoy Ranch. This link goes to the maker’s own page, with no tracking code. How we're funded.
Also sold at Amazon ($66 for a 2-pack of 500 mL (about $33 a bottle)) .
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How we evaluated it
How it scores Our rating, metric by metric
- Freshness & quality 30% of the rating 4 of 5
Extra virgin from one named estate and one variety, 2025 harvest, with acidity 0.24%, peroxide 8.9 and polyphenols 156 mg/kg posted. The polyphenols are about a third of the organic oil’s.
- Independent testing 30% of the rating 3 of 5
In California’s mandatory testing program and its own lab grid is inside every limit, but no lab is named, no one outside has tested the bottle, and phthalates have not been tested.
- Packaging 15% of the rating 4 of 5
A very dark glass bottle with a black screw cap in the maker’s photo; the cap liner is not stated, and a 2018 recall covered cracking 1 L bottles.
- Trust 10% of the rating 3 of 5
A closed 2018 recall of 1 L bottles and a 2026 Prop 65 notice over lead in its tapenades, neither about this oil, and a “high in polyphenols” line the lab grid does not back.
- Value 15% of the rating 3 of 5
About $58 a liter for the 500 mL bottle, a little under Kasandrinos’s $64; the 1 gallon refill is about $39 a liter.
The rating, 3.5 of 5, is the weighted average of these scores. See how we rank olive oil and our standard.
Where to buy Stores and the prices we saw
- Amazon (opens in a new tab) approx. $66 for a 2-pack of 500 mL (about $33 a bottle). Sold by McEvoy Ranch US, the maker’s own storefront, in stock on 2026-11-03. Amazon had no single-bottle listing.
Prices as we saw them on November 3, 2026. They change often. These links carry no tracking code and earn us nothing.
What’s in it Every ingredient, in label order
- Arbosana olives
Who tested it What each test found, and who paid for it
- Paid certification Olive Oil Commission of California (state program; the producer pays assessments) 2026
McEvoy Ranch is a mandatory member on the commission’s 2025 to 2026 list of Members in Good Standing. The commission says that means it takes part in the government sampling and testing program and that its labels are verified by independent chemical and sensory laboratory analysis. The list gives no results for a particular bottle, and the commission’s sampling page links “Handler Testing & Reporting Forms”, so no per-bottle results are published. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Maker’s own test McEvoy Ranch (lab not named; the grid sets results beside the state’s limits) February 2026
2025 harvest Cooking EVOO, grid dated February 2026: free fatty acids 0.24% (limit 0.5), peroxide value 8.9 (limit 15), K232 1.697 (2.40), K268 0.103 (0.22), delta-K -0.001 (0.01), pyropheophytins 1 (17), 1,2-diacylglycerols 82.6 (at least 35), total biophenols 156 mg/kg, sensory median defects 0 and fruitiness 4. One analysis. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Who paid, and why it matters
- Independent The tester took no money from the maker for it: a consumer group, a journalist, a university or a regulator.
- Paid certification An outside lab or certifier tested or listed it, and the maker paid for that.
- Maker’s own test A lab report or certificate of analysis the maker commissioned and published.
A certification is a floor, not a verdict: it checks what its program checks and nothing else. We weigh tests by someone with no stake in the result most.
What people ask Worries raised online and elsewhere, and what we found
- Does it contain phthalates, like most olive oils?
- Unknown. Mamavation’s lab (opens in a new tab) found phthalates in all but one of the olive oils it tested, up to 6,092 ppb, and McEvoy Ranch is not among them. We found no phthalate result for this oil from anyone. See our phthalates guide. This is the main reason the testing score is a 3.
- Is it really extra virgin?
- The evidence is good, with a limit. The maker’s grid shows chemistry inside the state’s extra virgin limits, though acidity and peroxide are higher than in its organic oil, and the Ranch is a mandatory member of California’s sampling and testing program. The commission’s own retail check found 74% of 2017 and 68% of 2018 shelf samples still met the standard (commission page (opens in a new tab)), so a bottle that has sat a year may not.
- Is it organic?
- The page does not say so, and we could not confirm it. USDA’s record for McEvoy of Marin, LLC lists a certified organic “Cooking Extra Virgin Olive Oil” as no current production (USDA record (opens in a new tab)), while the maker sells this oil now. Treat it as not organic unless the label says it is.
- Is it really “high in polyphenols”?
- The page says the early-harvest oil is “high in antioxidants and polyphenols”. The maker’s grid shows 156 mg/kg, against 494 mg/kg in its organic oil and 200 to 473 mg/kg in 11 popular oils ConsumerLab tested in 2026 (summary (opens in a new tab)). It is a mild oil, and phenol content mattered in a large trial (Covas 2006 (opens in a new tab)), so choose the organic bottle if polyphenols are your reason.
- Is extra virgin olive oil fine for cooking?
- Yes. In frying tests olive oils lasted 24 to 27 hours before breaking down, against 15 hours for a vegetable-oil blend, and our smoke point guide says stability matters more than smoke point. Keep the heat moderate.
- Did McEvoy Ranch have an FDA recall or Prop 65 notice?
- Yes, neither about this oil. In June 2018 it recalled 6,000 of its 1 L olive oil bottles in the Bay Area because they could crack from inconsistent filling (recall F-1621-2018, Class III, terminated February 2019). In May 2026 a lead notice named its green and black olive tapenades, and the record shows a settlement.
Why we chose it What put it on our list
- It shows its work. The maker’s 2025-harvest grid gives free acidity 0.24%, peroxide value 8.9, K232 1.697 and K268 0.103, each inside California’s extra virgin limits (0.5%, 15, 2.40 and 0.22), and sensory defects of zero.
- A state program stands behind the grade. McEvoy Ranch is a mandatory member of the Olive Oil Commission of California, on its 2025 to 2026 list of Members in Good Standing.
- It is one estate, one variety and one named place, in a very dark glass bottle that blocks light.
- It costs about $58 a liter for the 500 mL bottle and about $39 a liter as a 1 gallon refill, well under the maker’s organic oil.
Trade-offs What to weigh before you buy
- The grid is the maker’s own and names no lab, and no one has published a phthalate result for this oil. The state program tests at the producer, not on the shelf.
- Its polyphenols are modest at 156 mg/kg, and the acidity and peroxide are higher than in the maker’s organic oil, though still inside the limits. The page’s “high in polyphenols” line goes further than the grid.
- It is not stated to be organic, and USDA’s record lists a certified organic cooking oil as no current production.
- The 2025-harvest oil is about a year old now. Check the harvest year on the bottle, as our olive oil guide advises using oil within a year.
What to know Details worth knowing first
This is McEvoy Ranch’s olive oil for the stove: one estate, one olive variety, in a dark bottle, at about $58 a liter. We list it for the same reason as the maker’s organic oil. It posts a 2025-harvest grid with acidity, peroxide and UV absorbance inside California’s limits, and the Ranch is a mandatory member of the state commission’s sampling and testing program. Our smoke point guide finds olive oil stable under heat, so extra virgin is a sound everyday cooking oil.
Its limits are the same too. The grid is the maker’s own and names no lab, and no one has tested the oil for phthalates. It is milder than the organic bottle, with 156 mg/kg of polyphenols against 494, and the page’s “high in polyphenols” line goes further than the grid does. The page does not say it is organic.
If polyphenols are your reason for buying, choose the organic bottle. If you want an olive oil that has a clean independent phthalate result, Kasandrinos is the one we have found.
What we checked Each claim, and how sure we are of it
| What we checked | What we found |
|---|---|
| A real harvest date Maker’s claim | The product page says Harvest: 2025, and the grid is for the 2025 harvest. We did not see the bottle’s own label. |
| An independent seal Verified | On the Olive Oil Commission of California’s 2025 to 2026 list of mandatory members in good standing. The commission publishes no lot results. |
| Packaging that blocks light Maker’s claim | A very dark glass bottle with a black screw cap in the maker’s photo. The cap liner is not stated. |
| Traceable origin Verified | McEvoy Ranch, Petaluma, California, one variety (Arbosana). USDA’s record gives the Red Hill Road address for the operation. |
| Published chemistry Maker’s claim | A one-page grid for the 2025 harvest with free acidity, peroxide, UV absorbance, DAGs, pyropheophytins, polyphenols and sensory scores. The lab is not named. |
What the labels mean
- Verified We opened an independent record that confirms it: a certifier’s listing, a regulator’s list or a lab report. It is linked under Sources.
- Maker’s claim The maker says so on its own page or label. We read it but found no independent record.
- Not verified We looked and could not confirm it, or the maker does not say. Treat it as unknown.
Sources Where our facts come from
- McEvoy Ranch: Cooking Extra Virgin Olive Oil, product page. Maker’s page. 500 mL $28.95, 1/2 gallon $99 and 1 gallon $149 on 2026-11-02; harvest 2025, ingredient Arbosana olives, the polyphenol line and the “designed for the heat of your kitchen” claim. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- McEvoy Ranch: 2025 harvest Cooking EVOO lab analysis grid (PDF, February 2026). Test report. The maker’s own grid, dated February 2026; no lab is named. Its figures match those quoted here, and it also lists moisture 0.08% and insoluble impurities 0.06%. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Olive Oil Commission of California: members in good standing, 2025 to 2026. Certifier or regulator listing. Lists McEvoy Ranch as a mandatory member and states the requirements. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Olive Oil Commission of California: sampling program and member resources. Certifier or regulator listing. Links the CDFA sampling guidance and the handler testing and reporting forms; it publishes no results by brand or bottle. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Olive Oil Commission of California: quality standards. Independent source. Reports 74% (2017) and 68% (2018) of retail samples met the California standard. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- USDA Organic Integrity Database: McEvoy of Marin, LLC (NOP ID 5561002525). Certifier or regulator listing. Certified organic operation; its scope lists “Cooking Extra Virgin Olive Oil (No Current Production)”. Profile updated 19 October 2026. This page needs a browser app, so it was read in the first check only. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- CCOF organic directory: McEvoy Of Marin, LLC. Certifier or regulator listing. The certifier’s own listing, read 2026-11-03: the operation is certified for olives, olive oil and handling since 1999. It does not name the cooking oil, so we still cannot confirm that this oil is organic. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- openFDA: food enforcement report F-1621-2018. Certifier or regulator listing. Class III recall of McEvoy Ranch 1 L extra virgin olive oil bottles, initiated 14 June 2018, terminated 13 February 2019, 6,000 bottles, Bay Area only. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- California Attorney General: Prop 65 60-day notice search. Certifier or regulator listing. Searched by alleged violator for “McEvoy” on 2026-11-02 and 2026-11-03: AG 2026-02096 (lead in McEvoy Ranch green and black olive tapenades, filed 7 May 2026, with a settlement on record). The other notices are other McEvoy companies. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Mamavation: olive oils tested for toxic phthalates. Test report. McEvoy Ranch is not among the oils tested. The site earns affiliate income. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- ConsumerLab: best extra virgin olive oils (30 September 2026, free summary). Independent source. Reports polyphenols of 200.3 to 472.8 mg/kg in 11 popular oils. The full review is for members, and McEvoy Ranch is not among the oils tested. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Covas and colleagues, 2006: the effect of polyphenols in olive oil on heart disease risk factors, a randomized trial (Annals of Internal Medicine). Independent source. PMID 16954359, a randomized trial in which the phenol content of the oil mattered. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
- Amazon: McEvoy Ranch Extra Virgin Cooking Olive Oil 500 mL, 2-pack. Independent source. Sold by McEvoy Ranch US, $66, in stock, seen 2026-11-03. Open ↗ (opens in a new tab)
Alternatives Other options to compare
- McEvoy Ranch Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (375 mL) The same estate’s organic, higher-polyphenol oil at about $107 a liter.
- Kasandrinos Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil The only olive oil here with a clean independent phthalate result, from Greece, at about $64 a liter.