Is Olive Oil a Seed Oil? No — and Here Is the Difference
Is olive oil a seed oil? No. Olive oil is a fruit oil — it is pressed from the flesh of the olive, not crushed out of a seed and extracted with a solvent. The longer answer is worth two minutes, because "seed oil" is less a botanical category than a shorthand for how an oil is made and what fats it carries — and on both counts extra virgin olive oil sits on the other side of the line. There are also a few grey areas the quick answers skip: the olive stone that goes into the mill, the pomace oil made with solvents, and the "olive oil" blends that contain very little olive. Here is all of it, with the numbers and the evidence — and without the tribalism.
For our own oil, see our cold-pressed organic Marrakech olive oil.
The Short Answer
- Olive oil is not a seed oil. It is a fruit oil, pressed from the flesh of the olive — the same category as avocado oil.
- The International Olive Council's trade standard says virgin olive oils may be obtained only by mechanical or other physical means, with no chemical extraction and no refining.
- "Seed oils" in the popular debate usually means canola, corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran, safflower, soybean and sunflower — oils typically solvent-extracted and refined, and most of them high in linoleic acid.
- Under the Codex standard, sunflower oil is 48–74% linoleic acid; under the International Olive Council's standard, olive oil is 55–83% oleic acid and 2.5–21% linoleic acid.
- One olive product is made the seed-oil way: olive pomace oil is extracted from leftover paste with solvents and then refined.
- The science on seed oils is more mixed than either side admits — but the case for extra virgin olive oil does not depend on seed oils being poison.
- Sidr & Stone's extra virgin olive oil is cold-pressed within hours of harvest from olives grown on our own single-estate farm outside Marrakech, with nothing added.
Is Olive Oil a Seed Oil? The Direct Answer
No. Olive oil is a fruit oil. The olive is a drupe — a stone fruit, like a plum or cherry — and most of its oil sits in the fleshy mesocarp around the stone. That oil is released by crushing the whole fruit and separating it mechanically. Seed oils, by contrast, come from the seed itself and are usually solvent-extracted and refined.
The British Heart Foundation puts it plainly in its dietitian-written guide to seed oils: "not all vegetable oils come from seeds". Olive oil and avocado oil are vegetable oils in the broad sense — they come from plants — but they are made from the fruit's flesh. So if a question on a form, a menu or a diet plan asks whether olive oil counts as a seed oil, the accurate answer is no. For the full walk-through of how olives become oil, see our guide to what olive oil is made from.
What People Actually Mean by "Seed Oils"
In the version most people meet online, "seed oils" refers to a list popularised by US physician Cate Shanahan as the "hateful eight": canola (rapeseed), corn, cottonseed, grapeseed, rice bran, safflower, soybean and sunflower. When people object to them, they are usually objecting to three things at once.
- The source — a small, hard seed with relatively little oil, which is difficult to press efficiently.
- The extraction — industrial seed oils are typically extracted with a solvent (usually hexane), then refined, bleached and deodorised at high temperatures. EU law caps hexane residues at 1 mg per kg of oil, and the European Food Safety Authority is re-evaluating the solvent.
- The fat profile — most of the eight are rich in linoleic acid, the main omega-6 polyunsaturated fat, which is more prone to oxidation when heated.
Extra virgin olive oil fails all three tests for membership. It comes from a fruit, not a seed. It is extracted mechanically, not with solvents. And its dominant fat is oleic acid, a monounsaturated fat that is far more stable.
Olive Oil vs Common Seed Oils: The Numbers
The clearest comparison is the fatty-acid ranges each oil is allowed to have. The table uses the Codex Alimentarius Standard for Named Vegetable Oils (CXS 210-1999) for the seed oils and the International Olive Council's trade standard for olive oil. Figures are percentages of total fatty acids.
| Oil | Comes from | Usual extraction | Oleic acid (omega-9) | Linoleic acid (omega-6) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Extra virgin olive oil | Fruit flesh | Mechanical only, no refining | 55–83% | 2.5–21% |
| Sunflower oil (standard) | Seed | Pressing and/or solvent, then refined | 14–39.4% | 48.3–74% |
| Soybean oil | Seed (bean) | Solvent, then refined | 17–30% | 48–59% |
| Corn (maize) oil | Seed germ | Pressing and/or solvent, then refined | 20–42.2% | 34–65.6% |
| Rapeseed / canola oil (low erucic) | Seed | Pressing and/or solvent, then refined | 51–70% | 15–30% |
Two things stand out. First, olive oil's omega-6 content is a fraction of sunflower's or soybean's. Second, rapeseed oil is the seed oil that looks most like olive oil on paper — high in oleic acid, moderate in linoleic, and with some omega-3 (5–14% alpha-linolenic acid under the Codex standard). Cold-pressed rapeseed oil is also made without solvents. High-oleic sunflower oil, bred to be 75–90.7% oleic acid, blurs the line further — seed oils are not one uniform thing.
What no refined seed oil has, whatever its fat profile, is what survives in an unrefined fruit oil: the polyphenols, the aroma and the flavour. Refining strips them out — which is also why refined olive oil loses most of what makes extra virgin worth buying.
The grey areas the quick answers skip
The olive stone. Mills crush the whole olive, stone and all, so a small amount of material from the seed inside the stone does go into the paste. The oil, though, comes overwhelmingly from the flesh — researchers describe olive oil as obtained by mechanical means with a "major contribution of the olive mesocarp" to its composition (Hernández and colleagues, Frontiers in Plant Science, 2021). Botanically and practically, it remains a fruit oil.
Olive pomace oil. This is the exception worth knowing. The International Olive Council defines olive pomace oil as oil obtained by treating the leftover paste "with solvents or other physical treatments", then refining it. It is made from olives, but it is made the seed-oil way. Our guide to pomace olive oil covers when it is and is not a sensible choice.
Blends and "light" oils. An "olive oil blend" may be mostly sunflower or rapeseed oil, and "light" and "pure" olive oil are refined grades — not what most people picture when they say "olive oil".
What the Evidence Actually Says About Seed Oils
This is where the debate gets tribal. Neither "seed oils are toxic" nor "the question is silly" is a fair summary of the research.
On one side, the largest body of observational evidence is reassuring about linoleic acid. A 2020 systematic review and meta-analysis by Li, Guasch-Ferré, Li and Hu in The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition pooled 38 studies covering 811,069 participants and found that the highest linoleic-acid intakes were associated with a 13% lower risk of death from all causes compared with the lowest. These are cohort studies, which show association rather than cause, but the direction is consistent. The British Heart Foundation's position, written by dietitian Tracy Parker and updated in February 2026, is that the evidence does not support claims that seed oils raise cardiovascular risk.
On the other side, the trial record is less tidy. In 2016 Ramsden and colleagues published recovered data from the Minnesota Coronary Experiment (1968–73) in the BMJ. The trial randomised 9,423 people in a nursing home and six state mental hospitals to replace saturated fat with corn oil. Serum cholesterol fell by 13.8% in the corn-oil group against 1.0% in controls, yet the authors concluded this did not translate into a lower risk of death. Many participants were on the diets for less than a year, and the population was unusual — which is the point: the evidence is contested, not settled.
The honest position is this: there is no strong evidence that ordinary amounts of seed oils in a balanced diet are harmful, and there is a real, unresolved scientific debate about how much linoleic acid is ideal. If you want to cut back on seed oils, the biggest source for most people is ultra-processed food and fried takeaway, not the bottle in the cupboard.
Where Extra Virgin Olive Oil Stands
The case for extra virgin olive oil rests on its own evidence, not on seed oils being bad. The best-known trial is PREDIMED. In its republished 2018 report in the New England Journal of Medicine, Estruch and colleagues followed 7,447 Spanish adults aged 55 to 80 at high cardiovascular risk for a median of 4.8 years. Compared with a reduced-fat control diet, a Mediterranean diet supplemented with extra virgin olive oil was associated with a lower rate of major cardiovascular events (hazard ratio 0.69).
That trial has a real limitation. The original 2013 paper was withdrawn after protocol deviations in randomisation at some sites, and the 2018 version re-analysed the data to account for them — the results held, but it is a reason for measured language. The trial also tested a whole dietary pattern, not olive oil alone. For the fuller picture, see our article on olive oil and heart health.
Separately, the EU permits one authorised health claim for olive oil polyphenols, which applies only to oils that meet a minimum polyphenol content — a reminder that the grade and freshness of the oil matter, not just the word "olive". Our guide to olive oil polyphenols explains which compounds are involved.
How to Make Sure Your Olive Oil Is Not Quietly Something Else
If avoiding seed oils is your reason for choosing olive oil, read these lines on the label.
- Look for "extra virgin" specifically. "Olive oil", "pure" and "light" usually mean refined grades.
- Read the ingredients list. It should say olive oil and nothing else — no sunflower, rapeseed or "vegetable oil".
- Avoid "blend" and "pomace" if the seed-oil method is what you want to avoid.
- Look for dark glass or a tin, which protects the oil from light.
- Check the harvest or best-before date and buy a size you will finish within a few months of opening.
For a fuller walkthrough, see our guide to choosing a quality olive oil.
Why Sidr & Stone
If the reason you are asking whether olive oil is a seed oil is that you want an oil made the simple way — fruit in, oil out, nothing added — that is precisely how we make ours. Sidr & Stone's olive oil is an extra virgin, cold-pressed fruit oil from olives grown on our own single-estate farm on the plains outside Marrakech, Morocco.
- Single-estate — our own family-owned farm near Marrakech, Morocco; we control every step from tree to bottle, with no blending across origins.
- Rain-fed — no irrigation; the trees take what the season gives.
- Organically grown — no synthetic fertilisers, pesticides or herbicides (not yet certified; certification is in progress).
- Single harvest — a small, limited batch, picked when the fruit is ready.
- Cold-pressed within hours of harvest — mechanical extraction only, with no solvents and no refining.
- Unfiltered extra virgin — minimally processed; it may show natural sediment, which is normal.
- 100% natural — a single ingredient, olive oil, with nothing blended in.
- Dark glass with a gold label — protective packaging against light.
- 10% of profits to charity — a brand-wide commitment.
- Fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
We will not tell you Sidr & Stone is the best olive oil — that would be the very kind of claim this article asks you to look past. What we will say is that our oil is single-estate Moroccan, rain-fed, organically grown and cold-pressed within hours of harvest: a fruit oil, made the way a fruit oil should be.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is olive oil a seed oil?
No. Olive oil is a fruit oil, pressed from the flesh of the olive. Seed oils such as sunflower, soybean, corn and canola come from seeds and are usually solvent-extracted and refined.
Is extra virgin olive oil a seed oil?
No. Extra virgin is the least processed grade of olive oil: under the International Olive Council standard it can be made only by mechanical or physical means, with no solvents and no refining.
Is olive oil a vegetable oil?
In the broad sense, yes — it comes from a plant. But it is not a seed oil. In supermarket terms, a bottle labelled "vegetable oil" is usually a refined seed oil such as rapeseed or soybean, not olive oil.
Which oils are not seed oils?
Olive oil and avocado oil are fruit oils made from the flesh of the fruit. Animal fats such as butter and ghee are not seed oils either. Coconut oil comes from the coconut's white flesh, which is botanically part of its seed, but it is rarely included in the popular "seed oils" list.
Is Sidr & Stone's olive oil made with any seed oil?
No. It is a single-ingredient extra virgin olive oil, cold-pressed on our own farm outside Marrakech, with nothing blended in and no solvents used.
Is olive pomace oil a seed oil?
Not technically, because it comes from olives. But it is made the way most seed oils are: extracted from leftover olive paste with solvents and then refined, so it shares their processing rather than extra virgin's.
Where can I buy a single-estate olive oil with nothing added?
Specialist producers who control the whole process are the surest route. Our own single-estate Marrakech olive oil is available to pre-order from the current single-harvest batch, with fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
Is olive oil a medicine?
No. Olive oil is a food, not a medicine. It has a long traditional history — including being honoured in the Prophetic Sunnah — and a substantial body of modern research, particularly around polyphenols, cardiovascular health, and the Mediterranean diet pattern. It can be a worthwhile part of a healthy routine, but it does not cure diseases and is not a substitute for medical care. Be cautious of any olive oil marketed with specific disease-cure claims.
Final Thoughts
Olive oil is not a seed oil, and the reasons go beyond botany. It comes from a fruit, extra virgin is made without solvents or refining, and its fat is mostly oleic acid rather than omega-6 linoleic acid. On every point the seed-oil label is really about, extra virgin olive oil sits on the other side of the line — with the one honest exception of pomace oil, and the practical trap of blends.
What we would gently resist is the idea that olive oil needs seed oils as a villain. The evidence on seed oils is genuinely mixed; the evidence for a diet built around extra virgin olive oil is among the strongest in nutrition. Choose olive oil for what it is — a pressed fruit oil with its polyphenols intact — and read the label to make sure that is what you are getting.
Our cold-pressed organic Marrakech olive oil — single-estate, rain-fed and unfiltered — is available to pre-order now from our limited single-harvest batch, with estimated shipping from November 2026 and fulfilment in the UK, EU, and US.
Our extra virgin olive oil is grown organically on our own single-estate farm on the plains outside Marrakech: we control every step from tree to bottle, and no synthetic pesticides, herbicides or fertilisers are used. It is not yet certified organic — certification is in progress, and we will publish it as soon as it comes through.
Pre-Order Sidr & Stone Organic Marrakech Olive Oil — Limited Single-Harvest Batch →
Disclaimer: This article explains how olive oil and seed oils are classified and made, and summarises published research, at the time of writing; standards and research findings may change, and readers should check current sources. Olive oil is a food, not a medicine, and is not a substitute for medical treatment of any condition. For any health concern, consult a qualified medical professional.