Olive oil has become a major component of the human diet. The United States is the largest importer of olive oil and demand for this product will continue to increase with an increased awareness of the health benefits that olive oil offers1. Controversy has always surrounded the purity of olive oil based on its classification as “Extra Virgin”, “Virgin”, and “Olive Oil”. The International Olive Council (IOC) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)2 identify extra virgin as the top grade of olive oil. Chemistry standards have been established for the evaluation of olive oils and the purpose of this application news is to demonstrate the use of the Shimadzu UV-1800 spectrophotometer for such analysis.