European Union Drops Olive Oil Dipping Bowl Ban

Oh good, getting some bread with olive oil gratis in Italy might still be a thing; the European Union has decided to drop the ban that would force restaurants to serve only sealed bottles of olive oil at the table, AFP reports.

The bill, which was introduced to keep restaurateurs from passing off lower-quality oils as olive oil at the dinner table, was slated to go into effect of January of next year.

Since the announcement, however, the EU has been faced with a slew of angry tweets and incredulous reactions, so EU agriculture commissioner Dacian Ciolos has pulled the bill. "Since Friday, I have seen and heard... strong views expressed by... consumers," he said, noting that the law was not "formulated in such a way as to assemble widespread support."

Luckily for purists, Ciolos is working with producers, traders, restaurateurs, and more industry folks to find a better way to prevent fraud.

In fact, Portugal has a similar law in place, and the European Commission simply wanted to find a way to improve the quality and authenticty of olive oil. "The aim is to better inform and protect consumers. We also expect hygiene to be improved, too," one official said.