Pomace olive oil is an organic olive oil derived from pomace, or olive cake — the ground olive fruit pulp left over from first pressing extra virgin olive oil and then pressing virgin olive oil. To extract pomace olive oil, the pomace is pressed further or is treated with hexane or some petroleum solvent. The resultant oil contains many impurities and may undergo several heating and filtering processes to refine it to an acceptable standard. It is then blended with virgin olive oil before it is made available to consumers.

There are no standard blend proportions; the amount of virgin olive oil added to the pomace olive oil differs with different manufacturers. Generally, only a little virgin olive oil is blended in. Pomace olive oil is inferior in quality to olive oil and is, in fact, not considered to be olive oil. Unlike olive oil, it is used more for industrial purposes or for home remedies than as an edible oil.

Some restaurants do use pomace olive oil for deep fat frying. It is a much less expensive alternative to extra virgin olive oil or virgin olive oil, and its lack of taste and high smoke point are obvious plus points. However, there are quite a few health concerns about ingesting this organic olive oil that should not be disregarded. Extracted from the dregs as it is, it does not contain the healthy properties of extra virgin olive oil. Instead, unless well-refined, it may contain some harmful, cancer-causing compounds known as polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.

On the other hand, pomace olive oil has a disinfectant, cleansing effect on the skin, and is used to make many skin care, hair care and other cosmetic products. It is used as a principal essential oil in making a mild and creamy olive oil soap, and is used as an ingredient in hair conditioners. It can be directly applied to the skin after first diluting it with a vegetable oil, and it is suitable for treating dry skin, wounds and various types of skin inflammations. It is also known to slow down the skin aging process and combat wrinkles.

Pomace olive oil is used in some home remedies to treat health conditions like arthritis, hypertension and high blood pressure. With its very strong odor, it is usually not used in aromatherapy. It is a stable oil and can last for a long time without going bad; it does not generally need to be refrigerated.