SPANISH olive oil giant Carbonell has demanded the Australian Olive Association hand over tests which reflected poorly on some of its products.

Carbonell - part of the massive Grupo SOS group of companies - has issued a tersely-worded letter to the AOA via legal firm Freehills.

The letter demands a copy of the test results for scrutiny, giving the AOA a three-day deadline, which it has not met.

The testing was done in a NSW Government laboratory on behalf of the AOA and found some samples of the company's oil was likely to be either heat-treated or old, while one sample was deemed to be rancid.

It is understood the letter refers to an article which ran in The Weekly Times about the test results.

The chief executive of one of Australia's leading olive oil companies said he was saddened to hear of the situation via The Weekly Times.

Red Island boss Paul Challis said he would be "disappointed if the reaction of parties was to play the man rather than the ball".

"Red Island is aware of issues arising (from olive oil testing) a month ago, and is supportive of any activity by the AOA which leads to an improvement in the overall quality of olive oil available to Australian consumers," Mr Challis said.

"The Australian industry over the past five years has focused on quality and is now in a position of being able to deliver consistently high-quality extra virgin olive oil to the market."

AOA president Paul Miller is also involved with the Red Island company.

Mr Miller would not comment on the letter of demand from Carbonell other than to say the test results and their publication had resulted in "very constructive discussions with major supermarkets about the issue of olive oil quality".

The fledgling Australian olive industry is expected to grow rapidly on the back of excellent local sales as olive groves come to maturity.

The Weekly Times contacted members of the AOA board but all were tight-lipped about the demand.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission, in accordance with usual practice, would not confirm or deny it was investigating some imported olive oil brands following the publication of the test results.

A spokeswoman for Freehills said she could not find anyone to comment on the issue to The Weekly Times.