The European Commission, the EU's executive, said Friday that, as of next year, restaurant customers will only be allowed to use oil from non-refillable bottles with proper content labeling to douse their crusty bread or garden salad.

EU spokesman Olivier Bailly said consumers often get fooled by being served cheap olive oil. Non-refillable bottles would also improve hygiene, he claims.

"We are just protecting consumers," said Bailly. "We are just making clear that when you want to have olive oil of a certain quality in a restaurant, you get exactly the one you are paying for."

But with the EU increasingly criticized as a meddling agency overriding national choice and preference, the ruling quickly was quickly attacked and ridiculed.

"They should let the people decide what olive oil bottles they want to use and not dictate uniformity from the center," said Paul Nuttall, a member of the European parliament from Britain's UK Independence Party.

"This ridiculous move is even contrary to their often repeated call in favor of reusing goods," he said.

The European Commission said that a majority of the 27 member nations backed the move. It has already been compulsory in Portugal since 2006, despite grumbling from restaurant owners early on.

The Commission currently has no plans to impose similar rules on packaging for butter, salt, pepper or any other dinner table staples.

Olive oil is a product which has been prone to widespread fraud in the EU, when cheap produce is sometimes passed off as high-end extra virgin oil from the top regions.

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