There is no fixed legal shelf life for olive oil. Most bottlers set the best before date at 18 to 24 months after bottling. When the olives were harvested is not revealed by this date.
Once the date has passed, olive oil does not suddenly go off. It does slowly lose aroma and polyphenols, though. If you want to know how fresh an oil is, the harvest date tells you more. Stored well and used up promptly after opening, olive oil tastes best.
