Industry News
To search by topic, use the 'News by category' filter. To search by month and year, use the 'News by month' filter.
The Association of Olive Oil Producing Municipalities of Crete (SEDIK) has compiled a memo with suggestions to improve Europe’s olive oil action plan for boosting the ailing industry. The memo has been sent to the Greek Ministry of Agriculture, members of the Parliament and the members of the European Parliament. The suggestions include that the “extra virgin” grade should have an acidity level up to 0.5 grams per 100 grams.
Read MoreMore than 20 plants involved in the production or packaging of olive oil or table olives in Spain were found to have no system of product traceability, according to the 2010-2011 annual report from the country’s olive oil watchdog. The Olive Oil Agency (AAO) made the discovery as part of its inspections – including 907 spot checks, hundreds of cross-checks of accounts and 441 samples of olive oil – among the country’s 1,742 active olive oil mills and related plants that olive season.
Read MoreAn exceptional 1,300-year-old olive oil factory was unearthed recently during excavations in the Tel Aviv suburb of Hod Hasharon. The Israel Antiquities Authority’s find, dated to the late Byzantine or early Muslim period, narrowly escaped being paved over by a planned roadway. Excavators found a pressing floor for olives, a piping system, trenches, and cisterns that drained and stored the fresh olive oil. Stone weights used for pressing sacks of olives were found beside the ruins. By the archaeologists’ estimations, the site was an industrial concern and not private.
Read MoreIndia imported 5,938 metric tons of olive oil in 2011, mostly from Italy and Spain, compared to 3,988 metric tons during the period in 2010, according to customs data. While that amounted to a 49% increase over the previous year, it is still an extremely small amount of olive oil for a country of one and a quarter billion people. Most of the growth was for olive pomace oil – the lowest edible grade of oil made from olives – which jumped by 131% during the period.
Read MoreL’association Française Interprofessionelle de L’Olive, (AFIDOL) the interprofessional association for olive oil in France, held a general assembly in Nice to outline the activities for the past year and to assess the results at the end of its three-year mandate. The private organisation set up in 1999 works with French olive growers, 230 private and public millers, commercial agents, table olive producers and olive tree nurseries to improve and develop the production, processing and marketing of French olive oil.
Read MoreThe program for the 2012 National Olive Industry Conference & Expo, being held at West Lakes, Adelaide, will be printed earlier this year than previously. The mid-September publication date will ensure a wider dissemination of information prior to the Conference and increased coverage for Exhibitors taking part in the Trade Expo, and also provide greater opportunity for growers/producers to organise their attendance. If you are considering exhibiting at the event then you will need to have registered before August 30. Listing information and promotional support material must also be provided no later than August 30 to ensure inclusion in the printed program. To obtain an Exhibitor pack please contact Leana Head at [email protected] or phone (08) 8573 6545.
Read MorePerth City Farm Growers Market has a great history. A not-for-profit community farm and education centre, it has vegetable gardens and chickens, and will soon have a beekeeper. The farm in place, they launched a growers market selling farm produce and letting stalls to other growers, largely organic and biodynamic. Penny Mossop has grown her Wambyn olives at York, 100km east of Perth, since 1995.
Read MoreWhich olive oil farms are thriving and which ones are diving – and why – is the focus of a new European Commission report. Covering the three main EU producers – Spain, Italy, and Greece – the “EU olive farms report” analyses trends in cost, margin and farm income in the decade to 2010. The short answer is that income has been on a more or less drastic decreasing trend everywhere except Extremadura and Sicily. Not only that but the average income of olive oil farms is significantly lower than the average for all farms.
Read MoreDespite a small decline during the recession, increasing consumer demand for olive oil has kept production growing over the past five years. As a result, more operators will become USDA-certified.
Read MoreThe September issue of Consumer Reports ranks 23 varieties of extra-virgin olive oil from the US, Argentina, Chile, Greece and Italy. According to a taste test of 138 bottles, some of the better-known brands like Bertolli scored low, while others like Trader Joe’s California Estate took top honors. Consumer Reports noted that more than half the oils tasted fermented or stale, while only nine met the criteria to be considered “flawless.”
Read More