Industry News
To search by topic, use the 'News by category' filter. To search by month and year, use the 'News by month' filter.
Online entries are now open for the New York International Olive Oil Competition. A panel of international olive oil judges will scrutinise entries from around the globe to find the year’s best olive oils, with separate award categories for regular and organic production designations. Organised by olive oil publication, Olive Oil Times, the five-day event in SoHo will include tastings, workshops and culinary demonstrations. The Awards Gala Dinner at the International Culinary Center will encompass a press conference to announce the contest winners, followed by a menu highlighting the award-winning olive oils. Enter https://nyoliveoil.com/enter/
Australian olive growers will take their campaign for a fair market for olive oil to a meeting today in Adelaide. It will be a state and federal ministerial council meeting. Federal Opposition spokesman on Consumer Affairs Bruce Billson has called for the issue of misleading labelling of imported brands to be put on the agenda for the meeting, which is being chaired by state Minister for Consumers John Rau. Mr Rau said he was happy for the issue to be discussed under the general heading of food labelling, “an area of consumer law which requires constant vigilance”.
An invitation to participate in the Australian Golden Olive Awards is extended to all Australian olive growers. This is the 13th annual award and organisers rate the event as one of the best value for money competitions for extra virgin olive oil and table fruit. Closing date for participation forms is 21 July; closing date for submission of product, entry form and payment is 9 August, with the Celebration Dinner and Presentation of Awards to be held on Saturday, 15 September, 2012 at the Quality Hotel Wangaratta Gateway, Wangaratta. Download the Invitation to Participate form https://www.vicolives.com.au
Olive oil producers are enjoying a surge in exports to China on the back of rapidly rising wine exports. South-East producer Grant Wylie from Pendleton Fine Foods, among the beneficiaries of the jump in exports to China, has shipped consignments there and to Malaysia in the past week. “China is expected to become Australia’s largest export customer for olive oil this year, replacing the US which has dropped off due to continuing economic problems,” Mr Wylie said.
The 2012 AGM of OFA will now be held on Friday, July 20 from 3-5pm at the Sustain Show, Royal Hall of Industries, Moore Park, Sydney, NSW. Business will include the Directors’ activity report , audited accounts and the election of office bearers. All welcome. For bookings contact Naomi Cauley on ph: 07 3396 5746 or email: [email protected]
Calendars get full so easily these days, so make sure you’ve got these important olive industry dates locked in on your calendar:
• 18 September – Tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oils for Aspiring Judges
• 29 September – 2012 Olives New Zealand Awards Dinner
• 3 November – 2012 NZ Olive Festival
• 16 March 2012 – Olives New Zealand Conference
If you’ve got an industry event you’d like to promote, send the details to [email protected] and we’ll include them in the next edition of Friday Olive Extracts. It’s free and, with each fortnightly edition going out to more than 3000 subscribers, is a great way to spread the word.
The importance of addressing potential contaminates in olive oil – such as mineral oil – was one of the issues raised at this month’s meeting in Brussels of the European Commission’s Advisory group on Olives and Derived Products. The meeting also discussed coming reforms to the sector in Europe; concerns over quality standards in the United States, Australia and Brazil; fears on trade liberalization with Tunisia; and discrepancies in the production totals declared by Italy.
A quiet corner of Kent has been transformed into the Mediterranean – with the county’s very first olive grove. Neil Davy and his wife Louise, neither of whom come from a farming background but share a love for sunnier climes and Tuscan cuisine, have planted 200 trees at Huggits Farm in Stone-in-Oxney. They admit they are learning as they go along but hope the warmer weather, lower rainfall and less fertile soil on the Romney Marsh will provide perfect growing conditions for the olives, which will eventually be turned into luxury extra virgin olive oil.
Pakistan and Greece need to improve their commercial and economic relations to promote bilateral trade and investment by taking advantage of new business opportunities, according to Greek Ambassador to Pakistan Petros Mavroidis . Olive oil is one of the major and well-known products of Greece and is known to be the finest in the world. He said Greece could export huge quantity of olive oil to Pakistan and it could provide its expertise and experience to plant olive trees on a large scale in Pakistan.
The International University of Andalucia has organized a series of summer courses focused on olive oil, in partnership with the University of Évora, the University of Jaén and the International Olive Council, to take place from July to September this year in Portugal. The courses will focus on a range of issues that are key to the olive oil sector, including obtaining quality olive oil and oil appreciation, as well as management of residues generated during olive harvest and processing. There will also be a strong focus on marketing of olive oils both for domestic and international markets.