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An olive grower has plunged into a bath of olive oil on the lawns of Parliament House in Canberra to protest against cheap and dodgy olive oil imports. Richard Whiting,…
Beefed up testing, better classification of olive oil and reaching out to non-EU producers are among a package of measures promised by European Commissioner for Agriculture Dacian Cioloş after meeting in Córdoba this week with members of Spain’s olive oil sector including its Interprofesional del Aceite de Oliva Español (Interprofessional).
The March-May edition of Olivegrower & Processor will hit letterboxes next week. Highlights of this edition include a feature on the Olives New Zealand 2012 Conference and oil workshop, the first of our annual harvest outlook reports, and great practical information on pruning, predicting frost and marketing. Don’t miss out – subscribe: www.olivegrower.com.au
The annual Arts in the Olives will be held this year on Sunday, May 13 (Mothers Day). The venue is once again the Worendo olive grove in Lost World Valley, 35kms south of Beaudesert in southern Queensland. Organised by the Beaudesert and District Community Arts Projects (BADCAP) and the Lost World Valley community group, the festival features a program of arts workshops in basketry, blacksmithing, stone sculpture, woodcarving, needle felting, photography and more – children’s workshops are free. This year’s theme is sculpture, with a number of excellent tutor/artists teaching and exhibiting. There will also be live music, good food and wine, and artisan stalls with hand made goods, all in a lovely olive grove on the banks of the Albert River. More information www.artsintheolives.com
The 2012 National Conference & Trade Exhibition will now be held on 30-31 October at Adelaide. Further details will be announced in coming weeks.
Olives New Zealand has launched Certification 2012 and is now accepting oils for assessment. Snappy growers in Northland have already started their submissions and the first shipment is due off in May. All oils that meet certification requirements will be issued with an Olives New Zealand Certificate that may be used for credentialing or marketing purposes. For more information contact [email protected] or go to www.olivesnz.org.nz.
Don’t miss the special feature on the 2012 Olives New Zealand Conference and Olives to Oil Workshop in the coming edition of Australian and New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor. Participant reports, articles and lots of great photos provide comprehensive coverage of this important and successful industry event. Subscriptions are just $NZ69.90 for 12 months/6 editions, including a free copy of the
2012 Olive Industry Directory, so if you’re not currently receiving the magazine, subscribe
The Fifth Greek Olive Oil and Olive Festival took place in Athens in April. The event attracted consumers as well as those involved in the olive and olive oil industries; Participants received up-to-date information in the field of production, legislation and promotion of olive oil and olives. Of particular interest was the educational session presenting new marketing concepts for Greek olive oil producers. Speakers discussed the importance of a new approach to this age-old product of Greece.
Does the recovering economy have you feeling all spendy again? If so, Greece-based Speiron has just the luxury item for you – a $15,000 bottle of super premium extra virgin olive oil. That’s right, the 17-ounce bottle of Lambda pours for $147 per teaspoon. That’s per teaspoon, not tablespoon. It’s not simply that the olives are sourced from some of the oldest olive trees in all of Greece, harvested and pressed within hours, and filled by hand to preserve freshness and fruitiness, it’s also about exclusivity, says SmartMoney’s Charles Passy. “You’re really not buying the oil, you’re buying the bottle,” he says. “They packaged it to the deluxe level with specialty woods, gold wrapping, and your signature on the bottle.”
As they suggest, at $15,000 a bottle this oil is almost worth its weight in gold – Ed!
‘Organic’ processors could be set for a “significant improvement” in the protection of produce against pathogens through the development of new wash system practices using ultrasound.