Industry News

And don’t forget also the two night-time demonstrations of new-model electrostatic sprayers in action, presented by The Olive Centre and Martignani, where a glow-in-the-dark spray medium will be applied to trees. The demonstrations will be held on 24 October at Sam Miranda Vineyards, Snow Road, Oxley, VIC (vineyard demo) and 26 October at EV Olives, 203 Everton Road, Markwood VIC 3678 (olive demo), commencing at 5.30pm, with a BBQ provided on both nights. To register ph: 07 4696 9845, 0403 498 645 or email [email protected]

The Australian Agriculture College Corporation (AACC) is seeking feedback from individuals interested in potentially completing an online Organic Agriculture Diploma. As this is the first course of its kind being developed, ACCC welcomes all feedback and/or suggestions from potential participants in order to tailor the course to individuals’ needs. A brief five minute survey is available here: www.surveymonkey.com/s/D8X3SQW and for further information contact [email protected].

Olives New Zealand Inc members, don’t forget to the 2011 ONZ Annual General Meeting is being held tomorrow, October 15 from 10am -11.30am at Tatum Park, 820-850 State Highway 1 Manakau (between Otaki and Levin). The agenda will include the election of officers and a review of the constitution. Further information https://www.olivesnz.org.nz/agm/notice-of-agm/ . The day will also encompass a field walk at last year’s Best of Show EVOO award winner’s grove, Kapiti Olives, followed by the ONZ Awards Dinner. The event is open to all olive growers, and the cost is $65 for the lunch and field walk, and $80 for the dinner. Last minute registrations and enquiries to [email protected]

As demand for olive oil falls and prices follow suit, the European Commission is intervening to ensure beleaguered producers tender for aid so they can store their surplus. Brussels announced recently that it will provide private storage aid enabling up to 100,000 tonnes of Spanish virgin olive oil to be stored for six months.

The latest edition of Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor hit letterboxes this week, bringing readers the latest in olive industry news and information. Along with updates on the new Australian Standard and the Olive Levy Proposal, there’s more local and international news, information on plant sanitation and resistant cultivars, an explanation of current lab tests and what they mean, and a practical guide to DIY grafting.

Hawke’s Bay producer Matapiro Olives has taken the coveted title of Supreme Champion and the Logan Campbell Trophy at this year’s Royal Easter Show Olive Oil Awards. In a clean sweep, Matapiro also took top awards in all three major oil classes: Delicate, Medium and Intense. We’ll bring you further results and more about their win in the November-December edition of Olivegrower & Processor.

A group of 13 academics has slammed the EU nutrition and health claims legislation (NHCR) for its ‘evidence-based medicinal’ approach that rules out what they consider perfectly valid nutritional science. Using examples including antioxidents, they argue that the medicinal approach is failing to acknowledge statistically significant nutritional science and that ‘There is a need to translate the impact of nutrition on health and wellness into a framework of biomarkers and physiologic responses sufficient to quantify and substantiate these relations for the maintenance of a beneficial body function.”

The heart health market is set for a new entrant as Frutarom USA announces the launch of an olive leaf extract with reported blood pressure benefits. The ingredient is described as water-soluble for use in still or carbonated beverages, and is also stable in film-coated tablets, and is backed up by data in the scientific literature. Sales of US heart health ingredients (wholesale) topped $563m in 2008 and are predicted to exceed $1bn by 2012, reflecting a compound annual growth rate of 20%.