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Olive lovers, there’s a recall you need to know about.

Mario Camacho Foods has announced a voluntary recall of Schnucks brand Spanish olives in the 5.75 ounce jars.

Jars with the best by code of 02/06/11 and UPC code of 04131819003 may contain glass. There have been no reports of injury.

Customers with questions should contact Mario Camacho Foods at 1-800-293-9783 or the Schnucks Consumer Affairs Department at 314-994-4000 or 1-800-264-4000

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Paul Levy notes that Italian olive oil output is declining and prices seem to be going up. Are recent EU regulations actually helping?

A few weeks ago I received an alarming email from Armando Manni who makes what is certainly the most expensive olive oil in the world, and the one that a great many people think is also the best. He announced that his 2007 Organic Farming extra virgin olive oil Toscano IGP (Protected Geographical Indication) was ready to ship from Tuscany. But, in his own words:

“Unfortunately global warming in Italy has cut the olive oil production by almost 50%. It has been a disaster. Our production of the new harvest 2007 is only 1,500 litres instead of 2,600 litres. So, we’ll be sold out earlier this year”.

Try though I might to establish independently whether the Tuscan shortfall is universal or confined to Manni’s oil, or whether there’s any consensus about global warming being the cause, I’ve failed completely. But I’ve turned up a few interesting trifles worth considering.

(Be warned, almost nothing that follows is relevant to Manni’s own oil, whose price of €220 (£190) a litre reflects the cost of amortising his classy olive groves, pressing and bottling the oil using processes more commonly used for fine wine, and delivering it by ecologically-incorrect courier in 100ml anti-UV glass bottles.)

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SOS Cuetara SA. declined to comment on its possible interest in acquiring international food manufacturer Unilever Plc.’s Italian olive oil brand Bertolli, as reported in Italy’s daily Il Sole 24 Ore.

The newspaper also flagged Nutrinvest of Portugal as a possible buyer.

SOS bought the Friol Italia oil brand from Unilever for 33.25 million euros at the end of 2006.

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By Robin Pagnamenta,

Unilever, the maker of Marmite and Magnum ice cream, confirmed today that it was considering the sale of its Bertolli olive oil business as it reported a 7.2 per cent rise in first quarter sales.

The Anglo-Dutch company, the world’s third largest maker of consumer goods, said it was considering a range of options for the Bertolli range of oils, including a sale, which it is thought could raise as much as €600 million.

A spokesman said Unilever would want to retain brand rights as it also sells a range of other Bertolli products, including pasta sauces.

If sold, Bertolli, the world’s leading olive oil brand with products currently sold in over 50 countries, would be the latest in a string of disposals by Unilever, which is seeking to simplify its range of products as part of a wider restructuring drive.

Earlier, Unilever appeared to raise hopes that a long-standing turnaround plan at the company was starting to reap rewards as it reported turnover rose 6 per cent at €9.57 billion.

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There’s a new name for the East Coast Olive Oil bottling and packaging plant at Griffiss business park, but that’s all that’s changing, says a company official.

The company that moved to Rome from Utica last year and has about 160 employees is now known as Sovena USA, Inc.

“Really, it’s just a name change,” Eryn Balch, marketing manager, said this morning. The change comes as part of a global re-branding initiative among East Coast’s partner company Nutrinveste’s business groups under the umbrella name of Sovena. Nutrinveste of Portugal, one of the leading olive oil companies in the world, bought 80 percent of East Coast in 2005.

Sovena has no other operations in the United States besides the Griffiss facility, according to Balch. The local plant, a major U.S. importer of olive oil, is part of the new Sovena consumer goods division.

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By Leo Leonidou,

One in three children in Cyprus and the EU suffer from some form of allergy, with the condition rife at this time of year on the island due to an increase in olive pollen.

“Olive trees are this year producing more blossom, meaning pollen levels are higher than in the previous few years,” President of the Allergy Institute, Dr Andreas Liveris, said yesterday.

He warned that olive pollen was very aggressive and the symptoms it causes can be extremely uncomfortable.

“These include asthma and other respiratory problems, sneezing and runny and itchy eyes and noses,” he said.

He added that allergies in general are becoming an epidemic around the world, especially amongst children below the age of ten.
“Here in Cyprus, one in three children are affected, whereas the number was one in fifteen, 20 years ago,” he said.

Allergies can be managed effectively with medication or vaccinations but they can’t be cured, and although not normally life-threatening, they alter the sufferer’s quality of life.

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After exfoliating your skin with baking soda, massage a pea-sized amount of olive oil onto your face.

Acne scaring can cause the skin to lose its elasticity and suppleness.

The moisturizing nutrients in the olive oil will penetrate the skin to deeply moisturize the skin and soften the skin’s texture.

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Which does the best job of protecting your heart: a Mediterranean-style diet or a low-fat plan?

Either approach is good for your health. But the Mediterranean type gives your ticker some extra protection. Here’s how.

Cholesterol Buster
The Mediterranean-type diet brought cardiovascular disease risk down 15% in a recent study, versus 9% for the low-fat plan. Why the difference? The olive oil, nuts, fruits, veggies, whole grains, and fish that characterize a Mediterranean diet are chock-full of fiber, healthy fats, and antioxidants — all things your heart loves.

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An extract derived from olives may provide protection against neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, according to a study published in the “Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.”

Researchers examined the effect of an antioxidant chemical known as hydroxytyrosol, which has previously been shown to be connected to the health benefits of olive oil, such as LDL (”bad”) cholesterol reduction and cancer prevention.

In one test, the researchers added oxidative stressors to the brain cells of mice in a laboratory setting. These stressors, such as iron ions and a nitric oxide donor, are damaging to cells because of their oxidizing effects. For some of the cells, researchers also added an olive extract rich in hydroxytyrosol. Among the cells to which only the stressors were added, adenosine triphosphate (ATP) was reduced by 40 percent. In the cells treated with olive extract, ATP was only reduced by 15 percent. This effect was achieved at hydroxytyrosol concentrations as low as 0.01 milligrams per milliliter.

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By Maricel E. Presilla,

On my first trip to Peru many years ago, I was captivated by the country’s black olives. Juicy, meaty and flavorful, they were a far cry from the rubbery California black olives of U.S. salad bars and a welcome change from the sharp, briny green Manzanilla olives I grew up eating in Cuba.

They reminded me of Greek kalamata olives, my favorite until that time, but they were larger, softer, more purple in color and mellower in taste. Peruvians call them aceitunas de botija for the clay jars (botijas) in which they were stored when olive-growing and -curing began in Peru in the 16th century.

They are served as appetizers with cocktails like the pisco sour and used to garnish emblematic dishes like papas a la huancaina, boiled potato slices blanketed in creamy fresh cheese and walnut sauce; and causa a la limena, a molded potato purée with a savory filling.

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By Suellen Jerrard,

Olive oil production in West Australia is expected to slow this year for the first time since the fledgling industry got off the ground about a decade ago.

Falls in production around the State are being attributed to the tendency for olive trees to fruit to their full potential only every second year as well as weather conditions and pruning.

The biggest falls are in the South-West where output is tipped to be as much as 50 per cent down on last year.

WA Olive Council president John Wholley said a poor fruit-set due to a warm winter seemed to have exacerbated the downturn from alternate fruiting in the South-West.

Mr Wholley said he picked 40-50kg of fruit from each tree in his Margaret River grove last year but he would be lucky to get four to five olives per tree this year. Other groves had also been hit but some were doing well.

He said it was likely production would slow across the State, if not fall.

WA last year produced an estimated 16,000 tonnes of olives and 2100 tonnes of olive oil worth about $11.5 million. Australia produced about 72,000 tonnes of olives and 12,000 tonnes of oil last year.

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By Karen Haram,

Extra-virgin olive oil from Carrizo Springs? You’d better believe it.

Texas Olive Ranch’s Texas Extra Virgin Olive Oil is now being carried at Central Market. The golden-hued oil is made by cold-pressing the Arbequina olives from Carrizo Springs, producing a buttery rich oil with a strong peppery finish. The bottle’s label describes the oil as “smooth and balanced,” citing its low acidity and fragrance. Our tasters liked it both as a dressing for fresh greens, and for dipping artisan bread.

The oil sells for $13.99 for the 14.3-ounce bottle.

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Here’s something you don’t see every day, a product that gives itself a makeover.

It starts off as one thing, and then changes into something better, at first glance, this dairy substitute doesn’t look particularly appealing in a good light, it resembles lemon curd; from an unflattering angle it squawks ‘chicken fat’ so our hopes weren’t high as we got out the French loaf and put the spread to the bread.

Sure enough, its taste matched its uninviting appearance. Straight out of the tub, spreadable olive oil, this brand, at least turns out to be inert and oily, with a discordant note of lemon.

However, part 2 of this story is very different.

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By Tina Caputo,

California olive oil history dates back hundreds of years to the late 1700s, when the first olive trees were brought over from Spain. As the industry grew, olive trees became a common sight in Northern California and the Central Valley, and olive oil processing mills began opening to meet demand for the golden nectar.

According to Paul Vossen, UCCE farm advisor for Marin and Sonoma counties, California is now home to 11 olive oil processing mills, ranging in annual production size from 4,000 to 150,000 gallons each, as well as several smaller mills. “Production has been steadily increasing each year, except for 2000-01 when there was a very small crop,” Vossen said. Since 1996-97, California olive oil production has increased from 123,000 gallons to 400,000 gallons in 2002-03.

This growth caught the attention of California wineries during the 1990s, and dozens began planting olive trees with oil production in mind. “Wineries account for about 12-15% of the state’s annual extra virgin olive oil production,” said Patricia Darragh, executive director of the Berkeley-based California Olive Oil Council (COOC).

Though she couldn’t confirm the total number of wineries that are currently producing olive oil, Darragh said that more than two dozen have been certified by the COOC. “There is a dramatic increase in production by wineries, year over year,” she said. “The industry overall is growing dramatically and many more wineries are becoming involved.”

Thanks to the efforts of wineries like B.R. Cohn, Preston Vineyards, Joseph Phelps Vineyards and Wente Vineyards, high-end California olive oil is making a name for itself on the national gourmet food scene. But is producing olive oil worth the effort?

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