Olives101.com

By Dr. Connie Peraglie Guttersen, R.D., Ph.D. In Sonoma County each year, there’s a special festival called the Blessing of the Olives. That’s how central olive trees and the foods they yield are to the economy and the eating habits of the region. And olive oil is the most treasured gift of these blessed trees. [...]

There are lots of good reasons to stock your pantry with olive oil. Long the most commonly used oil in the Mediterranean (as much as 25 to 40 percent of calories consumed in this region come from olive oil), extra-virgin olive oil’s healthful properties come from rich levels of monounsaturated fat, which promote “good” cholesterol, [...]

If you’ve looked closely at the bottle of olive oil in your pantry, you might have noticed a health claim touting the heart health benefits of using olive oil. Under what is termed a “qualified health claim,” the Food and Drug Administration allows bottles of olive oil to display the following statement: “Limited and not [...]

A 20% increase in olive oil production is likely to present a marketing challenge for the country’s olive growers. Grower organisation Olives New Zealand says groves in Hawke’s Bay, Wairarapa, Kapiti, Nelson and Marlborough performed better than those in Canterbury and the Far North, mainly because of variable weather conditions. Executive officer Alastair Bridge says [...]

Over the next four years olive oil consumption in India is expected to increase nine-fold to 42,000 tonne. Increasing awareness of health issues is the primary driver of this demand, as olive oil is seen as a healthier cooking medium. Is olive oil becoming more acceptable in India? Firstly, it should be noted that olive [...]

The European olive oil market could be set for a shake up if new labelling rules proposed by EU officials come into force. The rules would make origin labelling compulsory for virgin and extra virgin label olive oil, and could come into force as early as July 2009. The move could provide a boost for [...]

The awards, now in their twelfth year, will be chaired by Richard Gawel, research scientist at the Australian Wine Research Institute, along with more than 20 accredited judges on October 3 and 4. “As always, it is a great privilege to assist the capable judges in their task of searching out and rewarding the best [...]

By Davide Berretta, Over the past five years, Italy’s biggest olive-oil brands have fallen steadily into Spanish hands. SOS Cuétara SA’s July purchase of Bertolli, one of the world’s best-known olive-oil labels, gave the Spanish food company control of half the Italian market and made it the world’s undisputed leader in olive-oil sales. The Spanish [...]

By Rodd Cayton, The Temecula Olive Oil Co.’s path to success has been smoothed out by many factors, its owners say. The Food Network, with its audience-enthralling programming, helps out by featuring recipes that use olive oil. The Internet makes it possible for consumers across the world to buy Temecula products. Customers help the company [...]

By Kim Mikus , Photo George LeClaire, Angelo and Maria Angelakos, of Lake in the Hills, created and now sell pre-popped popcorn made with olive oil through their business, Olive Oyl Brand Foods Inc. The snack is making its way to grocery stores. Attorney Angelo Angelakos acted on an idea and a craving he had [...]

By Kim Woods, Tree plantings have stabilised in the region, which produces up to 400,000 litres of oil a year, following a decade of rapid expansion. Those original trees are now reaching maturity and growers are searching for markets to soak up increased production. Corowa grower Paul Trevethan said the domestic market was saturated and [...]

BY Declan Varley, Irish Quaker Faith in Action and Mount of Olives Imports combine to support special needs school in Gaza. A Galway-based company set up to sell Palestinian Fairtrade olive oil in Ireland is supporting a special needs school in Gaza with funds to purchase speech lab equipment. The help will ensure that many [...]

By Jeremy Smith, Europe’s olive oil producers may soon have to mark their best-quality brands with origin labels to stop consumers being misled about where the oil comes from, EU officials said on Friday. Next week, EU experts will vote on whether to make origin labelling compulsory for virgin and extra virgin olive oils. If [...]

The research, conducted by Adelphi Universitys Anagnostis Agelarakis, has outlined the use of olives and olive oil in antiquity, ancient and traditional cultivation methods, and olives and human nutrition and health. Olive oil was not only considered as a health product in ancient Greece, but something that had in essence a divine power embedded in [...]

By Judy Siegel-Itzkovich, You may think you’re buying pure olive oil, but some suppliers are adulterating it with cheaper oils. Now the Bactochem lab in Nes Ziona (Israel) has developed a technique to identify olive oil that has been mixed with other oils, even at levels of only 5%. Moshe Heller, who developed the technique, [...]