NZ: CRI denies involvement in olive oil judging scandal
By Allan Swann,
Plant & Food Research is distancing itself from a recent Olives NZ judging scandal, claiming its involvement had nothing to do the outcome that saw head judge Margaret Edwards award her own oil first place.
Plant and Food Research, formerly HortResearch, provided venues, equipment and logistics for the event, but spokesman Roger Bourne tells NBR the Crown research institute had nothing to do with the judging process.
“Plant and Food Research’s protocols were followed absolutely correctly – we had no influence on the judges’ outcome,” Mr Bourne says.
Head judge Margaret Edwards, and owner of Waiheke Olive Oil Company, has been accused by critics of a conflict of interest after she awarded her own olive oil first prize in the 2008 Olives New Zealand awards.
[Source] Click here
Posted in Australia | NZ, Olive Oil by: Olives101
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Farmers strike Olive oil in Texas
By John Griffin,
Farming was always something that interested Jim Henry, when he was younger, he thought Texas would be the perfect place to grow grapes, but the experts told him it was impossible, given the terrain.
More recently, he decided the Lone Star State would be perfect for olives. Again, people called it folly. This time, he refused to listen.
Henry planted olive orchards in Marble Falls, but the naysayers were right: The trees froze to death. Undeterred, he moved south to Carrizo Springs, where he’s planted 40,000 olive trees and introduced Texas Olive Ranch olive oil to the marketplace.
“I didn’t do it to prove people wrong,” he says. “I did it because I thought we could do it, and we are.”
Henry is not alone, there are olive orchards in Houston, Elmendorf, Wimberley, Austin and Dilley, among other areas of the state.
By the end of the year, Henry expects that more than 250,000 olive trees will be planted in Texas soil.
Some will be in small lots of, say, 5,000 or 6,000 trees, while Henry is planting another 100,000 and helping a neighbor plant 50,000.
Posted in Olive Oil, Texas by: Olives101
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USDA approval for 1st U.S. Release of Authentic Olive Trees From Israel
With a hard-earned U.S. Department of Agriculture signoff now in hand, TreeswithMeaning.com becomes one of the first companies in the U.S. approved to bring living olive trees from Israel to the North American market.
For owners–and brothers–Bruno and Jerome Schneider, building the company was an intricate business challenge requiring four years of negotiations, planning and inspired persistence.
The Schneiders organized a small, elite family of handpicked Israeli growers near the Jordan River and elsewhere, navigated a web of international permits and built a stateside infrastructure to shelter and nourish the hardy, fast-growing young trees as they arrive in the U.S.
TreeswithMeaning.com, the nature-based company that brothers Jerome and Bruno Schneider are launching, will bring authentic olive trees from Israel to the U.S. market.
The symbol-rich olive tree is as tough as it is beautiful. It thrives even in desert areas, grows rapidly and produces fruit even in harsh conditions. The olive tree is an ideal candidate for outdoor life in the states in growing zones 8 and above, or potted and living contentedly on the garden deck or in a sunny corner of the living room.
Posted in Middle East, North America, Olive Tree by: Olives101
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Croatia: Punat Days of Olives festival has begun
The 12th “Days of Olives” festival started this weekend in Punat on the Island of Krk in the northern Adriatic and will continue until 19 October.
Visitors will have a chance to participate in the olive harvest as well as in olive processing and to attend gastronomical, cultural and and other programmes.
Days of Olives will also feature offers of autochthonous cuisine in local restaurants, hotels and taverns, including recipes based on olives.
At the opening ceremony, people were introduced to the tools and machines used in olive cultivation by means of a special exhibition.
The festival will feature the selection of the most-beautiful and best olive tree for the first time this year.
Hundreds of foreign tourists have taken part in the Punta olive harvest each year.
The festival has been organized by the town of Punat and the Punat Tourist board.
[Source] Click here
Posted in East | Central Europe, Event-Festival, Olive Tree by: Olives101
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$450,000 Embezzled From SB Olive Co
Sheriff deputies arrested 39-year-old Cathy Latou who, reportedly admitted to embezzling over $360,000 from the Santa Barbara Olive Company.
The owners of the company contacted the sheriff’s department on Monday, after Latou reportedly confessed to the theft.
After a further investigation, sheriff officials discovered Latou may have taken an additional $90,000. Investigators believe the majority of funds were obtained through a company credit card or company checking account.
The sheriff’s department believes Latou spent the money on personal items and for gambling excursions.
A video is also available here
[Source] Click here
Posted in California, Olive Oil by: Olives101
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