Australia: Time to act on olive oil
Spanish olive oil giant Carbonell has demanded to see test results that found some of its products wanting will do nothing to address the image problem confronting large, foreign olive-oil producers.
It has been no secret in Australian olive oil industry circles for some years that many imported brands were not living up to their premium “extra virgin” tag.
Testing this year by a NSW Government laboratory has confirmed as much.
Carbonell has written to the Australian Olive Association, who commissioned the tests, demanding to see the results and the methodology behind them.
Carbonell, part of the Grupo SOS group of companies, may gain its wish to have the AOA hand over the results.
But it will not change the fact that serious questions have emerged over the integrity of a range of imported olive oils, which has alarmed large numbers of consumers.
Posted in Australia | NZ, Olive Oil by: Olives101
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Caltech presses on with annual olive harvest
Article by Janette Williams,
Photo by Walt Mancini,
There were many people volunteering to pick olives at Caltech’s second Olive Festival Friday, November 7, 2008. Harvesters will transfer the olives to crates for commerial processing.
For the second year, Caltech turned what was a major annoyance on campus – olives underfoot from the 130 trees on campus – into a cause for celebration and an example of sustainability.
Hundreds of novice olive-pickers, grinders, pressers and tasters attended the second annual all-day Olive Harvest Festival on Friday.
Faculty and students swept the campus, aiming to match or exceed last year’s haul of 1 ton-plus.
Some olives were processed on campus, but most were crated up for processing by the Regalo Extra Virgin Olive Oil Co., then on to the Santa Barbara Olive Co. for bottling and labeling.
The olive festival was inspired by a pair of industrious Caltech students who decided to press their own olive oil in 2006, using window screens, a trash can and bags of cement as weights.
This year’s olive oil will be sold in the Caltech Bookstore about a month from now, with the proceeds going to fund student scholarships and activities.
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Posted in California, Olive Oil by: Olives101
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California, Tehama County olive crop falls short
By Geoff Johmson,
The local olive oil industry is expected to boom over the coming years, but California has seen better olive harvests than 2008.
As the state’s olive crop comes in, it appears an April frost and a May heat wave have knocked California’s olive crop to less than half of that of 2007.
As late as August, the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Agricultural Statistics Service estimated the 2008 crop would be 65,000 tons – 51,000 of the Manzanillo variety and 7,000 of the Sevillano variety.
Estimates by Bell Carter Northern Field Manager Cody McCoy put that number even lower.
“The quality came in good this year, and no real big surprises, but it will be a little shorter than projected,” McCoy said.
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Posted in Business, California, North America, Olive Tree by: Olives101
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Olive harvest underway for artisan growers in California
Posted in California, Olive Oil, Olive Tree, Video by: Olives101
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First certified Australian Extra Virgin olive oil launched
The first Australian Extra Virgin olive oil with the Code of Practice symbol has entered retailers’ outlets.
Cobram Estate is the first to include the Code of Practice logo, with other products to follow in the next four to eight weeks. The Code of Practice certification logo is the industry’s method of guaranteeing the authenticity and quality of its products. The certification symbol is a new benchmark of industry standards.
Ashley Read, sales and marketing manager of Cobram Estate, said, “We have liaised with the Australian Olive Association throughout the development of the Code of Practice and the Australian Extra Virgin brand. It is a great initiative from the AOA.”
In conjunction with Australian Extra Virgin, the association has introduced an industry Code of Practice that supports quality, authenticity and confidence in the Australian olive industry. This code is a world first and helps differentiate the Australian industry and its products.
Posted in Australia | NZ, Olive Oil by: Olives101
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