Planet Olive

A competition open to all olive producers, olive oil manufacturers and oil trading companies around the world, the MIOOA, acronym for the Milan International Oilve Oil Award. New deadline, given the Coronavirus emergency: there is time until 30 June to participate in the selection. It is an initiative of Olio Officina in collaboration with the world’s oldest tasting school Onaoo and the participation of aseries of hand-picked juries selected on the basis of the groups they belong to, such as retail-chain and food-service buyers, chefs, journalists, consumers

The World's Best Extra Virgin Olive Oils in competition. All the best oils from all the continents can compete. Due to the Coronavirus emergency, the deadline for delivery of oils have been extended to 29 May 2020. You can download the regulation and the relative forms to participate

Olio Officina has launched the first edition of MIOOA, the Milan International Olive Oil Award. All the best oils from all the continents can compete. Due to the Coronavirus emergency, the deadline for delivery of oils have been extended to 29 May 2020. You can download the regulation and the relative forms to participate

The conservation and use of plant genetic resources is key for the future of agriculture, food and the environment. The FAO International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Food and Agriculture, in line with the Convention on Biological Diversity, ensures food security through conservation, free exchange and the fair and equitable sharing of the benefits of these resources

The olive tree as a solution in the fight against climate change The objective of the IOC is to “present the olive grove as an environmentally positive crop because of its potential to store and extract CO2 from the atmosphere”

The event is an excellent showcase for companies, a way to be known and appreciated by consumers

Several studies have evaluated the effects of climate change on water demand in agriculture. A new study conducted by researchers of the Life Sciences Institute at Sant’Anna School has investigated the quantity and the quality of irrigation saline water for olive oil production.

During the climax of olives harvesting there are many gathering opportunities in mills, even though these places can actually be used every day of the year, with several original initiatives

Top ten des Meilleures Huiles d’Olive Extra-Vierge. L’édition de cette année a enregistré la participation 32 marques d’huile d’Olive : GIE, coopératives, et groupes industriels marocains de Meknès, Fès, Sefrou, Taounat, Khenifra, Marrakech, Guercif, Essaouira, Taounat, Azilal, Oujda, Kalaa Sraghna, Boulmane, Chichaoua, Benslimane, et Beni Melal, démontrant, ainsi, un engagement des producteurs marocains pour l’huile d’olive de qualité

Hay pioneros diseñando olivares de miel en España, plantaciones donde hay setos de aromáticas entre las hileras de olivos que producen aceite, miel y aceites esenciales. El diseñador más veterano es la Asociación Alvelal, un nutrido grupo de personas, vinculadas a múltiples instituciones, nacionales y extranjeras, que desean recuperar el paisaje a 20 años vista, incentivando actividades económicas sostenibles

After the summer break, the Executive Secretariat of the IOC is back to work with a busy schedule of meetings and activities in all areas

In other words, when everyone, consumers and professionals alike, has the chance to create their own blend, enabling them to become familiar not only with the different oils available on the market but also to go home with their own extra-virgin olive oil, crafted according to their own personal taste

Interview with Valentina Cardone, Chemiservice. No efficient olive mill can exist unless it relies on a lab that can explore extra virgin olive oil thoroughly, including in sensorial terms. Freshly-produced oils are no longer classified only based on homemade screening of their acidity. Increasingly often, oils are taken to laboratories for analyses that, although fewer than analyses envisaged by law, are sufficient to assign oil to a quite well-defined product category

World production of table olives over the last 30 crop years has grown steadily. World consumption of table olives is 2.86 times greater than 30 years ago, increasing by 186% over the period 1990/91 – 2017/18. The consumption of table olives can strengthen the natural defences of consumers

Pressing olives, pressing ideas. The new issue of OOF International Magazine exclusively deals with the universe of olive oil mills and millers. Only for you, here is a preview of the table of contents including all articles

BioSpremi is presented as the alternative to invasive and polluting industrial production, as a guarantee of quality, environmental sustainability and money saving

Alfa Laval technology. Striving for green. We are quite used to seeing bags-in-boxes, but how are these very ecological containers filled up? Machines play a fundamental role, and technology has provided the sector with a variety of fillers

The results of the Evooleum Awards were unveiled at the World Olive Oil Exhibition. At the event, Juan A. Peñamil, ceo of Mercacei-Edimarket Editores, and José María Penco, project manager of the Spanish Association of Municipalities of Olive - organizers of the contest - presented the Evooleum World's Top 100 Extra Virgin Olive Oils Guide and unveiled the names of 100 brands of Evoo from 16 countries that the jury has considered the best in the world

An interview with Dennis Fiorini, Professor at the University of Camerino. All there is to know about a quantitative procedure employing high-performance liquid chromatography coupled with diode array detection to determine whether a given oil is entitled to a health claim. An investigation carried out by Massimo Ricciutelli, Shara Marconi, Maria Chiara Boarelli, Giovanni Caprioli, Gianni Sagratini, Roberto Ballini and Dennis Fiorini

Recently, the research studies carried out on plants for the olive oil extraction were oriented on the introduction of innovative tools for the olive paste conditioning: microwave and megasonic systems able to condition the olive paste in very short time. Puglia (Italy) and Australia: two different situations, far apparently but linked by the intention to share their knowledge to improve the olive oil sector

The Probiolives Project. Research on table olives has shown that the consumption of this product can strengthen consumers’ natural immune systems

While it is sometimes difficult to teach adults to discern the aromas of olive oil, children are more spontaneous and free of prejudice. It is easier to discern scents and aromas if we have fewer “perturbing factors”. Teaching is easier when the students have no previous knowledge or preconceptions

In a photo gallery portraying olive trees, the landscape becomes an element of unmistakable beauty. Giorgio Sorcinelli has immortalized some very distinctive elements of olive trees, highlighting not only their magnificence, rusticity and adaptability to different territories, but also their surroundings

Talc addition was once considered taboo, but nowadays even the scientific world is starting to investigate its use and potential benefits. There is something we want to know: does talc affect the yield and quality of extra virgin olive oil? Professor Francesco Caponio, together with his colleagues from the University of Bari, is trying to answer this question. What happens when physical extraction adjuvants are added to olive paste during malaxation?

Enough of this geriatric approach towards olive tree cultivation. We need renovation. How can we possibly conceive a sector operating at a loss? If there is no profit, olive cultivation makes no sense. At Olio Officina Anteprima in Alghero, the protagonists of the event were the “Captains Courageous”, oil masters Domenico and Pasquale Manca. With them, the most distinguished Italian authorities discuss the newest trends in olive tree cultivation

Has the method employed for the sensory analysis of extra virgin olive oil reached the end of the line? Is it time to change approach and/or targets? These questions require urgent, unambiguous answers, and the entire oil sector must now respond. Currently there is a sort of distorted view. Too much attention is given to defects and too little to the positive traits of oil. We are training a class of defect hunters

These pictures, taken by Giorgio Sorcinelli, portray olives at different stages of maturity. There are various methods to estimate their degree of ripeness. One of the most popular is the so-called Jaen index. Many scientific investigations concur that there is an optimal maturity level for every variety, offsetting the sensory features and aromatic profile of the olives, as well as their phenolic composition

There is one question I am frequently asked: is it better to pick olives by hand, or use mechanical means? We should be aware that harvesting is a delicate and potentially risky procedure, because it may trigger the hydrolytic reactions that increase the free acidity levels in olive oil, with detrimental effects on its quality