Olivegrower & Processor

Protest bathes EVOO in political light

2012

June-July

Bottling, labelling & packaging Harvest outlooks Pt 2 New Zealand Grove Census Report Converting olive waste to energy

Contents

In this issue...

Incorporating Australian Olive Industry Journal Published by Ryan Publications Pty Ltd Publisher Hartley Higgins General Manager Elizabeth Bouzoudis Editorial Gerri Nelligan Advertising Nicole Evans sales@olivegrower.com.au

June - July 2012 Issue 85

News Bath stunt gets parliamentary action ... finally

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ACCC takes action on Big Olive misrepresentation

6

Savantes heads to New York

8

Australian oils shine at first Olive Japan EVOO Competition

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Harvesting Harvest outlook pt 2

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Bottling, labelling and packaging Equipment at expo 2011

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Production Sandra Noke

Traffic-light labelling

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Export alert – new US health labelling system

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Subscriptions A one-year subscription (six issues) is $49.50, and includes a copy of the 2012 Australian and New Zealand Olive Industry Directory. Subscriptions commencing July 1st 2011 will receive a copy of the 2012 Australian and New Zealand Olive Industry.

Please pay by cheque or credit card to Ryan Publications.

Longer shelf life with clean air

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Circulation subs@olivegrower.com.au Contributions Articles and other contributions are welcome and will be published at the discretion of the editor. Photographs are best received as jpg files via email or should be high-quality prints or transparencies. Please indicate if articles and pictures are to be returned.

Printing Lanes Print & Post Adelaide Ryan Publications Pty Ltd ABN 85 085 551 980 630 Regency Road, Broadview South Australia 5083 PO Box 1006, Prospect East South Australia 5082 Phone +618 8369 9555 Facsimile +618 8369 9501 Website www.olivegrower.com.au ISSN 1448-5486 Conditions Opinions expressed herein are not necessarily those of the editor/publishers; information is published in good faith and we do not accept responsibility for damage which may arise from any possible inaccuracies. All rights reserved, none of the contents may be used in any other media without prior consent of the publishers.

Published by Ryan Publications Pty Ltd.

Processing Filtered or unfiltered olive oil?

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Processing protocol for organic production

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Organics US organic sales grow by 9.5%

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Certification: protecting consumers and genuine producers from fraud

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International news Converting olive waste to energy – a win-win solution

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Olives New Zealand Fair Go

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New Zealand Olive Grove Census 2012

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Talking points - marketing Planning to market … marketing to plan!

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Olive business A comic approach to EVOO education

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Free online carbon tax calculator

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New Norcia’s quality 145 years in the making

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Olives & health Health round-up

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Products & services

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What’s on/Advertiser index

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Olive marketplace

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Cover: Grower Richard Whiting, submerged a bath of oil in front of Parliament House, Canberra, in protest against government inaction over olive oil fraud.

Photo: Paul Jackson Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 3

News

Gerri Nelligan

Editor

The last month has been a big one for the Australian & New Zealand olive oil industries – and a loud one. The message went out across all forms of media – online, print, radio and television – that the continuing sales of mislabelled and deceptive oils just has to stop. It was loud and clear, channelled by the AOA, ONZ and individual industry

members. There was also help along the way from a couple of senators, including an impassioned speech to parliament by Nationals Senator John Williams.

And it seems we may be starting to get somewhere, with political support growing to legislate the Australian olive oil standard. This would give the ACCC the power to act against fraudulent imports, which, while not solving all our problems, would at least help level the market playing field.

We take a good look at all the action, along with our regular industry features, part two of our annual harvest outlook, plenty of useful olive business information and the longawaited New Zealand Grove Census report.

Enjoy the read – and then get out there and do your bit to promote this great industry!

Editor Gerri Nelligan and the OG&P team.

Bath stunt gets parliamentary action ... finally They weren’t red budgie smugglers, market share, as they’re being screwed but the media attention attracted by by low-priced fraudulent imports,” she Olives SA president Richard Whiting’s said. swimmers last month undoubtedly “And the ‘extra’ part of extra virgin rivalled that of Mr Abbott’s famous is being lost. There are people out there togs. The South Australian olive oil who’ve never actually tasted EVOO producer submerged himself in a although they’ve been buying what bath of olive oil outside Parliament they think is EVOO for years. They’re House on May 10 to draw attention paying more because they want the to the government’s inaction against taste and health benefits but they’re fraudulent olive oil imports. not getting those health benefits – The idea was the brainchild of The and they’re certainly not getting what Olive Centre’s Amanda Bailey, who they’re paying for. decided that a controlled publicity stunt “So both producers and consumers would be the best way to protest about A collection of olive oils being sold are losing, and therefore ‘taking a bath’ the ongoing olive oil truth in labelling as EVOO were also on display at the when it comes to EVOO in Australia.” protest event– separated into groups issue.

Whiting said he needed no convincing “We needed something that would get and categorised as ‘passed’ (EVOO as when asked to be involved. people’s attention, that they wouldn’t labelled), ‘failed’ (not EVOO as labelled) “I thought it was a great idea – have seen every day, and that would and ‘mislabelled’ (lacking ‘best before’ although I was a bit concerned how cold also get the attention of the pollies - dates and sporting terms such as ‘light’, it would be, given it was in Canberra. ‘extra light’ and ‘pure’). until this happened none of them were Luckily we heated up the oil,” he said. willing to even look at the issue,” “I’d been really disappointed that the Bailey said. result of implementing the Australian “And time just isn’t on our side. The fraudulent products Standard wasn’t what we’d hoped for; the fraudulent imports out there are hurting producers and if this isn’t sorted out in just weren’t being acted on. And then the straw that broke 12 months time, I don’t know if some of them – especially the the camel’s back was the action the ACCC took against larger ones - will be there anymore.

Apple, when they stopped them advertising that the ipod was “So this was done for the health of the industry and because 4G enabled. consumers are being ripped off. They are being misled and “They did that within months of Apple misleading deceived: we all know what constitutes EVOO and we all consumers, while we’ve been working with the government know that most of what’s being brought in labelled as EVOO to get some action about the olive oil situation for more than just doesn’t fit the definition by any standard. We had to get eight years. that message out but the industry doesn’t have the money for “Like Amanda, I felt it needed to be brought to the a full-scale campaign, so this was the only option available.” attention of the powers that be that the Australian industry is Bailey said the bath was significant in its representation in dire straits, and that the consumer was being misled. This of both our attempts to ‘drown’ out fraudulent oils, and the seemed like a pretty good way to do that.” damage being done by those oils in the Australian market.

Both say they’re happy with the result.

“The term ‘taking a bath’ means to have great loss, or “It had the impact we wanted and got the attention we’d to lose on something – and that pretty much describes the hoped for,” Bailey said. current situation for olive oil. Australian producers are losing “It’s quite a process for the politicians to actually get 4 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

News

outside once they’re in parliament, so they had to go to a lot of effort to see it, but we had members we hadn’t even spoken to before who came to have a look.”

“The outcome was very positive,” Whiting agreed.

“The press and politicians were all very supportive, and it seems to have sparked quite a bit of action. We’ve had good meetings since with the ACCC and a few other bodies, and there is a groundswell of politicians who are willing to legislate the standard.

“They’ve indicated they are going to try and have it put into law within a three or four month period, and Senators Williams and Xenophon are willing to sponsor a private members bill to do that.”

The pair say now that the industry finally has the ear of the government, it’s important to keep the momentum going.

“Growers need to get in touch with their local member to ensure that they support this bill. It will be going to parliament in a couple of months and we need to ensure it does get passed,” Whiting said.

“And they should also remind consumers that they can ensure they’re getting what they’re paying for by buying code of practice accredited oil that meets the Australian standard – and of course the best way of doing that is to buy Australian product.”

“We also hope that us taking this action helps invigorate other people in the industry to get out there and do their bit,” Bailey added.

“I want to inspire people to stand up for what they believe in. We all need to take ownership of our industry by taking the actions that are appropriate for us, and for most that’s more likely to be getting out and educating and promoting at a more local level.

“For Richard and I, this was the way we felt we needed to go.”

Background Bailey is quick to point out that the bath stunt was not organised by the AOA or on its behalf.

“It was something I took upon myself to organise and Richard took upon himself to be a part of. We were talking one day and decided that that was the way to go, as things with government were going nowhere fast,” she said.

“I had a bathtub donated by a company called Southern Innovations – although I had to pay for the plug – and Richard brought along his oil. We used 125L all up, so he collected donations from other producers on his way to Canberra. So in that respect it was a combined effort.”

Bailey also set up a marquee near the bath, with a display of olive oils – all currently being sold as EVOO – separated into three categories. Those in the ‘passed’ group were EVOO as labelled, while those in the ‘failed’ group were labelled EVOO but weren’t. The collection marked ‘mislabelled’ were either lacking ‘best before’ dates and other requirements under the Australian standard, or sported terms such as ‘light’, ‘extra light’ and ‘pure – all terms contrary to the IOC, Codex or Australian standards.

A dedicated website, www.whatistrueextravirgin.com, has also been created to provide ongoing feedback and information as the issue progresses. All media information and associated activity since the bath stunt can be found on that site, along with accurate information for both media and consumers.

Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 5

News

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ACCC takes action on Big Olive misrepresentation The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has taken its first enforcement action against an olive oil producer, issuing fines of more than $13,000 for misrepresenting the quality of their product.

In a statement issued on May 18, the ACCC said The Big Olive Company Pty Ltd had paid two infringement notices totalling $13,200, issued for labelling products as ‘extra virgin olive oil’ that the ACCC considers were not.

“The term ‘extra virgin’ is widely understood by consumers to mean a premium product. Consumers should be able to trust that what’s on the label is what’s in the bottle,” ACCC chairman Rod Sims said.

“Misleading ‘extra virgin’ claims trick consumers into paying a premium for an inferior product. Traders who abuse the trust of Australian consumers in this way expose themselves to enforcement action.”

The ACCC release sets out the facts as: The Big Olive Company is an Australian company that produces, bottles and supplies edible oil under a number of brand names including Oz Olio.

Between December 2010 and March 2011, The Big Olive Company supplied nearly three thousand 500ml bottles of “Oz Olio” oil with a representation of extra virgin olive oil on the front label.

Although there is no mandatory standard for extra virgin olive oil in Australia, it is widely accepted that it is the highest grade oil obtained from the first press of the best quality olives, that it is not blended with other oil and that there are no solvents or refining in the manufacturing process.

This action by the ACCC follows complaints from the Australian Olive Association (AOA) that numerous oils being sold in Australia as extra virgin olive oil are not of this quality.

The ACCC commissioned independent testing of seven oils, including four imported products and three domestically produced products. The ACCC’s investigation was focussed on identifying those products which were not extra virgin olive oil at the time of bottling.

The testing indicated that one batch of “Oz Olio” oil was not extra virgin olive oil because it contained more free fatty acids than permitted by olive oil trade standards, including the voluntary Australian standard. A high free fatty acid content indicates that the olives used to make the oil were old, damaged or otherwise of poor quality and the oil was not extra virgin olive oil at the time of bottling. The remaining oils tested all had free fatty acids within the requirements of the standards.

The ACCC said it is also considering broader concerns raised by the AOA about extra virgin olive oil claims and the use of other descriptors of olive oil products. It says it has contacted the Association in relation to these matters, with a view to further engagement about options that might ensure greater clarity in labelling and that consumers are able to make informed purchasing decisions.

The ACCC made note that the payment of infringement notice penalties is not an admission of a contravention of the

6 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

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Australian Consumer Law, and also that the ACCC can issue an infringement notice where it has reasonable grounds to believe a person has contravened certain consumer protection laws.

The infringement notices will be listed on the Public Register on the ACCC’s website at www.accc.gov.au. .... but says Oz Standard is a ‘reference’ only Not long afterwards, however, ACCC chairman Rod Sims stated in a media interview that when considering action based on both the international and Australian olive oil standards, only the criteria regarding free fatty acids would hold up in court.

He said the ACCC has therefore not been measuring extra virgin olive oil against the requirements of the Australian standard, and confirmed to the AOA that the ACCC uses the Australian olive oil standard as a “reference document” only when testing for quality and authenticity.

Sims said the Australian standard needs to be made mandatory via government legislation before the ACCC could confidently begin to use it as a basis for prosecutions – a statement which both disappointed and angered the AOA, who spent almost 10 years working to put the Australian standard in place last year.

AOA CEO Lisa Rowntree said the government has “sent us on a wild goose chase for eight years. It’s a disgraceful waste of taxpayer money if they’ve led us down the garden path on this.

“So the only choice we have after working on this for 10 years is to get it mandated. We’ve been encouraged by the government to create the standard, and to then have them turn around and say they can’t do anything because it’s voluntary is absurd.

“We’ve put blood, sweat and tears into developing this standard, and all our growers abide by a stack of rules to ensure they’re producing this quality product, and they’re still being absolutely screwed by both the government and the importers.”

National event details announced The AOA has announced details of this year’s national industry events, the 2012 Conference & Trade Exhibition, and 2012 National EVOO & Table Olive Competition.

The 2012 Conference & Trade Exhibition will be held on Wednesday, 31 October and Thursday, 1 November in South Australia. The venue is the West Lakes Function Centre, conveniently located 20 mins from the Adelaide CBD and 15 mins from Adelaide Airport.

The 2012 National EVOO & Table Olive Competition will take place in September, with judging taking place in Melbourne on 14-15 September. Head judge will be Richard Gawel, EVOO steward will be Trudi Michels and Table Olive head judge will be Michelle Wirthensohn, with Table Olive steward yet to be announced.

The winners will be announced at the Awards Presentation Dinner on Wednesday, 31 October at The Lakes Function Centre at West Lakes, South Australia, during the 2012 Conference & Trade Exhibition.

Further information and competition entry forms will be available shortly. Check our fortnightly e-newsletter Friday Olive Extracts for updates.

Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 7

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Savantes heads to New York full range of style and flavours.

Sessions also discuss the current market conditions and health benefits of extra virgin olive oil, and the program is a leading independent forum for the commercially important attributes of extra virgin olive oil. Participants join a strong professional network including producers, distributors, retailers, chefs, food media and consumers.

The final day of the program involves tasting exercises for recognition of Associate Savante or Savante status. All participants receive a Certificate of Attendance.

The Savantes program will also be presented in Melbourne from 25-27 July 2012.

SA carbon farming workshops The Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry, in partnership with the Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board, is presenting a series of free workshops on soil health and carbon farming. Held in various regions of South Australia, the workshops will feature expert speakers on topics such as soil carbon, biology and fertility.

The sessions will also introduce the Carbon Farming Initiative, including the process, methodologies for the region and funding opportunities.

Topics include • Soil carbon, biology and health • Methane reductions: research review and methodology • Carbon Farming Initiative: methodologies and carbon trading • Opportunities to increase soil carbon including biochar All workshops will run from 9:30am-4pm, with morning tea and lunch provided. Venues and dates are:

Adelaide and Mount Lofty Ranges Natural Resources Management Board

Hahndorf – Tuesday, 19 June Yankalilla – Wednesday, 20 June Gawler - Thursday, 21 June To register, or for further information, contact: Hahndorf: Melanie Bullers (08) 8389 5913; Yankalilla: Jodie Pain (08) 8550 3405; Gawler: Gail Kennedy (08) 8523 7700;

Kailis groves now on the market The sale of collapsed olive producer Kailis Organic Olive Groves has moved into another phase, with the company’s four olive groves now listed for public sale through real estate agents Elders.

Receivers Korda Mentha had previously said they were confident they could sell the business intact, and that more than 40 potential bids had been received by the February 3 deadline for formal offers.

Elders agent Greg Smith is handling the sales of the company’s four Western Australian groves, located in Preston Valley, Avon Valley, Twin Brooks and Dandaragan. The combined properties comprise 1,800 hectares of olive plantations with an average age of 6.5 years, and include modern processing facilities and over 10GB of water licences.

The value of the entire offering is said to be around $20 million, excluding the operating business, and Smith said

PRIC

For full details of the Melbourne and New York programs go to www.savantes.com, or contact Simon Field via simon@ BES olivebusiness.com or 0418329890.

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Extra Virgin Olive Oil Savantes is taking on Manattan!

After 12 years presenting its internationally renowned olive oil tasting programs in Europe, the UK, Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, Savantes is heading to New York for its first North American event.

Running from 26-28 September 2012, the program will take olive oils judged as the world’s best for tasting in Manhattan, providing a unique opportunity to taste exceptional new season oils from across the globe without the air miles.

Founded in 2001, Savantes is an independent organisation promoting excellence in the evaluation of extra virgin olive oils and their culinary use. The three-day program highlights the unique tastes of olive oils from all regions around the world.

All are selected for their excellent quality and are submitted by producers by invitation only.

The presentations are designed to give guidance to relatively inexperienced tasters and provide experienced tasters with a

the properties are available to be purchased as a whole or separately.

“None of it’s been sold yet. We are selling the properties and the processing plant, and people can buy one, two or all,” Smith said.

“The business per se is probably also for sale; the brands can probably be negotiated for. If someone is after the brand, I’ve not been led to believe it’s not available to purchase.

“We’re selling them by expressions of interest, so I’m telling all potential purchasers that whatever you want to buy, put in an expression of interest.”

Smith said he was receiving “a few” enquiries, mainly from Asian investors or people with Asian business connections.

Olivegrower contacted Korda Mentha to confirm this information, however at time of print had received no response.

8 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

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Quality Promise

Quality Promise

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Australian oils shine at first Olive Japan EVOO Competition The Olive Japan 2012 International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition was a successful event for Australian producers, who took 10 of the 96 accolades awarded.

Run in conjunction with the Olive Oil Sommelier Association of Japan (OSAJ), this was the inaugural Olive Japan event and also the first international EVOO competition in Japan. The awards were determined by a panel of 12 judges from across the globe, including Spain, Italy, Turkey, Israel, the US, Japan and Australia – represented by Australian Olive Association CEO and producer Lisa Rowntree.

The competition was well supported, with 140 entries coming from 16 countries, including both Australia and New Zealand.

Three levels of merit were awarded: Premier, Gold and Silver.

Of the five coveted Premier awards, Spanish producers took three, and the US and Australia gained one each. Western Australian producer Forest Edge Farm was our winning representative in this elite category, the win no doubt heralding a much higher future profile for the small family-owned operation.

A total of 32 Gold Medals were awarded, with six going to Australian producers. Four of the 59 Silver Medals also went home to Australia, along with one to New Zealand.

Premium winners Anne and Jim Price said they were ‘pretty happy’ with their award – although not caught completely unawares.

“We were very pleased but, to be honest, not over-the-top surprised,” Jim said.

“The AOA had already awarded this oil Gold and Marco Oreggio had given it 90/100 in the Flos Olei guide – and it’s damn good oil.

“But as a very small producer it’s nice to get recognition, both here and from the national organisation. And with the competition being in April, the Northern Hemisphere oils were also six months younger than ours, so it was great to know that the shelf life is good.”

The win is also a ‘great leap forward’ for their business, and has already presented potential opportunities.

“I work on a deep water drill ship in Japan, so couldn’t go to the competition, but before I’d left to come home I’d already had someone arrange to meet me at the airport wanting to be our agent in Japan,” Jim said.

“So while it’s not a confirmed market, it’s definitely a foot in the door, and we’re excited about the possibilities.

“I’d definitely encourage others to enter these competitions, both to know where their oils sit and in commercial terms. It’s hard work selling olive oil in Australia and with our grove soon reaching full maturity, we’re keen to establish an export market to take the larger capacity we’re expecting.

“Hopefully this win will help us achieve that.”

Australian/New Zealand results Premier Forest Edge Farm – Forest Edge Farm Olive Oil Gold Camilo Enterprises – Max’s Blend Rylestone Olive Press – Codgegong Boundary Bend - Cobram Estate Hojiblanca Boundary Bend – Picual Warrick Groves – Warrick Groves Olive Oil Longridge Estate – Longridge Olives Classic Blend Silver Camilo Enterprises – Ligurian style Broken Hill Gourmet Products Co-Op Ltd – Town Grove EVOO Wilson Family Olives – Olive O’Or EVOO York Olive Oil Co – York EVOO Rangihoua Estate - Rangihoua Estate EVOO

South West Olive Association EVOO Competition Registration and entries are now open for the South West Olive Association’s fourth annual Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition.

Judging will take place on or about 6 October, with a team of experienced judges assessing entries using the AOA 20-point olive oil sensory scoring system. An awards presentation dinner will be held at a time and date to be confirmed. Details will be announced in Friday Olive Extracts at a later date.

Judging categories are: Class 1(a), Single Estate Grown - Multiple varieties; Production 25-200L Class 1(b), Single Estate Grown – Single variety; Production 25-200L

Class 2(a), Single Estate Grown – Multiple varieties; Production over 200L Class 2(b), Single Estate Grown – Single variety; Production over 200L Class 3, Multi Estate Grown – Production over 200L Class 4, Flavoured Oils – Production over 200L Cost of entries is $60 for SWOA members and $75 for nonmembers.

For registration and entry forms contact David Burt on 0407 192 474 or email davidburt@westnet.com.au. Expressions of interest are due by 31 August and entries close on 17 September.

For all your processing and general equipment needs, see the new 2012 Olive Industry Directory – your comprehensive guide to industry suppliers.

10 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

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Contact: Marjorie Ware and Warrick Philpott

WA: Mirco Brothers Machinery, 26 Salpietro Street, PO Box 1430, Bibra Lake, WA 6163. Phone 08 94346011, Fax 08 94346911, mirco@mirco.com.au. Contact: Peter Mirco, peter@mirco.com.au

NZ: Wine & Beverage Systems Ltd., 60 Wharf Road, PO Box 45032, Te Atatu Peninsula, Auckland 0651. Phone 09 834 2709, Fax 09 834 2413. Contacts: David Betts, d.betts@wbsystems.co.nz - Allister Missen, a.missen@wbsystems.co.nz

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Harvest outlook

In this edition, our annual round-up of the harvest outlook around Australia and New Zealand looks at what’s happening this season in Victoria, South Australia and Tasmania.

South Australia Unfortunately, there’s no good news among South Australian growers. While most were expecting a low yield year, poor fruit set has seen crops down by at least 50% for the majority of growers. Many have no crop to harvest at all.

Finnis Soula and Jim George’s Fleurieu Olive Grove is a prime example, with a minimal harvest across all varieties this year.

“The harvest is extremely poor right across South Australia, and we won’t do more than 10-15% of what we did last year,” Jim said.

“It’s as low this year as it was good last year. We did 18-20 hours a day, seven days a week, last year and this year we’ll do 90% less.”

While the causes of low cropping levels obviously vary from region to region, Jim says he believes the long, large harvest in 2010 is behind this year’s disappointing results.

“With the heavy load last year and the season being extremely late, the trees simply did not have enough time to regain strength and reproduce this year,” he said.

“The fruit took a long time to mature last year because of the tremendous amount, and people were still harvesting in AugustSeptember. That is really late, and meant that they were still pruning and feeding way after they should have been, so the trees didn’t have time to regain any strength.

“This is what we call the freezing of the budding, when the tree needs 5-6 weeks of time to re-bud in cold weather, and the poor trees just didn’t have the time to do that.”

Jim said most growers in the region are in the same boat this year.

“Some growers have got a little bit of fruit but for most it’s just not worth taking it off the trees. So it’s going to be a really low season,” he said – before kicking into the philosophical mode shown by so many olive growers in a bad year.

“But saying that, we expect a really good one next year. On the logic, I expect them to do a lot better after a year off.”

Coonalpyn Justin Brown runs Coonalpyn Olives in the state’s south-east, a 219ha grove comprising multiple oil varieties. He’s had a bad run too this season, with his promising crop sustaining heavy losses due to disease.

“We’ve had issues with anthracnose, and we’re down in volume and down in quality,” he said.

“We thought fruit set was pretty good and we thought the crop was going to be pretty good. In fact, we had a reasonable crop but it’s been ruined over the last couple of weeks.”

Brown said variety has a lot to do with it.

“We have a lot of Barnea trees and when we first started it was fine but now there’s a lot of Anthracnose around. It comes in throughout the ripening, especially when it gets quite ripe, and Barnea is more susceptible than many other varieties.”

As far as timing is concerned, Brown said things were pretty much as usual, with harvest looking to last for six to eight weeks from the beginning of May to the end of June. But it’s a shame that’s the only thing that went as expected.

KADINA FINNISS COONALPYN “It was an okay season. We had a mild summer and it was good for growing,” he said.

“We’ve halved our costs for fertilizer and water, so had savings in diesel etc, all as part of a deliberate strategy for a viable harvest this year – but you just can’t predict when this disease will come in.”

Kadina Fran and Bruno Goryan had a one-word description for their crop this year – nothing.

The Goryans have been growing olives on their property north of Kadina since 1999 and, after several years without decent rainfall, say they may not continue as Goryan Olive Estate for much longer. They’re certainly not doing much this year.

“We’ve got no water and it’s very expensive to irrigate, so we decided that we wouldn’t,” Bruno said.

“But that’s not the only reason we don’t have any olives this year. The other people that we usually harvest for don’t have any either, and they do irrigate.”

The outcome was unfortunately predictable, with poor flowering and fruit set across the region.

“I think it was too hot up here and it just didn’t happen – and that’s right across the Southern Flinders and all varieties. My neighbour has 10 different varieties and he’s got maybe just a tonne,” Bruno said.

“It’s also been a very dry season since then. I harvested for someone in Two Wells last week who usually gets seven-eight tonnes and this year they only got about half of that - and they irrigate.”

But Goryan said the weather has actually been a moot point, since no-one got much of a fruit set.

“We are also contracted mechanical olive harvesters and generally visit 15 to 20 other growers a season. This season we’re only doing three, and those have minimal fruit to harvest,” he said.

“Last year we had a fair bit but that was unusual, and overall it’s just getting harder up here. So we’ve decided that we won’t go ahead with our olives, we’ll just let it go. It’s not worth it.

“We’re going to harvest this year and after that we don’t know.”

12 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

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Harvest outlook

Victoria It’s a mixed bag across Victoria this year, with growers reporting crops ranging from bumper to downright terrible.

Molesworth It’s a little of both for The Heathy Olive Partnership, at Molesworth in north-central Victoria: their oil crop is looking positive but they have no table fruit to harvest this season.

Owner James Macauley said flowering and fruit set were “a bit disappointing”, especially through the table olive varieties, to the extent where there is simply not enough to harvest.

“It’s a bit perplexing, and we’re still trying to work out why,” he said.

“But we had a bumper crop last year, also had a really hot period in late November–early December, so that could explain it.”

Macauley said the growing season has seen a substantial amount of rain and a lot of storms but luckily nothing damaging to the grove, resulting in an average crop of oil olives.

“The oil olives have actually done well this year,” he said.

“We’ve just started harvesting the Nevadillo, which is fairly normal timing for us. We usually head off mid-May and go through to the end of July with that. The Frantoio is still really green, and we usually pick that around the middle of June. We’re quite a cold climate here so harvest a bit later.”

As far as quality is concerned, Macauley said they ended up with 15.5% oil extraction from the Nevadillo but that “it’s very good”.

“We’ll probably put it in the national show. We didn’t last year but I’m thinking this year we might,” he said.

But while that’s put a smile on his face, Macauley said they’ve still got potential frost damage to the Frantoio crop to contend with.

“It’s absolutely positively a worry,” he said.

“Where we’ve planted we get a lot of protective fogs but our neighbours are pretty worried, and we’re getting phone calls from people wanting to harvest now. The weather’s indicating it could be like last year, when whole groves were wiped out by black frosts.

“We haven’t had issues with frost previously because we’ve had quite mild winters and were picking relatively early – we’d start processing as early as April even. But now with the colder weather it’s getting later and later, and that makes a big difference in terms of frost risk.”

lot, as there just wasn’t much flowering. It was also our off year, so we were expecting to be down – just not this much.”

Vodusek said they started harvesting their oil crop at the end of May, a little later than usual, and that while the harvest normally goes for six weeks, this year it’ll run for around two.

And they’re not alone. Rich Glen Estate has its own processing plant and also processes for other growers in the region – but far fewer this year.

“We won’t be doing many other people this year,” Hannah said.

“We usually do about half a dozen other places, this year maybe two or three – and they’re all in the same boat as us. It’s pretty much the same right across the region.”

It’s even worse, unfortunately, on the table olive side of things.

“We didn’t get any Manzanillos this year and we usually get a huge crop,” Hannah said, “and very little Kalamata either. So we’ll have hardly any table olives this year.

“It’s a growing part of our business and we’ve got a good client base already, selling from our little farm shop attached to the house. We plan to build that side of it, and already have plans approved to build a bigger shop, so I don’t know what this year will do in that respect.”

But despite it all, the Voduseks are philosophical.

“We’ve even had rain in the last couple of days, just as we started harvesting - but nothing more can really make it any worse,” Hannah said.

“If conditions are right next year we’ll get another good crop, so hopefully we’ll be right.”

Yarrawonga There’s an echo of that situation at Rich Glen Estate, at Yarrawanga in the state’s far north-east, although things aren’t as bright on the oil front.

The family-owned and run operation comprises 350 acres carrying 30,000 trees, and all have disappointed this season.

Flowering and fruit set was “next to nothing”, meaning weather hasn’t actually been that much of an influence on the ensuing crop.

“We’ve had a really bad season and are looking at achieving about 20% of our normal harvest,” Hannah Vodusek said.

“There are lots of reasons, we think: the floods last summer, it was a really short summer, bad humidity, good rain but too much. And we knew from the outset we weren’t going to have a

Main Ridge It couldn’t be more different for David and Lisa Lindholm of Leaping Goat Olive Oil, at Main Ridge on the Mornington Peninsula.

A “fantastic” flowering and fruit set has seen an abundance of fruit in their grove this year, with the final harvested crop almost double the past average.

“Our Nevadillos (affectionately known as “Never Fruitos) were better than past years yet still significantly less productive than the other varieties, which were dripping with fruit. And the fruit itself was bigger and better – no disease, just lovely clean, healthy olives,” Lisa said.

This was surprising, David said, following a “tough 18 months averaging 100-120mm rain/month.

YARRAWONGA MOLESWORTH MAIN RIDGE

14 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

Harvest outlook

“While this was conducive to vigorous tree growth, many local growers have had big problems with fungal disease.

We’ve had issues with peacock spot in the past but the AOA’s work getting Amistar approved for olives was a godsend, with our trees and fruit being far better as a result,” he said.

The rain also caused other issues, particularly when it came time to harvest.

“Being on heavy red clay and a steep slope, it made spraying challenging and mechanical harvesting impossible, so we relied on mechanical rakes and friends and family,” David said.

“It was a six-day harvest and we got a total of six tonnes from our 225 Corregiola, 90 Verdale and 135 Frantoio.”

The Lindholms harvested several weeks earlier than other years, based on both fruit readiness and press availability, and finished harvesting on May 20.

“While it was a pretty wet season, we had some nice sun in between to ripen the crop. We were also fortunate to have a dry harvest,” Lisa said.

“In the end the Verdale was a little over-ripe and the Corregiola a little under-ripe, while the Frantoio was about right.”

The fruit was pressed within 48 hours at Cape Schanck Olive Estate, and the Lindholms say the resulting oil has convinced them they got the timing right.

“We’re really excited. We’ve won silver in the national awards for the last two years and we feel we’ve got another really good oil this year,” David said.

“I tasted the oil as it came off the press and it has mild to moderate bitterness with lots of green flavours and late pepper.

Hopefully another winner.”

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Exeter Peter and Dianne Henning own Lentara Olives at Exeter north of Launceston and say their crop “doesn’t look too bad”.

“It’s much the same as in the last few years. It’s been a normal season and we haven’t had any real problems,” Peter said.

“It hasn’t been as wet as last year, so it’ll be interesting to see how the taste compares. We had heaps of rain last year and I didn’t have to irrigate at all, whereas this year we’ve had to irrigate throughout the summer. The last couple of months have been dry but it’s raining now.”

The Hennings plan to start harvesting at the beginning of June, which is when they normally start.

“Frantoio and Corregiolo are our main varietals and they tend to be changing to pink just now at the end of May,” Peter said.

“Since the end of April it’s been pretty cold but that probably won’t slow down the ripening because we’re slow ripening anyway. And we’ll start picking in early June irrespective of what’s happening because of the frost risk.

“We’ve already had one frost, which luckily wasn’t severe because it was windy, but I think people in lower locations would have already been afflicted with frost. We normally start to get frost towards the end of May, so it could happen any time from now on.”

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Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 15 FEL0956_TO&PJ.indd 1

7/6/12 12:46:29 PM

Harvest outlook

The other risk to their crop is feathered.

“We’re also getting a fair bit of bird damage, especially parrots,” Peter said.

“We don’t do anything. We’ve tried various things in the past but now think they can have their fair share – although I think they’ve taken more this year than previously.”

Quantity is expected to be around the usual seven to eight tonnes from their 600 trees and the health of the grove and fruit means they’re predicting quality to be good.

“We used to have a lot of Manzanillo and found we got a fair bit of scale, and since we took them out the scale has pretty well disappeared. We’ve got a little bit now but nothing like we used to, and I haven’t sprayed at all for scale this year,” Peter said.

“Every year the character is slightly different but it’s looking good for this year. If we can keep the frost and birds away we’ll be right.”

ABBOTSHAM EXETER

NEW NORFOLK

Abbotsham Cradle Coast Olives’ Carol O’Neil is smiling. Not so much about the results in her own grove but at the outlook for the region as a whole for this harvest - and about the quality.

“Flowering and fruit set on our own grove was not so good, as we had lots of wind and rain around that time. We’ve got a funny draught that blows through,” Carol said.

“But other people around the north coast had fabulous fruit set. And the fruit we’ve got is absolutely beautiful, we just haven’t got much.”

O’Neil says growers on the island’s north-west coast have had an ideal season, with conditions throughout just made for olives.

“The weather has been perfect for olive ripening. We had a very pleasant summer, and late as well, we’ve had good rains and for the last month we haven’t had a lot of rain – ideal conditions really,” she said.

“And the season has come in really early. Usually we start crushing around the middle of May but we started on May 1.

Other growers’ fruit is earlier too: one will be finishing harvest this year at the same time they were starting last year. In fact, by the end of June everyone will be finished and last year people were still going in August.”

The early season is also seeing much riper fruit and a higher oil yield.

“Yield is right up this year. In Tassie if we get 8% we’re happy but this year some people have been getting 18%. Everyone’s got at least 10%, because the fruit’s so much riper this year and the rain stayed away,” O’Neil said.

All this is translating to a very positive processing experience.

“We’ve had a dream run down in the pressing room. We’re smiling all the time at the moment – and have been for the last three weeks. Everyone’s happy,” she said.

“We’re pressing some beautiful oils so I think the quality will be good. It’s milder this year, as it’s so much riper - usually in Tasmania our fruit doesn’t get really ripe as we have to pick before the frost. So it isn’t as robust but it is beautiful.”

New Norfolk Bob and Anne Ashbolt have had a similar season in their grove, Ashbolt Farm, at New Norfolk in the state’s south-east – except in their region most growers are in the same boat.

“We had a very low fruit set due to rains at flowering, so we’re hoping we get an extraordinary yield and quality from it to compensate for the lower tonnage,” Anne said.

“We press for others and almost everyone’s saying the same thing, that yields are considerably less this year, although one or two have reported much higher yields than in previous years.”

While the start was disappointing, however, Anne says the season since has been “amazing”.

“It was quite simply the ‘kindest’ year we have had in 12 years of olive growing, with wonderful gentle summer rains nicely interspersed with a couple of very heavy falls,” she said.

“Since our olives were first planted we seem to have broken every record known to man - 60-100 year records, broken repeatedly - long term driest, wettest, coldest, earliest frost, hottest, windiest, and every combination of everything in between.”

This year the winds have not been as harsh, however, and, while they’ve had some exceptionally hot days, the accompanying higher overnight temperatures have kept warmth in the grove well into the end of autumn. It’s an ideal lead-up to harvest, allowing the fruit to ripen longer than usual – and will hopefully result in higher yields.

“You don’t want to go too early or you don’t get the yield to pay for the harvest, but if you go too late you might lose it,” Anne said.

“Especially here - it’s a valley and we’re really exposed. We usually have really nasty frosts mid-June and we’ve even had frosts in early May before. The only thing we really fear is the frost.”

Luckily the Ashbolts didn’t have long to wait, with their own harvest beginning in late May and contract processing a week later. And despite an untimely downpour just beforehand, the early news was good: their first batch of oil was tasted and declared ‘heavenly’.

“We also pressed several batches for others, which also seemed really good,” Anne said.

“So with one batch down I am, as usual, finding harvest terrifying and exhilarating in equal amounts. Will the season beat us - or can we drag the olives in before any icy wrath � wraps its little fingers around our precious little bundles?”

16 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

Bottling, labelling & packaging – equipment at Expo 2011

Overprinting provides label flexibility The Australian Standard for olive oil is a great step forward for our industry but brings with it new requirements when it comes to labelling, particularly with regard to ‘best before’ dates. Great Engineering has a solution in the Datamax MClass300dpi thermal transfer printer, which managing director Peter O’Brien says is ideal for applying variable information to bottles and packaging labels.

“This labelling technology is new to the olive industry and provides over-printing of labels with best before dates and other information via a thermal ribbon,” he said.

“It’s a waterproof, scuff resistant material that transfers from the ribbon, under heat and pressure, onto the surface of the label. Pre-printed labels are put inside the thermal transfer printer and overprinted with whatever elements you want – text or graphics.

“They’re also barcode compliant, so you can apply a best before date onto the label and a barcode at the same time.”

O’Brien said the technology has been used by the wine industry for many years, adding the alcohol content, vintage and other variables to generic labels rather than reprinting each year.

“It’s now the same for the olive oil industry: if they put on a best before date at the printers then they’re going to have to use all those labels before that date,” he said.

“So a more practical way of doing it is to overprint – and the cost involved is very economical. For example, we use 100mm wide ribbon to overprint a 75mm label; the ribbon is 360m long and we sell that at $35. So with typical wine back and front labels the cost would be 1-2 cents and for typical olive oil labels, which are very narrow, the overprinting cost would be under 1 cent.

“That’s a lot cheaper than the set up costs for new labels.”

O’Brien said the process also provides for any new legislation and labelling issues, and is ideal for exporters.

“If the government decides to come out with a law that you have to have on your label that your product isn’t genetically modified, then you’re ready – and you don’t need new labels,” he said.

“And when it comes to exporting, most countries have different requirements for label information, which would normally mean printing different labels for each export destination. This allows you to specify the information on each batch but still use the one original label.”

Another feature of the Datamax is computer interactivity, with information transferred directly from computer to printer to label.

“You can give your importer or exporter the printing space dimensions, get them to provide the information required to conform to their labelling laws and send it back to you as a high-quality jpeg file. You just drop that straight into the thermal printer and have your labels ready immediately,” O’Brien said.

“You’re saving time and there’s no risk of a mix-up in translation, or the costs association with translation.

There’s nothing worse than having your goods arrive overseas and get left on the docks because the labels don’t conform. This system ensures that won’t happen, as you can let the importer take the responsibility there.”

More information: www.greatengineering.com.

Great Engineering’s Peter O’Brien said new label over-printing technology solves many of the issues raised by new ‘best before’ and export labelling regulations.

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Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 17

Bottling, labelling & packaging – equipment at Expo 2011

Increased labelling efficiency In business terms, time is money, and efficiency is an important element of viable production. So when it comes to the often tedious task of labelling, it doesn’t get much better than the Arvinoil ET1000H automatic labeller.

Arvinoil’s Angelo Pepe took the new machine to the 2011 expo to show off its abilities, and said it virtually does the labelling job itself.

“You need to manually load the bottle but other than that, the machine handles the whole process. You don’t do anything,” he said.

“All the other machines available are only semi-automatic, so the operator is still holding and pressing and adjusting things. This one even does the lining up perfectly by itself.”

The ET1000H is versatile too, capable of handling cylindrical, conical and square oil bottles with either screwcap or “t” cork cap closures, cylindrical and conical bottles with crown seals, and any other cylindrical, conical or square containers within a diameter range of 30-150mm and a height range of 25-300mm.

It can apply front and back labels, positioning on any point of the container, with the parameters for label placement easily set from a keyboard and display. Options are also available for applying additional labels in a second pass and for a pneumatic stamping unit to print lot numbers

and/or best before dates onto existing labels.

Pepe says the ET1000H makes labelling a one-person operation, and much faster than with other equipment.

“The machine can handle up to 900 bottles an hour, depending on how fast you work yourself,” he said.

“It’s also bench-sized and weighs only 30kg, so it’s easily handled and portable, and needs only a singlephase 240V power source.

“It’s ideal for small producers, and would also be a good option for a co-operative of growers to share.

And at around $8500, it’s an affordable way to dramatically increase your labelling efficiency.”

Arvinoil’s Angelo Pepe.

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18 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

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Bottling, labelling & packaging

Traffic-light labelling Labelling is becoming increasingly important in encouraging better food choices. While ‘fat taxes’ and other regulatory measures are impacting on eating habits, it appears better labelling and marketing practices can have an even greater effect. And it seems that encouraging healthy eating is good for the retail bottom-line too, with a number of retailers introducing their own informative labelling systems. Here’s some of the latest news and research on the topic.

A new study by researchers at Massachusetts General Hospital has found that colour-coded ‘traffic light’ labelling helps consumers make healthier food choices.

Using the customer base of a large hospital cafeteria as subjects, researchers placed red, yellow and green labels on foods and beverages on offer, the colours relating directly to the ‘healthiness’ of each item. Signs displayed around the cafeteria then encouraged diners to choose green-labelled items in preference, yellow-labelled items less frequently, and to consider alternative choices to items carrying red labels.

Sales figures three months later showed impressive results, with an overall increase of 4.5% in green items sold, along with 9.2% decrease in red items. Drinks were the most affected product range, with green items sold up by 9.6% and red items down by a massive 16.5%.

The researchers then added another element into the study, changing the placement of various items on shelves and in refrigerators so that green items were at eye level. Red item sales reduced by a further 4.9% and red drink items by a further 11.4%, while green drink item sales increased by a further 4%.

The researchers concluded that “reading and understanding nutrition labels is a complex task” and that “labelling foods and beverages with a simple red, yellow and green colour scheme to indicate their relative healthiness led patrons to purchase more of the healthy and fewer of the unhealthy items.

“This invervention was so successful because it was simple and easy to understand quickly. The labelling did not require any special skills and could be easily interpreted when a customer was in a rush.”

Among a display of fats and oils, EVOO would have to be a rare ‘green’ labeled item, so this could be a great help in marketing our healthful product - Ed.

Walmart Great For You logo supports olive oil US budget retail giant Walmart has introduced a new logo highlighting healthy choices among its own-brand products.

Run on-shelf and front-of-pack, the Great For You logo only appears on products meeting specific nutritional standards.

These are based on the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the latest nutritional science from government agencies.

Initial qualification is for foods where increased consumption is encouraged – fruits, vegetables, whole grains, low-fat dairy, nuts and seeds, and lean meats. Stage two involves a consideration of total, trans and saturated fats, sodium and added sugars.

Part of Walmart’s healthier food initiative, the company says the Great For You icon was developed to help customers instantly identify food options that are better for them. It believes that the logo system demonstrates that tackling the issue of better nutritional choices does not have to be difficult or complicated.

The Walmart system differs from the other labelling systems currently being introduced across the US mainly in that it highlights healthy food choices, while the others focus on calories and nutrients to discourage (saturated fat, sugar, sodium).

Of particular relevance to our industry are the approval criteria: • fats/oils and nuts/seeds (and spreads) with less than 15% of total calories from saturated fat, and • no trans fats and no ‘partially hydrogenated’ fats or oils.

Walmart’s Great Value brand of olive oil was one of only two products in the Oil and Shortening product category granted the logo, the other being pure canola oil.

Source: www.foodnavigator-usa.com.

Wouldn’t it be great if Coles and Woolworths did something similar – after they sorted their mislabeling issues out, of course!

20 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

Bottling, labelling & packaging

Export alert – new US health labelling system For producers exporting to the US, or planning to do so, here’s the low-down on the recently-introduced Facts Up Front nutrition-based labelling system. Although voluntary, the system is already being adopted by companies making around 70% of food and beverage products, so if you want to be competitive in the US market you should consider adding the icon to your label.

About the program Facts Up Front is a nutrient-based labelling system that summarizes nutrition information from the Nutrition Facts Panel, found on the back or side of packages, in a simple and easy-to-use format on the front of food and beverage packages.

The system was instigated by the Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) and the Food Marketing Institute (FMA), who say it aims to provide consumers with the information needed to make healthy food choices when shopping, and is aligned with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the US Department of Agriculture (USDA) guidelines and regulations.

Participating food and beverage companies will place an icon on the front of their products displaying calories, saturated fat, sodium and sugar per serving. Additional icons may provide information about other nutrients essential for a healthy diet.

Consumers in the US began to see the Facts Up Front icon on products in late 2011, with its marketplace presence increasing throughout 2012.

An initiative of the food and beverage industry, the program is based on nutrition science and research regarding consumer messaging about nutrition. Its design also allows for flexibility to accommodate new learnings and changes to US federal Dietary Guidelines.

Administration (FDA), as it does not meet all requirements of current Institute of Medicine recommendations for frontof-pack nutrition labelling, the Facts Up Front program has received written support from the FDA. The agency has said it believes that if the icons are uniformly adopted by industry, the program “may contribute to the FDA’s public health goals”.

The agency intends to use ‘enforcement discretion’ with companies using the Facts Up Front icons, providing leniency in regard to adherence to other regulations where the icons are appropriately used. This relates particularly to disclosure of polyunsaturated and monounsaturated fats in the Nutrition Facts panel, and disclosure of total fats and other elements, as long the Facts Up Front icons are present front-of-pack and no other ‘nutrients to encourage’ are included.

The FDA is monitoring the program and says it will assess over time “whether the Nutrition Keys (the former name for Facts Up Front) labelling program is being applied in a manner than promotes public health and is useful to consumers.”

For more information go to: www.factsupfront.org.

The icon The Facts Up Front icon is designed to allow consumers to quickly see, understand and use key nutrient information while shopping. The basic Facts Up Front label lists calories per serving and information about saturated fat, sodium and sugar – nutrients the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) recommend limiting. These four nutrient facts are always presented together as a consistent set.

Manufacturers may also include information on two ‘nutrients to encourage’. These nutrients – potassium, fibre, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, vitamin D, calcium and iron – are underconsumed and are needed to build a ‘nutrient-dense’ diet, according to the DGA. These can only be placed on a package when a product contains more than 10% of the daily value per serving of the nutrient and meets the FDA requirements for a ‘good source’ nutrient content claim.

Consumer education The companies behind Facts Up Front are funding a $50 million education campaign to drive consumer awareness and use of the icon. The campaign will utilise television, radio, print and digital advertising, as well as in-store marketing and public relations initiatives, and will target primary household shoppers.

FDA support While not officially endorsed by the US Food & Drug Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 21

Packaging – technology

Longer shelf life with clean air One of the focus topics of the Anuga FoodTec 2012 trade fair, held in Germany in March, was the use of aseptic methods and clean room technology. Event organisers Koelnmesse GmbH provided Olivegrower with an update on the latest systems and technology relevant to olive and olive oil producers.

As consumers, and to an even greater extent the grocery trade, demand food products that keep as long as possible, producers are finding themselves compelled to develop new preservation techniques with minimal adverse effects on their products.

Clean room technology is one of the responses to this demand.

Industrial clean rooms originated in the USA in the 1960s.

During this period, it was recognized that space flight requires highly integrated microelectronic circuitry that is only adequately reliable when manufactured in extremely clean conditions.

Today, all microchips are manufactured in environments with low particle counts. As a general-purpose technology, clean rooms are now being used in other sectors too, including the food industry.

The clean room — a bell jar for foods Clean rooms are always constructed according to the same principle. The clean room is entered by passing through a ‘dirty’ zone, the ‘grey area’, and then through individual air locks which lead to the core - the actual clean room portion with the highest level of cleanliness.

A clean production environment is guaranteed by a cleverly devised system for routing the air flow, an arrangement based on high-quality submicron particulate air filters that trap the smallest particles and micro-organisms. These systems use special HEPA filters (high efficiency particulate air filters) that

filter out suspended particles only 0.5 micrometers in diameter.

By way of comparison, the average bacterium cell has a size of approximately two micrometers.

Not all clean rooms are the same, however. Clean rooms are defined by ISO clean room classes. The standard ISO 14644-1 defines how many particles of what size are allowed in a cubic metre of air. ISO Class 1 lays out the most stringent standards of air purity, and Class 9 defines the least stringent.

As long as there are no germs clinging to them, dust particles don’t represent any great danger in food production. Germ content is the primary factor that determines air cleanliness, and this is expressed by the number of colony-forming units (CFUs).

Which clean room class is needed depends on the product: the production environment for biscuits doesn’t have to be as hyperclean as that for semi-conductors, for example.

In the food industry, clean rooms are normally of ISO classes 5, 6, 7, or occasionally 8. For Class 5, for instance, each cubic meter of air must contain no more than 3,520 particles measuring 0.5 micrometers in diameter (3.5 particles per litre).

This represents a microbial contamination level of less than one germ per cubic metre of air, which can be considered practically germ-free.

Foods from the refrigerated section become less perishable By ruling out the possibility of germs, manufacturers remove from their production and packaging methods many factors

22 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

Packaging – technology

that would otherwise cause losses in quality or even premature spoilage of foods. Another benefit is that the foods can be transported or stored for longer periods of time, which gives producers more freedom and could allow them to export to new markets, for example.

Clean room technology is also the basis for the development of new products with improved properties with regard to freshness and preparation. The principle that applies here is: the less treatment the fresh products undergo, the more important it is to ensure that the production environment is as hygienic as possible.

Chilled foods are a good example. In contrast to tinned goods or frozen foods, these increasingly popular fresh food products from the refrigerated section keep no more than a few days or weeks. On the other hand, if the pasta specialties, salads, and potato dishes are produced and packaged in clean rooms under germ-free conditions, they can keep up to 50% longer.

Because of the high costs of large clean rooms, alternative clean room designs are gaining ground. There is a trend toward keeping clean rooms as small as possible in order to reduce the outlays for technical equipment and cut costs. Furthermore, smaller clean rooms entail proportionally lower risks of contamination. Ideally, therefore, clean room conditions would be in place only right at the point where food is processed. This trend is being addressed by ‘mini-environments’ or ‘flow boxes’ small, enclosed, clean room units, some of which are modular in design or even transportable.

Cold bottling in sterile environments When it comes to miniaturising clean rooms, the manufacturers of beverage bottling equipment have moved into the big leagues. More and more non-carbonated beverages and sensitive products that are in the only weakly acidic pH range because they lack carbonic acid are now being bottled in germ-free environments. Thanks to rapidly growing demand for these alcohol-free beverages, bottlers have for several years been making increased use of a technique ultimately based on clean room technology: aseptic cold bottling.

In the early days of this technique, the whole bottling system was located in a clean room, but today only a minimum of clean room technology is needed. Only the path taken by the sanitized bottles lies inside an insulator, a sealed chamber systematically isolated from the ambient air. In modern bottling plants, only 10% of the original clean room space is located in this critical insulated area. Here as well, HEPA filters are used to remove germs from the air fed into the insulator, which results in a sterile atmosphere inside.

The clean room area around the filling and sealing machines is implemented as an ISO Class 5 clean room - germ-free in other words. Furthermore, a room-in-room concept, in which a second, isolated Class 6 clean room is installed, provides protection against re-contamination from the ambient air and the grey zone. Room-in-room designs of this sort not only lead to lower investment and operating costs, they also frequently guarantee a higher level of cleanliness than large-area solutions.

Regardless of which solution is used, and whether large or small, clean rooms are likely to become increasingly important for food producers who want to safeguard their competitiveness and expand their market share.

For further information on Anuga FoodTec go to www. anugafoodtec.com.

Warning on olive oil storage in tins AOA CEO Lisa Rowntree has issued a warning to producers regarding the use of tins for olive oil packaging and storage, following reports of resulting product taint.

“It has been bought to my attention that standard ‘unlined’ cans or tins may be unsuitable for long term oil storage,” Rowntree said.

“The complaint came from a consumer who purchased a can of olive oil from a reputable Australian olive oil producer who they’ve purchased from before. Their concern was that the can of oil did not taste right from the beginning; that led them to open the can, where they discovered that there was a very significant rust problem.

“The company replaced the product and the can manufacturer has been made away of the problem.

“We recommend that growers intending to use tins or cans should ensure they purchase ones lined with food grade plastic. Alternatively, they should consider including a warning on the packaging such as “Not suitable for long-term storage”, “We recommend decanting oil after opening” or “We recommend decanting, as both can and oil may be subject to oxidisation after opening”.

Packaging suppliers Irwin &Sheehan provide products to a number of olive oil producers, and general manager Paul Madden agrees with Rowntree’s comments regarding the need to use lined tins when packaging olive oil.

“From a can-maker’s point of view, we would always recommend that the can has an epoxy lining, for olive oils in particular,” he said.

“The epoxy coating protects against oxidisation, and will provide both product integrity and an extended life, so we believe the extra cost per can is money well spent.

On a four litre can it’s around 20-22 cents more, reducing proportionally as the can size goes down, which then ensures the long-term quality of your product.”

Madden said the best scenario is to use epoxy coated cans in combination with nitrogen purging.

“It’s the oxygen in the can that causes oxidation and deterioration, so some producers nitrogen-purge their canisters. Once you put contents in a can – regardless of what it is – ideally you have to remove the oxygen to prevent erosion and get an extended life,” he said.

“So you fill the can with olive oil and then give it a squirt of nitrogen. Being heavier than oxygen, the nitrogen pushes the oxygen out of the can and you’re left with a sterile environment.

“The majority of olive oil producers do not purge, however, so our recommendation is certainly to use a can with an epoxy lining.”

Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 23

Processing – industry comment

Filtered or unfiltered olive oil?

By Luigi Caricato - www.luigicaricato.net

There is too much confusion about extra virgin olive oils around. Everybody pontificates about every aspect of oil production or quality. This is even worse when the issue is a technical aspect such as oil clarity.

So how much is the clearness of oil important? This is something that consumers like a lot, since it is typically associated with cleanness. As a matter of fact, just after pressing the oil shows intrusions of water and solid particles: all these should be removed by proper decantation. This should be done before bottling the new oil. Nowadays a more practical approach is the filtering of oil.

Caricato says filtration is now a necessity for producers, from both a consumer perspective and for a longer shelf life.

Even if traditionalists don’t like this, filtering is nowadays a necessity for producers who want to sell their products on the market in bottles. This operation was absolutely normal and necessary in the past, since one of the main targets of the producers was to grant the oil a long shelf life.

On the other side, when the oil was sold on tap - i.e. when it was still possible to sell oils in unlabelled and unsealed bottles oil was naturally decanted, without any active filtration.

Nowadays, even the smallest farms sell their oils packaged, hence nobody disdains filtration. This is just to be safer. Clean oil lasts longer.

The detractors of this practice, in particular in the last years, claim that it impoverishes oil of its most noble components, e.g. biophenols. This component, poorly known by the public, comprises a vast class of molecules that, given their antioxidant properties, make extra virgin olive oil a very healthy product.

They also provide much of the flavour component for the nose and the mouth.

This is true, of course. But after filtration, oil biophenols do not disappear completely. As a matter of fact, just 20% of them is lost by filtration. According to the detractors of this technique losing these components is pointless: and their point of view cannot be underestimated.

In this regard, there are different schools. However, it is fair to recognise that on this topic the world of research hasn’t been immobile, and experiments have been carried out on different possible solutions to this problem. The researchers’ work was aimed at minimising the loss of these active and precious compounds, and nowadays some interesting alternatives to traditional filtration procedures are available.

It is not worth describing the technicalities of the process here, but it is important to stress that it is now possible to filter oil with inert gases. This innovation preserves the quality of the product.

This is a technology developed in Italy by the Department of food Science of the University of Bologna. The results are surprisingly good, since not only does this kind of filtration preserve oil from biophenol loss, but it also protects the product from oxidation.

The message is: do not hesitate about new technologies. Let’s get rid of old fears. It is important to look ahead since quality is in continuous evolution. Most of the oxygen dissolved in oil is now substituted by inert gases. Hence, oil we can buy nowadays is endowed with a longer life expectation. There is no reason now to refuse oil filtration anymore.

The history of oil goes on, everyday.

Tradition, without innovation, is useless. It is pointless to keep an old idea claiming that in the deposit of the bottle there is a plethora of different particles. Oil filtration is good for the final product.

This article was reproduced with permission from Teatro Naturale International - www.teatronaturale.com.

24 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

Processing

Processing protocol for organic production Few organic olive producers have access to dedicated and certified organic processing facilities, so it’s imperative to ensure the organic status of oil during processing at a facility handling conventionally grown fruit. Certifying body NASAA has put together an easy to follow protocol, which is an ideal reference for both producers and processors.

The prime requirement in an olive pressing plant wishing to process organic olives is to maintain a suitably isolated product flow from non-organic or conventional olives and oil.

Receival Organic olives should be received into an area set apart from other olives awaiting crushing, and kept clean and free of contamination.

Bins should be clearly marked ‘organic’ and the name of the grower and their certification number must be visible on both the container and accompanying transport documentation.

A copy of the current certification certificate must be provided with the first receival from each grower for the season and held on file at the processing plant.

Transport documentation must include the name, address, certification level and number of bins or weight of olives in each delivery.

Cleaning An effective clean down must occur before processing organic olives (refer to the NASAA Organic Standard at www. nasaa.com.au/publications).

There must be no trace of residual olives, paste or oil in the processing stream. If a visual inspection of the whole processing stream is not possible, a plug of organic olives will have to pass through the entire process. The size of the plug will be determined by NASAA assessment of the capacity and type of processing plant involved.

It will be more economical to thoroughly wash some types of machinery like malaxers. Press type extraction units will need dedicated mats for organic olive oil production. Variations to this requirement are possible if NASAA inspects the cleaning procedure and approves it prior to organic processing.

In the event that detergents or solvents are used to clean machinery, these must be thoroughly removed by hot water washing prior to organic processing, and a plug may be required.

Processing Organic olive oil processing must only take place after a complete clean down of the entire processing stream. All storage units, both at the start and end of the line, are to be included in the clean down. Storage of organic oil will need dedicated tanks, as it is unlikely that a total clean of temporary storage tanks will be possible. It is generally easier to arrange for alternative short term storage for organic oil.

Filtering and decanting will require the equipment to be cleaned and a new filter medium fitted prior to use for organic oil.

Bottling plants will require the same cleaning procedures above, and may require a flush with organic oil at the commencement of bottling. This flush must not be sold as organic, and the size will be determined by the filling line capacity.

Records The processing plant must maintain records of all receipts of organic olives by grower name, weight and number of bins, certification number and level.

Records must be kept detailing run commencement and finishing times, quantities crushed and oil output. Temperatures of heating water must also be recorded. The size/duration and mode of plug disposal must be recorded, as should any waste occurring during processing.

Cleaning records must detail time and type of cleaning, person responsible, and must be signed and dated.

Storage records must include the identification of storage vessel, quantities stored and length of time held.

Bottling records must include time of bottling, record of clean down, number of units produced, and quantity of oil wasted.

General Processors of organic olive oil must be familiar with the general requirements of the current NASAA Organic Standard, and all the requirements of the Standards must be met.

All labelling must be approved by NASAA prior to use; it is recommended that this occur at artwork stage.

If certified as a co-processor, the crushing of organic olives is restricted to the client who is the prime contractor, unless prior approval is granted by NASAA. Crushing outside this contracted arrangement may cause loss of certification.

A processor may seek certification in their own right, and may then crush for any organic grower.

This information was provided by NASAA - The National Association for Sustainable Agriculture, Australia. For more information regarding organic certification go to www.nasaa. com.au or email: enquiries@nasaa.com.au.

AQUARIUS

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www.axisindustrial.co.nz

Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 25

Organics

Organic cosmetics and the value of certification More olive producers are looking at cosmetics as a way of value adding their businesses. Here’s a practical overview of certification for organic cosmetics from information provided by certifying body Australian Certified Organic (ACO).

The market for organic cosmetics has continued to grow in recent years and, combined with an increased preference for ‘natural’ products, provides a great opportunity for olive producers. But customers both at home and overseas also increasingly want to know more about where and how the products they buy are produced.

The growing range of choices means they are becoming more discerning in their decision making, and the challenge for producers lies in the ability to prove their authenticity and quality, and make theirs the product of choice.

Undoubtedly one of the best ways is certification by an accredited certification organisation, which provides consumers with the guarantee that the products they are buying are true to label and meet the highest standards for organic ingredients and production.

What constitutes ‘organic’ cosmetics?

Australian Certified Organic cosmetics and skincare products contain more than 95% certified organic ingredients. The remaining small amount (max 5%) of non-organic ingredients must be naturally produced plant products and/or natural, non toxic preservatives/additives.

Certifying standards can vary To make consumers’ choices even more difficult, there are a number of organic certifiers world-wide and each one certifies cosmetic products to a different set of standards.

For example, European standards allow a product to claim ‘certified organic’ even when the product contains just 10% organic ingredients – along with synthetic chemicals.

Unfortunately, there is no regulation in Australia to stop such products coming into Australia.

The standards which ACO certifies to are recognised as some of the most stringent organic standards for cosmetics internationally.

Australian certified organic products are also not tested on animals and certified organic ingredients are sourced from organic farms, contributing to animal welfare and the environment.

• Made with certified organic ingredients Products bearing the ACO logo with this statement, whether on food or cosmetic products, contain a minimum of 95% certified organic ingredients, with all ingredients naturally sourced and derived.

These ACO certified cosmetics are accepted by most major trading countries without any additional requirements, including EU, US and Asian countries.

• More than 70% less than 95% organic ingredient content Another natural, and often less expensive, alternative for consumers are products which are ‘made with certified organic ingredients’. While these products cannot be certified organic under ACO standards, they contain a minimum of 70% certified organic ingredients and the remaining ingredients are also derived from natural sources.

This information was provided by Australian Certified Organic (ACO), a subsidiary of the Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA) Group, one of the major certifying bodies for Australian organic producers. For more information go to:www.aco.net.au.

US organic sales grow by 9.5% Driven by consumer choice, the US organic industry grew by 9.5% in 2011 to reach US$31.5 billion in sales.

Organic food sales represented 4.2% of all US food sales, up from 4% in 2010, the Organic Trade Association’s 2012 Organic Industry Survey has revealed.

Organic product sales growth of 9.5% continued to outpace total sales of comparable conventionally-produced food and non-food items, which experienced 4.7% growth.

The organic food and beverage sector was valued at $29.22 billion, while the organic non-food sector reached $2.2 billion. Fruit and vegetables contributed close to 50% of the $2.5 billion of sales

growth in 2011. The fastest-growing sector was the meat, fish and poultry category, posting 13% growth over 2010 sales, while remaining the smallest organic category.

OTA executive director and CEO Christine Bushway said the US organic sector continues to show steady and healthy growth. Consumers are increasingly engaged and discerning when they shop, making decisions based on their values and awareness about health and environmental concerns.

“For consumers, it matters whether foods are genetically engineered or produced using practices that are good for their families,” Bushway said.

26 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

“Price is still an issue, but with the wide availability of private label products and venues for organic products, they have many shopping choices and a variety of products from which to choose.

“With 94% of organic operations nationwide planning to maintain or increase employment in 2012, the organic sector will continue to fuel jobs, rural economies and consumer choice.”

The 2010 Impacts of the US Organic Foods Industry on the US Economy report shows the organic food industry generated more than 500,000 American jobs in 2010. The report, produced for OTA by Washington, DC-based M+R Strategic Services, showed that for

Organics

Certification: protecting consumers and genuine producers from fraud A certified organic product sold in Australia must by law display a certification symbol and number such as the ACO Bud logo. When consumers see one of these symbols they can be sure that the product complies with the National Standard for Organic and Biodynamic Produce (AS6000). This is currently enforced on behalf of the Australian Quarantine and Inspection Service (AQIS).

The organic certification program was set up in the 1980s to ensure that what is sold as certified organic is indeed just that.

There are eight certifying bodies in Australia, all of which have their own standards. However, all these standards must as a minimum meet the baseline AQIS National Standard.

Why is there a need for organic certification?

In today’s global marketplace, unless the produce is being consumed in a local community where consumers have trusting relationships with farmers, there is nothing to stop a farmer selling conventional produce labelled as organic, thus misleading the consumer.

Certification of organic products: • Protects consumers against deception and fraud in the marketplace • Protects producers of genuine organic produce against misrepresentation of conventional produce as being organic • Ensures that all stages of production, processing and marketing are subject to inspection and meet the predetermined requirements of the organic standard.

How long does organic certification take?

Farmers require a minimum of three years of organic management before they can sell their produce as certified organic. After a successful initial audit when a soil sample is tested for chemical residues, the farm then goes into a 12-month period known as pre-certification. During this period the farmer has to farm in accordance with the organic standard but cannot sell or label food as organic.

After a year of pre-certification there is another audit and a transitionary certificate is issued: in-conversion to organic.

every $1 billion in retail sales of organic products, 21,000 more jobs were created throughout the economy.

In addition, the use of organicallyproduced ingredients resulted in the creation of 21% more jobs than would have been generated if the food industry had relied solely on conventional farms for its ingredients.

The study compared labour and input use on a wide range of conventional and organic farms, and attributed the jobcreation differences largely to greater labour intensity on organic farms, smaller farm size, the need for an organic certification industry and reliance on smaller retail outlets.

After 24 months of being in-conversion, and upon completion of two more audits, the farmer then has the right to label, sell and market their produce as certified organic.

Non-farming businesses The process for non-farming businesses is equally rigorous but not as lengthy. Processors and retailers usually conduct their business in a confined space such as a factory or shop. Therefore the scheme focuses on matters such as which cleaning agents are used and making sure raw ingredients are from sources that comply with the organic standards.

For more information about organic certification and to download a free copy of the BFA’s Australian Organic Standard (AOS) visit www.bfa.com.au.

This story has been contributed by the Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA) Group, a non-profit organic representative group providing education, promotion and training for the organic industry. Its subsidiary companies Australian Certified Organic (ACO - www.aco.net.au) and Organic Growers of Australia (OGA - www.organicgrowers.org.au) Small Producers’ Program certify the majority of certified organic operations in Australia.

Australian Organic Market Report 2012 Back home, the biennial Australian Organic Market Report 2012 is due out in late 2012. Commissioned by Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA), and supported by Horticulture Australia Ltd (HAL), this year’s report will include first-time-available data from the fiveyearly ABS (Australian Bureau of Statistics) Agricultural Census. Other features will be an expanded consumer and marketing chapter, contributed once again by respected market research firm Mobium Group, and independently researched data from Swinburne University from farm gate right through the production chain to retail level.

Key results from the 2010 report showed Australian organic retail sales having passed the $1 billion mark, and more than six out of every 10 Australian households buying organic on occasion up from 40% in 2008.

For information or to pre-order your copy of the report, contact media@bfa. com.au or 07 3350 5716 ext 233.

This article was contributed by the Biological Farmers of Australia (BFA) Group, a non-profit organic representative group providing education, promotion and training for the organic industry. For more information go to: www.bfa.com.au.

Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 27

Health

EFSA opinion on polyphenol health claims Following a request from the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) Panel on Dietetic Products, Nutrition and Allergies has published scientific opinion on a list of health claims subject to the new EC regulations. Among them is opinion in relation to polyphenols in olives and their beneficial effects. Here’s an edited version: The claims The opinions refer to claims for, specifically: protection of LDL particles from oxidative damage, maintenance of normal blood HDL-cholesterol concentrations, maintenance of normal blood pressure, “anti-inflammatory properties”, “contributes to the upper respiratory tract health”, “can help to maintain a normal function of gastrointestinal tract”, and “contributes to body defences against external agents”. Note: in all cases the target population is assumed to be the general population.

The constituent “The food constituent which is the subject of the health claims is polyphenols (hydroxytyrosol and oleuropein complex) in olive (olive fruit, olive mill waste waters or olive oil, Olea europaea L. extract and leaf).

The Panel considers that polyphenols in olive standardised by their content of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives are sufficiently characterised in relation to the claimed effects.

• Protection of LDL particles from oxidative damage - approved The claimed effects are “reduces oxidative stress”, “antioxidant properties”, “lipid metabolism”, “antioxidant activity, they protect body cells and LDL from oxidative damages”, and “antioxidant properties”.

In the context of the proposed wordings, the Panel assumes that the claimed effects refer to the protection of low-density lipoproteins (LDL) particles from oxidative damage. The Panel considers that protection of LDL particles from oxidative damage may be a beneficial physiological effect.

In weighing the evidence, the Panel took into account that a well conducted and powered study, and two smallerscale studies, showed a dose-dependent and significant effect of olive oil polyphenol consumption (for three weeks) on appropriate markers of LDL peroxidation (oxLDL), that these results were supported by one short-term and one acute study, and by supportive markers of LDL peroxidation (conjugated dienes, ex vivo resistance of LDL to oxidation) going in the same direction, and that evidence for a biologically plausible mechanism by which olive oil polyphenols could exert the claimed effect has been provided.

On the basis of the data presented, the Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has been established between the consumption of olive oil polyphenols and protection of LDL particles from oxidative damage.

The Panel considers that in order to bear the claim, 5 mg of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives in olive oil should be consumed daily. These amounts, if provided by moderate amounts of olive oil, can be easily consumed in the context of a balanced diet. The concentrations in some olive oils may be too

low to allow the consumption of this amount of polyphenols in the context of a balanced diet.

• “Lipid metabolism” - refused In the context of the proposed wording, the Panel assumes that the claimed effect refers to the maintenance of normal blood HDL-cholesterol concentrations. The Panel considers that maintenance of normal blood HDL-cholesterol concentrations (without increasing LDL-cholesterol concentrations) is a beneficial physiological effect.

In weighing the evidence, the Panel took into account that the results from the studies provided are inconsistent, and that no evidence for a biologically plausible mechanism by which olive oil polyphenols could exert the claimed effect has been provided.

On the basis of the data presented, the Panel concludes that the evidence provided is insufficient to establish a cause and effect relationship between the consumption olive oil polyphenols and maintenance of normal blood HDL-cholesterol concentrations.

• “Contributes to the maintenance of normal blood pressure” - refused The Panel considers that maintenance of normal blood pressure is a beneficial physiological effect.

No human studies were provided from which conclusions could be drawn for the scientific substantiation of the claimed effect.

On the basis of the data presented, the Panel concludes that a cause and effect relationship has not been established between the consumption of polyphenols in olive, standardised by the content of hydroxytyrosol and its derivatives, and maintenance of normal blood pressure.

• “A potent source of olive biophenols with “antiinflammatory properties” - refused In the context of the proposed wordings, the Panel considers that the claim refers to diseases such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis, in which a reduction of inflammation would be a therapeutic target for the treatment of the disease.

The Panel considers that the reduction of inflammation in the context of diseases such as osteoarthritis or rheumatoid arthritis is a therapeutic target for the treatment of the disease, and does not comply with the criteria laid down in Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006.

• “Contributes to the upper respiratory tract health” - refused The claimed effect is not sufficiently defined and no clarification has been provided by Member States. The Panel notes that different health outcomes were mentioned in the information provided, and that it was not possible to establish which specific effect is the target for the claim.

The Panel concludes that the claimed effect is general and non-specific, and does not refer to any specific health claim as required by Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006.

30 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

International news – health •

“Can help to maintain a normal function of gastrointestinal tract” - refused The claimed effect is not sufficiently defined and no clarification has been provided by Member States. The Panel notes that different health outcomes were mentioned in the information provided, and that it was not possible to establish which specific effect is the target for the claim.

The Panel concludes that the claimed effect is general and non-specific, and does not refer to any specific health claim as required by Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006.

• “Contributes to body defences against external agents” - refused The claimed effect is not sufficiently defined and no clarification has been provided by Member States. The Panel notes that different health outcomes were mentioned in the

information provided, and that it was not possible to establish which specific effect is the target for the claim.

The Panel concludes that the claimed effect is general and non-specific, and does not refer to any specific health claim as required by Regulation (EC) No 1924/2006.”

Source: www.efsa.europa.eu/en/efsajournal/doc/2033.pdf.

Update In mid-May the 222 EU health claims became law after obtaining final approval from the European Commission.

Companies now have six months (until December) to comply with the European Union article 13 general function health claims register.

Nutritionist champions olive oil over extracts The European Food Safety Authority (EFSA)’s approval of an antioxident health claim for olive oil has seen an increase in producers of olive oil extracts across the globe.

Many use the comparatively higher concentrations of the polyphenol hydroxytyrosol in their extracts as marketing tool, citing levels up to five times those found in olives and olive oil.

This set the team at the Olive Oil Times thinking - and pondering whether the heart health benefits recognised by the EFSA’s approval of the antioxidant claim are better gained by consuming olive extracts or olive oil.

They put the question to nutrition expert Professor John Finley, head of the National Program in Human Nutrition for the US Department of Agriculture, Agricultural Research Service.

Olive Oil Times: “If extracts deliver a higher dose of hydroxytyrosol without the fat content of olive oil, are they a better alternative for those who want the antioxidant benefit?

Finley: “Definitely not!

“People have evolved eating food and adapted to the quantities of bioactive compounds in food, so given a choice, obtaining nutrients and bioactives through food is always the best choice.

“We are learning that for many bioactives, it is not a single substance but the complex milieu in food that provides the benefit.

“An example is that fruits and vegetables are associated with decreased cancer risk, but two large

A spoonful of sugar may help the medicine go down, but nutrition expert Professor John Finley says the heart health benefits from olives are better obtained from the fruit or oil than from supplements or extracts.

studies that fed isolated beta-carotene (the substance from fruits and vegetables thought to be responsible for the decrease in cancer) actually increased lung cancer.

“Also, remember the old maxim of toxicology: “Dose makes the poison”.

This is especially true with nutrition as there are usually three subsets of biological effects: deficiency, where adding more of a substance improves health; adequacy, where adding more neither improves health nor has a deleterious effect; and toxicity, where adding more results in damage to health.

“Toxicity may not only manifest itself by causing direct harm, but

also by causing nutritional and/or metabolic imbalances that may then result in harm.

“Olive oil not only has hydroxytyrosol in it but a natural blend of other compounds, and humans evolved consuming foods like olive oil. They did not evolve consuming hydroxytyrosol, and thus we do not know how the body may react to high doses of purified hydroxytyrosol.

“Also keep in mind that many consumers are of the mindset that if “a little helps you, a lot may cure you of all ills.”

Source: www.oliveoiltimes.com.

Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 31

International news

Converting olive waste to energy – a win-win solution We all know olives are good for you, with the health benefits of both oil and table olives well recognised and documented. But good for the environment? They are now, thanks to Israeli company Olivebar Ltd, which transforms olive press waste into environmentally-friendly, renewable energy sources.

Olivebar is a biomass fuel company producing recycled energy products from high grade biomass – predominantly olive pomace but also grape mark and various woods and grasses. It uses only organic materials and a meagre amount of energy in its production process, achieving a minimal carbon footprint in its products.

Just as importantly, the process removes and recycles waste which would otherwise cause damage to the environment via ground water contamination and soil degradation. And talk about value-adding for your olive grove!

The company was founded by Avi Lorber, who also develops its products. Lorber had no prior connection to the olive industry but, having sold his bakery business and on the lookout for a new venture, he noted the large quantities of olive pomace simply dumped in valleys and open spaces while travelling in Israel’s north.

“Growing up as a religious child, I learned that our forefathers addressed the issue of olive pomace 2,000 years ago. So I started experimenting with the pomace, aiming to create a modern-day substitute to wood for home heating,” Lorber said.

32 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

International news

Olivebar products Bulk pomace Olivebar’s bulk pomace is used by industrial plants, including electricity power generators, as a large-scale energy source. It is dried in the sun using almost no fossil energy. To reduce production carbon emissions even further, Olivebar operates in several sites, reducing transportation of material between olive mills, plants and clients.

The use of olive residue for energy generation contributes to reduction of greenhouse gases via the biomass’s carbon neutrality, as the carbon emitted during burning originated from the atmosphere during the plant’s growth.

Olivebar heating logs The heating log is Olivebar’s prime invention, with patents pending in several countries.

The logs provide a cleaner and more effective energy source for wood stoves, containing more energy than wood, and burning longer and cleaner the very dry material means the log burns very efficiently, emitting non-visible smoke.

“The people closest today to the Biblical way of life are the Israeli Arabs. On one weekend all the men in one village, infamous for stealing wood for heating, bought all of my stock. That’s when I knew I was onto something.”

Lorber has continued to develop new products and now runs the company with CEO Raanan Boral, whose 20-year career previously encompassed both the Ministry of Environment and the Society for Protection of Nature in Israel. Like Lorber, his work at Olivebar is much more than just a job.

“I had been searching for a small environmental company for quite a while and accidently learned about Olivebar. It took me less than a minute to understand that this was it,” Boral said.

“So the two of us manage the company together, and we complement one another: Avi is responsible for experimenting with materials and production but he doesn’t do it scientifically. It’s that which enables him to think completely out of the box - and challenges me with the task of providing the scientific basis for his developments, as well as developing the business.”

In a nutshell, Olivebar takes olive waste, dries it and compresses it into rolls containing 1.5 times the energy value of wood. Specifically designed for use in wood-burning ovens and stoves, the residue left behind can then be safely used as fertiliser in home gardens.

“It’s a totally green product, all natural, without any glues or chemicals,” said Boral.

“And that’s what people are looking for these days. It was once more economical to buy heating oil, then people went over to wood, but now we don’t want to cut down forests so they’re turning to natural alternatives like ours.”

The Olivebar guys are incredibly proud of their business,

The pomace is mixed with additional organic matter to improve burning performance, then pressed and sun-dried.

Drying material in the sun usually requires a large area, yet Olivebar’s technology enables them to dry 1.5 tonnes of material on just one square metre.

OliveBar ‘green’ charcoal Olivebar’s latest development is charcoal from olive pomace and pits. Production is via a continuous process, using the energy released from the raw material to feed the process, so requires only a small amount of start-up energy.

The process contributes to reduction of greenhouse gases via methane avoidance and results in a product which is easily stored, impervious to water or pest damage, easy to light and provides long, steady heat for cooking.

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Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 33

International news

especially the role they play in reducing Global Warming.

“Not only do we produce a recycled energy source, but also significantly reduce the emission of methane and other greenhouse gases that would otherwise be emitted if the material was left to rot or diverted to composting. As methane is a Greenhouse Gas 25 times stronger than Carbon Dioxide, this is Olivebar’s greatest environmental contribution,” Boral said.

“There is also a strong social commitment within our business, and we employ only people that have had no work for some time, providing them with self dignity, purpose and hope.

This, combined with the environmental contribution, gives us a tremendous sense of satisfaction.

“Olivebar is now experimenting with a variety of biomass forms, focusing on developing smart products, and we plan to expand worldwide with our � knowledge, experience and purpose.”

More information: www.olivebar.net.

… and in Spain too The Spanish are also in on the olive energy act – and have been for some time, in fact. Andalucia is home to the world’s first olive-powered electricity plant, established in 1995.

Like Olivebar’s operation, the plant turns olive residue into biomass which is then burned to generate electricity and heat.

The original plant currently produces enough green electricity for 27,000 households and there are now four more in the region, with others on the way.

Lucena olive producer José Santamaría is one of the green energy producers and is currently expanding the electricity plant on his family grove, aiming to generate enough power for the entire 50,000-population of Lucena.

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He describes himself as an environmental businessman – although he admits that at present his operations are only just breaking even – and has a ready market for his increased production in local power supply companies.

He also believes olive biomass is “the ideal solution”.

“By using (the olive residue) to produce green electricity, we have turned an environmental problem into an environmental solution,” he said.

Global conservation group WWF says biomass offers an advantage over renewable energy sources like wind and solar as it can be stored and used when needed, providing a constant, non-fluctuating supply of electricity.

A report from WWF and the European Biomass Association states that 15% of electricity in OECD free market countries – enough to supply 100 million homes – could come from biomass by 2020. Compared to traditional power stations, this could cut CO2 emissions by about 1,000 million tonnes each year, an amount equivalent to the combined annual emissions of Canada and Italy.

While this would assist industrialised countries to meet CO2 reduction commitments, the biomass industry remains largely underdeveloped, mainly due to lack of government support.

“Biomass has a huge role to play in delivering clean, sustainable energy for the future. The technology is there – the stumbling blocks are political and commercial,” says the WWF. The message is there – and so is the olive waste. A call to action for the Australian and New Zealand industries? – Ed. Source: www.theolivepress.es.

34 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

New Zealand

Fair Go

By Gayle Sheridan, Executive Officer Olives New Zealand

Did you see the Fair Go program on Wednesday, 16 May? It was an expose on supermarket ‘extra virgin olive oils’ - except more than half were not!

One of the main reasons New Zealanders buy extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is because of its health benefits – that Mediterranean diet, the ‘elixir of youth’. However, recent international studies have shown that the majority of imported European oils are not EVOO – 69% in the study by the University of California and 80% in the survey by Choice magazine in Australia. And if it is not extra virgin then it does not have the associated health benefits.

Fair Go reported on its own tests, based on 14 oils labelled ‘Extra Virgin Olive Oil’ from 14 different supermarkets – seven European, three Australian and four New Zealand oils. The oils went through a chemical analysis and sensory assessment to determine if they met the International Olive Council (IOC) standard for Extra Virgin status.

ALL of the European oils failed, including all having traces of rancidity!

The oils tested were: European - Olivani, Lupi, Lupi Organic, Homebrand, Pams, Filippo Berio and Borges.

Australian - Select, Cobram Estate, Red Island.

New Zealand - 100% Kiwi, Village Press, Delmaine, Peta Mathias by Village Press. (note that the Peta Mathias oil also failed the sensory assessment).

In an interview with Tom Mueller (author of Extra Virginity The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil), he suggested that oils are being dumped in New Zealand and Australia. His advice was to buy local, as some of the best olive oils come from New Zealand.

Kathryn Rich of the New Zealand Food and Grocery Council was interviewed and I thought she showed a real lack of understanding about the New Zealand industry. She and several others tried to cast aspersions on the Sensory Panel and the Australian laboratory used for the chemical analysis. Fair Go responded well to their statements.

The Fair Go program is another good reason to promote the red OliveMark, whereby consumers can be assured that the product is in fact 100% extra virgin olive oil and is packaged and labelled appropriately. It was disappointing that while Fair Go promoted buying locally-produced oils, there was no mention made of the OliveMark, nor did they acknowledge the assistance that Olives NZ provided in enabling the program to be put together.

In an online article by reporter Phil Vine, TVNZ provided additional information, including that all samples passed the standard IOC test for extra virgin olive oil, however two European brands - Lupi and Olivani - failed the more stringent Australian tests.

They also reported that the (New Zealand) sensory panel considered local brand 100% Kiwi as the best oil they sampled.

They confirmed that importers have challenged their chemical tests, saying they are not to the International Olive Council standard.

“They claim the sensory lab we used wasn’t IOC approved

and that Modern Olives does not have IOC accreditation. They are confident all their products are extra virgin,” Vine wrote.

“The Village Press says their bottles endorsed by Peta Mathias are also extra virgin and have met the Olives New Zealand standard. They say they, like the importers, have had no customer complaints.”

The Fair Go program can be viewed online at www.tvnz. co.nz/fair-go. Herald columnist (and EVOO producer) Paul Holmes also followed up with an article in the Herald on Saturday, 19 May - www.nzherald.co.nz/small-business/news.

The sensory panel considered local brand 100% Kiwi the best oil they sampled.

Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 35

New Zealand

New Zealand Olive Grove Census 2012 Olives New Zealand has released its long-awaited 2012 Olive Grove Census Report. Prepared by Executive Officer Gayle Sheridan, the report provides interesting comparisons to the 2008 survey.

Background The Grove Census was launched in December 2011 and emailed to all members and non-members on the Olives New Zealand database. Regional chairs also provided forms to non-ONZ regional members.

The survey aim is to develop a better understanding of the size and nature of the industry. It is intended to build on previous work and better inform the executive on actions needed to achieve the association’s goal of being the leading business organisation for the New Zealand olive industry. It will also enable the organisation to achieve greater credibility with government and other organisations in representing the interests of growers and other industry participants.

Privacy was guaranteed by assurance that information on individual businesses would not be revealed to other parties, other members or to the executive. Rather summary data would be produced.

This report is based on responses received as at May 2012. It is based on data provided and, where appropriate, comparisons to the 2008 Grower Survey have been included.

Response rate Of 200 survey forms sent out to 162 current members and 38 non-members,

responses were received from 116 current members and 15 non-members.

One Northland member responded on behalf of a consortium of 41 groves.

The average 70% member response rate varied from 50% in Central Otago to 100% in Northland. This compared with the 2008 survey result of 199 grove responses.

were in 2012 and included Nocholaro de Bellie in Bay of Plenty and Picual in Wairarapa. The largest number of trees were planted from 1999 to 2003, ranging between 31,000-49,000 in each year, with the highest figure of 48,936 in 2001.

Variety The 10 most planted cultivars are Frantoio, Leccino, Barnea, Manzanillio, Picual, Koroneiki, Kalamata, J5, Pendollino and Picholene - the same top ten varieties as in 2008 but in a slightly different order. Frantoio is the most planted cultivar in all regions except Canterbury – Barnea and Marlborough – Leccino. A complete list of all tree

Grove information Year planted The oldest grove reported was established in 1991 in Wairarapa and included Barnea, Frantoio, Leccino and Manzanillo. The most recent plantings

Figure 2: Total trees by region

Figure 7 Total Trees by Region

80000 70000

gure 7 Total Trees by Region 60000 50000

2012

40000

2008 30000 20000 10000 0 Frantoio

Leccino

Barnea

Manzanillo

Picual

Koroneiki

Figure Tenmost Mostplanted Plantedcultivars Cultivars Figure 51: Ten 36 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

Kalamata

J5

Pendollino

Picholene

New Zealand

45 40 35 30

<100

25

101-500

20

501-1000

15

1001-2000

10

2000-5000

5

>5000

0

Figure Figure 9 3: Grove GroveSize size by

by Number number by Region region

varieties and their numbers for 2012 and 2008 is provided as an appendix on the website document.

Total trees by region Hawkes Bay has the largest number of trees, followed by Auckland, Northland and Wairarapa. The most notable changes from 2008 figures were dramatic increases in Hawkes Bay (approx 25% to 45%) and Northland (approx 6% to 13%),

and decreases in Marlborough (approx 10% to 4%) and Bay of Plenty (approx 5% to 2%).

Grove size Grove size generally ranges from 5005000 trees, with commercial groves in excess of 5000 trees in Auckland, Hawkes Bay, Marlborough and Nelson (one each, Hawkes Bay three). Northland has by far the most groves with 52, followed

by Wairarapa 30, Hawke’s Bay 18 and Canterbury 16.

The majority of groves (43%) have 501-1,000 trees, followed by 22% with 101–500 and 21% with 1,001–2,000.

Irrigated Less than 40% of respondent groves are irrigated - 51 in 2012 compared with 110 (55%) in the 2008 survey. Regions where more than half the groves are

35 30 25 20

Total Responses 15 10

2012 Irrigated 2008 Irrigated

5 0

Figure 12Irrigated Irrigated Groves Figure 4: groves Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 37

New Zealand

currently irrigated are Canterbury (62%), Hawke’s Bay (53%) and Kapiti (59%). In 2008 Central Otago, Marlborough and Wairarapa also had more than 50% of groves irrigated.

Organic Less than 10% of respondent groves are now organic, with a total of 13 in 2012 compared with 44 (22%) in the 2008 survey.

Four regions show no organic groves in 2012, whereas all showed organic groves in 2008. Marlborough currently has the highest ratio with 60%.

Land contour Slightly more than half of the olive groves are located on flat land, with 30% on undulating and 18% on hilly land.

Harvest methods The most popular form of harvesting is using hand held harvesters (46%), only slightly ahead of machine harvesting (42%). Only 12% of respondents use hand harvesting and this may well be for table olives or very small groves.

Production type Of the 170 groves who responded, two are not yet harvesting.

Table olives as well as oil are harvested by 24 groves, in seven of the 11 regions - (in descending order) Hawkes Bay, Wairarapa, Canterbury, Auckland, Kapiti, Northland and Waiheke. No responses for table olive production were received for Bay of Plenty, Central Otago, Marlborough and Nelson.

Other outcomes The Grove Census also provided an opportunity to show members their information held on file. This resulted in many changes being notified, as well as provision of missing information, facilitating a valuable updating of current industry statistics.

Future It is planned to update the database annually with trees planted and removed. It would also be valuable to collect other information, for example on pests, problems, sprays used, weed control.

Responses continue to be received by Olives New Zealand and the organisation sends its thanks to all participants to date. The document is therefore a ‘work in progress’ and will continue to be updated as responses are received. Survey forms are welcome from any new participants.

The Grove Census Report can be downloaded in full from the Olives New Zealand website at: www.olivesnz.org.nz/membersnews/research/2012-olive-grove-census-report/

70 60 50 40

Hand 30

Hand Held

20

Mechanical

10 0

Figure 15Harvest Harvest Methods Figure 5: methods

Tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oils for Aspiring Judges Olives New Zealand has organised a training event entitled “Tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oils for Aspiring Judges”, being run to coincide with the national EVOO Awards in September.

An introductory course for people interested in judging or evaluating Extra Virgin Olive Oils, or people who just want to know more about tasting Extra Virgin Olive Oils, the event will be presented by Fernando Roman Martinez, head judge for 2012 New Zealand Extra Virgin Olive Oil Awards. A Doctor of Biological Science and specialist in oils and fats, Sr Martinez is also an internationally respected olive oil taster.

The program will include sensory evaluation, IOC standards for defects and positive attributes, guided tastings of oils from various countries, and judging based on the IOC Mario Solinas Judging Criteria.

The course will be held on Tuesday, 18 September from 9am-4pm at the Massey University Albany Campus, Auckland. Registrations close on 10 August.

More information and registration forms are available at the Olives New Zealand website: www.olivesnz.org.nz.

38 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

Talking points – marketing

Planning to market … marketing to plan!

Amanda Bailey

The Olive Centre

With this harvest season winding up it’s time to assess what product(s) will be available as ‘new season’. And do you have any surplus products from last season? You need to plan for ongoing sales of these too. So how do you prepare your marketing for the year ahead?

Again, I am aware that many of you will face challenges, with the primary challenge for many being lack of fruit this season. So what happens when you potentially have half of what was available last season (especially if all other growers in your region are in the same situation)?

In order to keep pushing your branding barrow forward in a steady and structured manner, you need to be assessing your marketing plan in relation to the current circumstances. Your plan needs to change all the time so it develops with both your production and your vision.

The type of marketing that can be achieved at this time may need a little more ‘outside of the box’ thinking compared to existing methods that have been reliable in the past.

What’s the plan?

A marketing plan doesn’t need to be a full-scale report. It could be a single page which you update and change on an ongoing basis. Think of it more as a growing document that you will use and refer to, as compared to some of the full scale reports involved with your business.

It is important to remember that marketing is not sales but it does define how to set you up for product sales. Marketing usually consists of the promotion and advertising your product in order to sell it. Essentially, marketing lets your customers know what you have for sale and why you exist.

What’s in it?

Sales, advertising and public relations are some of the essential components of marketing, and require special expertise to develop a focused effort.

To get started, a simple marketing plan could involve the four Ps … Product, Price, Promotion and Place: • Product: What you will have available for your customers?

Are the products you have on offer what your customers actually want?

• Price: Is your product value for money?

• Promotion: What is your message? How do you deliver that message?

• Place: How do you find your customers? And what channels will enable you up to target them effectively?

Cost Another important consideration is cost. Look at what your marketing costs you on an annual basis. Are there ways in which

you can fine-tune costs associated with marketing, and so be more efficient in talking to your targeted audience?

Marketing is an important element of any business, especially in a tough, competitive market like ours, but it’s essential to ensure that you make your hard-earned marketing money work smarter for you, not harder!

With so many products competing for a comparatively small customer base, it’s important to have a marketing place in place – and one that is practical, and structured to your individual business.

Co-ordinated marketing On a bit of a side note, I also believe that some marketing activities are better conducted as part of a co-ordinated industry approach, as this achieves greater marketing mileage for all involved. I’ll talk more on this strategy in a future column.

Think about it Hopefully, I’ve given you something to think about. Getting your product out there is an important part of your business but one that is often overlooked, especially at this time of year when we’re all so busy with harvesting and production.

I’d also like to invigorate discussion on the challenges producers have ahead of them this season in terms of marketing.

Sharing ideas and issues is a valuable tool at the best of time, and especially so at more difficult times like the olive industry is experiencing at the moment.

Please join me and your fellow growers in the discussion: post your comments via e-mail to Amanda@theolivecentre.com.au or through the blog page http://amandabaileyonolives.com.au/ wp/marketing/planning-to-market-marketing-to-plan/.

Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 39

Olive business

A comic approach to EVOO education and promotion When it comes to promoting olive oil consumption by children, Spain has clearly led the way. We’ve reported in past editions on extra virgin olive oils created and packaged specifically for children, and the use of popular children’s programs to promote olive oil’s health benefits.

Now they’ve turned to comics to get the message across, says a recent report in the Olive Oil Times, with cartoon characters Piqui the owl and Mandy the rabbit learning that olive oil is, in fact, a fruit juice.

The publication - Piqui and Mandy: The World of Olive Oils - is part of the ‘Know Your Oil’ project by CM Europa, a company providing services to the Spanish olive oil industry, and was used in schools as a teaching resource for upper primary level children.

Created by a chemist specialising in oils, it simplifies the processes involved in the production of olive oil by comparing and contrasting the method and end product to that of the more familiar orange juice.

Piqui and Mandy establish that both olives and oranges are fruits from which

natural juice can be extracted and that are beneficial for the health, and then learn about the nutritional benefits, different grades and uses of olive oil. The facts are explained by simple, colorful illustrations and concise statements using easy to understand language.

The comic was launched in schools in Martos, Jaén, the world’s largest olive oil producing region and its creators believe that “while the characters and bright illustrations should appeal to the younger generation, the cartoon will no doubt increase knowledge of olive oil in adults and children alike, through its simple language and an engaging format.”

Perhaps primary schools should be the focus of our next consumer campaign – Ed. … and they haven’t forgotten adults Meanwhile, the University of Jáen (Spain) is adding a new course on the Mediterranean diet to its academic program.

Aimed at promoting research and knowledge about the health-giving

diet, the course will develop an annual program of activities, conferences and workshops promoting the benefits of the Mediterranean diet. The university will also offer a Masters’ program, Cuisine and Nutrition: Mediterranean diet and Oil Tasting.

While the course is not based exclusively around extra virgin and virgin olive oils, it will promote the importance of quality olive oils, focusing heavily on training and innovation among restaurant management, chefs and staff.

The course has been named after Juan Salcedo, a pioneer of Jáen olive oil and founder of Juanito de Baeza, a restaurant focusing on local olive oil.

Source: www.oliveoiltimes.com Luckily, we’re already onto this one, with olive oil courses being run

by Victoria’s Swinburne University of Technology and the University of Western Australia – see the May-June 2011 edition of Olivegrower for more information.

Spanish EVOO school wins top award Another Spanish children’s education program has recently gained national recognition for its efforts. The Priego de Córdoba Olive Oil Tasting School for Children was awarded first prize in the 10th AEMO Awards on the spreading of the Olive Oil Culture 2012, presented by the Spanish Association of Municipalities of the Olive Tree (AEMO).

The school beat fellow winners the Olea Europea exposition and Ocon Mills to the top spot, awarded for “its great potential which affects positively the development of schoolchildren’s knowledge on the valuation of extra virgin olive oil”.

The jury also recognised the school’s aim of disseminating olive oil culture through future generations.

Source: www.oliveoiltimes.com.

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40 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

www.olivegrower.com.au

Olive business

Free online carbon tax calculator Energy Action, Australia’s leading independent energy management company, is providing a free online carbon tax calculator that can approximate the cost impact of the new scheme on the energy bills of Australian businesses.

Energy Action chairman Dr Ron Watts said the calculator will help alleviate confusion in the Australian marketplace about how the carbon tax will affect businesses.

“Energy Action’s online calculator enables businesses big and small to quickly understand how the scheme will influence them over a three-year period and what its impact will be on their most affected business cost – energy,” Watts said.

“This free online calculator is available for all companies, with the modelling allowing businesses to begin to more accurately predict cost changes derived from the carbon tax.”

The calculator was developed by a number of Australia’s leading energy specialists as a forecasting tool for business and is based on information outlined in the Federal Government’s climate change policy, Securing a Clean Energy Future.

Energy Action head of energy efficiency and sustainability Edward Hanna said there is a common misconception in the market that the tax will only affect Australia’s Top 500 companies.

“The reality is that Australia’s largest energy generators are within that group and will pass new costs down the line, eventually reaching consumers,” he said.

“The only way to beat the carbon tax is to emit less carbon in your operations. For all companies, understanding your cost exposure is the first step in understanding what investment you

should now be making to reduce your carbon footprint and energy expenditure.”

“Carbon pricing is coming and will influence the way Australians do business. Smart businesses will begin forecasting cost fluctuations and assessing energy minimisation strategies today.”

How it works The Energy Action Carbon Adjustment Calculator prompts businesses to enter their gas and electricity consumption, and length of billing period. From this information (readily available on energy bills) the calculator, using a set of listed assumptions, then approximates a business’ likely carbon expense for 2013, 2014 and 2015 energy bills.

Users of the calculator are encouraged to model the impact of increased and decreased energy usage, and then use this information to evaluate any investments in energy efficiency measures.

The company says the more bills a user can compile for an annual representation of their consumption, the more accurate the estimated costs will be.

No personal or business details are required or kept during the calculation process.

Access the free online calculator at www.energyaction.com.au.

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Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 41

Olive business

New ISO standard ensures safer food farming Safer food farming is the principal benefit targeted by a new ISO (International organisation for standardization) technical specification, the latest in the ISO 22000 series of standards for food safety management systems.

Farms are the first link in many supply chains that bring food to the kitchen table and the new ISO technical specification, ISO/TS 22002-3:2011, has been developed to ensure that farmers implement best practice in maintaining a hygienic environment and play their part in controlling food safety hazards in food chains.

ISO/TS 22002-3 is one of a series of support documents in the ISO 22000 series providing requirements for food safety prerequisite programs (PRPs). PRPs address the basic conditions and activities that are necessary for ensuring hygiene throughout the food chain during production, handling and provision of food safe for human consumption. ISO/TS 22002-3 specifies the requirements and guidelines for design, implementation and documentation of PRPs for farming.

“The chain from farm to fork may be a long one, even global in scale, involving many different participants,” said ISO team leader Dominique Berget.

“Therefore, it’s important to ensure food safety from the very first link, which is often the farm. ISO/TS 22002-3 provides state-of-art requirements and guidance for getting this right.

“It will be useful for all organizations, including individual farms or groups of farms, regardless of size or complexity, which are involved in the farming step of the food chain and wish to implement PRPs in accordance with ISO 22000:2005,

FOURTH ANNUAL SOUTH WEST

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

COMPETITION 2012 The Fourth annual Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition organised by the South West Olive Association is open for registration and entries.

An experienced team of judges will assess each entry in the following classes using the AOA 20 point Olive Oil Sensory Scoring System.

Class 1(a) Single Estate Grown.

Multiple varieties blended oils. Production 25-200 litres.

Class 1(b) Single Estate Grown.

Single variety. Production 25-200 litres.

Class 2(a) Single Estate Grown.

Multiple varieties blended oils. Production greater than 200 litres.

Class 2(b) Single Estate Grown.

Single variety. Production greater than 200 litres.

Class 3: Multi Estate Grown.

Production greater than 200 litres.

Class 4: Flavoured Oils.

Production greater than 25 litres Please register your interest by Friday 31st August Entries close at 1800hrs Monday 17th September Judging will take place on the 6th October and awards will be announced at a dinner hosted by the SWOA to be held on Saturday evening 20th October 2012 at the Emporium Bistro in Bridgetown WA.

For registration and entry forms please contact: David Burt: on 0407 192 474 e-mail: davidburt@westnet.com au Cost of entry: SWOA member: $60/entry non member: $75/entry

the standard that gives the basic requirements for food safety management.”

The new ISO is applicable to the farming of crops (including fruits and therefore olives), living farm animals and their products. All operations related to farming are included in the scope, from sorting, cleaning and packing of unprocessed products to on-farm feed manufacturing and transport within the farm.

The ISO said that while the document includes specific examples of PRPs, these are for guidance only, given the diverse nature of farming operations in terms of size, products, production methods, geographical and biological environment, related statutory and regulatory requirements etc. Each entity will therefore have its own individual need for PRPs at an appropriate level of intensity and suited to its specific operations.

For anyone involved in exporting, however, or those looking towards exporting into the future, this new international safety standard is undoubtedly an important one to adhere to.

References: ISO 22000:2005 - Food safety management systems; Requirements for any organization in the food chain ISO/TS 22002-3:2011 - Prerequisite programs on food safety Part 3: FarmingFood safety TC 34/SC 17 - Management systems for food safety For more information go to the ISO website www.iso.org.

New national business names register A new national business names registration service has replaced the state and territory services, meaning businesses now only need to register their name with a single national register. The new service is managed by the Australian Securities and Investments Commission (ASIC).

Most existing registered business names have been automatically transferred to the new register, so existing business name holders do not need to take any action.

Notification will continue to occur when renewals are due. A name registered in more than one state or territory now only requires one consolidated business name registration.

New businesses You can search ASIC’s register of business names, and register and pay for a business name online. In most cases registration will be confirmed straight away.

You will need to have an Australian Business Number (ABN). There is no cost involved and you can apply for one at www.abr.gov.au. A linked online ABN and national business names registration process is also available on the business name website.

Fees The new service provides options of registering or renewing a national business name at a cost of $30 for one year or $70 for three years. In most cases, this is a substantial reduction in the fees paid under the previous state/territory based-system.

For more information go to: www.asic.gov.au/businessnames.

42 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

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Olive business

New Norcia’s quality 145 years in the making There are many elements involved in producing top quality olive oil, and each step in the process is reflected in the final product. For the Benedictine Community of New Norcia, however, it’s the combination of ancient trees and a secret ‘blend’ of ripe and unripe olives, which has proven a winner.

44 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

Olive business

Late in 2010, the secret came out: Best in Show, awarded at the Perth Royal Show. It was official confirmation that the beautiful little grove in New Norcia, many of its trees approaching the age of 150, makes some pretty good olive oil – although the fact had been unofficially confirmed by anyone who had tasted it over many years.

The recognition was a long time coming for New Norcia’s olive oil, the story of which began not long after founders Dom Salvado and Dom Serra made settlement near WA’s Moore River.

Early efforts to establish an olive grove proved unsuccessful.

A letter from Dom Serra in 1847 refers to 3,000 trees planted the previous year but it is thought these trees did not survive.

Later references suggest Father Garrido brought olive trees with him on a ship from Cadiz in 1852. However it was not until 1866 that much of what is now referred to as the ‘old’ grove was established. It has been suggested by an olive expert that these trees were probably sourced from the first olive trees brought to Western Australia, in 1831.

The diaries of Bishop Salvado reveal interesting details of the early olive oil making process at New Norcia. In 1889 the oil was crushed using a stone from the flour mill, run on its side by a horse – the traditional method used in Spain. Production from that year was around 60 litres and by 1896 production was up to 200 litres – though some of this was of poor quality and destined to be used as soap.

A diary entry from March 14, 1899 refers to oil being sent to an exhibition in Coolgardie (outcome unknown).

The horse-driven method was used to crush olives until 1933.

For many years thereafter, a specialised motor-driven apparatus was used. Today, the crop is pressed at a facility in York, then returned to New Norcia for bottling.

It’s clear that, with the exception of the crushing process, not much has changed about New Norcia’s olive grove in the past 120-odd years. There are currently 609 olive trees in New Norcia’s ‘old’ (1866) and ‘juvenile’ (2001) groves, and another 50 or so scattered throughout town. All are harvested for oil.

Former head of grounds Gordon Smyth put the operation into perspective.

“It’s a very small grove, even by Western Australian standards,” Smyth said.

“We don’t irrigate or use fertiliser, we pick by hand and we work on a limited budget. We also rely heavily on volunteers for harvesting.”

There’s certainly no question that, compared to other olive operations around the country, New Norcia does things the old way. Which might have something to do with the quality of the oil.

In 2010, the oil was of a particularly high standard and drew comment from the processing company. It was a good sign, with better to come.

At the 2010 Perth Royal Show, New Norcia’s olive oil won three major awards and scored an impressive 19/20 from the judges. New Norcia’s oil claimed gold in its category and then proceeded to beat all 161 entrants at the show by winning Best WA Olive Oil and Best Olive Oil of Show.

“You can’t get better than that,” Smyth said, crediting the late Dom Paulino for passing on the knowledge needed to create the award winning oil.

“Dom Paulino was integral to the process. He was firmly in control of the grove, and he had a unique ability to pass on his knowledge quickly. He was a great teacher.”

There are many facets to the success of the New Norcia oil.

The taste owes to the high viscosity of the olives, their age, the clay soil and the olive type, WA Mission. The fact that WA

Mission has been donated to many other groves in Western Australia is confirmation of its quality.

Perhaps the most important factor determining the taste of the oil, however, is the olive ‘blend’ – the delicate balance of green and black olives. The exact mix is a secret: a combination devised by Dom Paulino and passed on to Smyth, who until recently proudly carried on Dom Paulino’s work.

Smyth also credited the efforts of his grounds team, and the many volunteers who help harvest the olives each year.

“It’s their enthusiasm that makes the grove a success. Without their help, the work simply could not be done,” he said.

“It is very much in the Benedictine spirit that these volunteers dedicate so much time and effort to the olive grove. The Perth Royal Show awards are as much theirs as New Norcia’s.”

Postscript: 2011-12 harvests Unfortunately, it was a completely different story for the 2011 harvest. New Norcia’s Lucy Nicholson says they had a bumper crop set but that a ‘vicious’ summer saw the fruit drop well before ripening.

“We had no rain for nine months and lost the entire crop. It’s a real shame, especially after the 2010 result,” she said.

“But that’s horticulture. And we’ve got a much better crop this year, so hopefully we’ll get a reasonable amount of oil.”

Grove manager Peter Grainger said that the quality of the 2012 oil was also predicted to be ‘quite good’, so no doubt there’ll be an entry or two in this year’s Perth Royal Show. We’ll update on any outcome later in the year.

Our thanks to the Benedictine Community of New Norcia for this article. For more information go to www.newnorcia. wa.edu.au.

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Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 45

Olives and health

Health round-up Continuing our regular round-up of the latest relevant health research from around the world, to keep you up to date and in the know…

Animal fat and cholesterol may increase gestational diabetes risk A pre-pregnancy diet high in animal fat and cholesterol could almost double the risk of pregnancy related diabetes, says new research.

While fatty acids are known to play a vital role in glucose homeostasis, studies on habitual dietary fat intakes and gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) risk are limited and provide conflicting findings. The new study sought to determined whether the total amount, and the type and source of pre-pregnancy dietary fats are related to risk of GDM. The study involved 13,475 women with single pregnancies in the Nurses’ Health Study II (1991-200), with 860 GDM cases reported within the participant group. The adjusted reproducible research (RR) of GDM was estimated for quintiles of total fat, specific fat, and the source of fat intakes by pooled

logistic regression.

The researchers found that higher animal fat and cholesterol intakes were significantly associated with increased GDM risk.

The substitution of 5% of energy from animal fat for an equal percentage of energy from carbohydrates was also associated with significantly increased risk of GDM. No significant associations were observed between dietary polyunsaturated fat, monounsaturated fat, or trans fat intakes and GDM risk.

They therefore concluded that higher pre-pregnancy intakes of animal fat and cholesterol are associated with elevated GDM risk.

Source: www.foodnavigator.com

ALA plus probiotics may boost health profile of breast milk Supplementing breast feeding mothers with alpha-linolenic acid (ALA) and select probiotics may enhance the fat content of the milk, and boost the immune benefits of breast-feeding, according to a new study from Finland.

Published in the European Journal of Nutrition, the combination of (in this case) canola oil-based food products and Lactobacillus rhamnosus GG and Bifidobacterium lactis Bb12 led to increases in the ALA and total omega-3 content of the breast milk, as well as higher levels of immune system modulating compounds.

The researchers say the results “suggest interaction between probiotics and fatty acids.”

The study involved 125 breastfeeding mothers, randomly assigned to receive the canola oil-enriched diet only, the canola diet plus probiotics or a control diet and no probiotics.

Breastmilk samples taken at birth and one month later revealed that both groups consuming the canola-enriched diet displayed increases in the proportion of ALA and total omega3s compared to the control group. GLA, the beneficial omega-6 fatty acid, was also higher in the probiotic group.

In terms of the immune factors in the breast milk, increases in a number of compounds were observed in both dietary intervention groups.

As olive oil contains up to 1.5% ALA, let’s promote a change to olive oil among pregnant and breast-feeding women – Ed. www.nutraingredients.com

Olive oil an alternative for pain relief Researchers at the University of Edinburgh have found taking more than the daily recommended dosage of a painkiller, even just a small amount more, can sometimes have fatal consequences. They found the adverse effects of taking even one or two tablets extra per day can build up quickly over time, especially with the common painkiller paracetamol.

Not surprisingly, there’s now a big push towards natural alternatives - foods containing natural anti-inflammatory ingredients, which work as well as, or better than, over-thecounter medicines. Extra-virgin olive oil is one of them.

“Studies at the University of Pennsylvania, and more recently in Australia, have shown that olive oil, particularly extra-virgin olive oil, is rich in a chemical called oleocanthal, a naturally occurring anti-inflammatory substance with very similar

properties to the drug ibuprofen,” according to Associate Professor Catherine Itsiopoulos, head of Dietetics and Human Nutrition at La Trobe University.

She recommends dosage of a tablespoon a day, good for: treating and preventing a scratchy throat; lowering the risk of heart disease and some cancers; and aiding in the maintenance of the body’s natural defence mechanisms - anti-microbial and anti-inflammatory effects, and normal clotting.

Research from the US has shown that two tablespoons of oleocanthal-rich oil has the same effect as 1/20th of the adult dose of ibuprofen.

Sources: www.heraldsun.com.au; www.express.co.uk

46 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

Olives and health

Olive oil and tomatoes may reduce impotence A daily dose of extra virgin olive oil combined with lycopene from tomatoes improved the sex lives of a group of Spanish men, says a report from the Madrid Urological Institute (MUI).

In a study involving 40 men aged 50+ with mild to moderate erectile dysfunction, half of those with mild problems reported improved erections after taking 20ml of organic EVOO with 8mg of tomato lycopene every day for three months.

MUI director Dr Juan Carlos Ruiz de la Roja said the science is simple. “Lycopene has been shown to have a vasodilatory effect due to the liberation of nitric oxide, which improves blood flow overall, including to the penis, thus improving erection.”

The antioxidant effect of lycopene in tomatoes also plays a

protective role in relation to prostate cancer, one of the most common cancers in men. The absorption of Lycopene into the blood is improved in the presence of oil - a key reason the EVOO was included.

Ruiz de la Roja said Aceiterol, a new EVOO/lycopene product, was used in the study. Its producer, Dieta Mediterránea Aceites y Vinagres (Mediterranean Diet Olive Oils and Vinegars), donated the Aceiterol but the study was privately funded by the institute.

Once again, research had confirmed the health benefits of the Mediterranean Diet, he said.

Source: www.oliveoiltimes.com

Olive oil may help prevent neurodegenerative diseases A study by the Barcelona Hospital Clinic suggests that high consumption of olive oil, along with other polyphenolrich foods, may improve cognitive function and prevent neurodegenerative diseases by helping to reverse oxidative damage in the aging process.

Authors of the study, recently published in The Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease, recommend consuming olive oil on a daily basis, nuts four to seven days per week and drinking two glasses of red wine daily for men and one for women. This ‘Mediterranean Diet’ style of eating appears to have positive effects on both brain function and cardiovascular health.

The study was carried out as part of the PREDIMED trial, a long-term nutritional intervention study assessing the Mediterranean diet in the primary prevention of cardiovascular diseases. The trial involved over 7,000 subjects aged 55-80 at high risk of cardiovascular disease.

This study included 447 participants, asymptomatic but at high cardiovascular risk and not following a specific diet.

Food intake and cardiovascular profile was assessed, and neuropsychological tests evaluated cognitive function. Urine polyphenol levels served as an objective biomarker of intake.

Results showed the consumption of EVOO was associated with better scores in verbal memory tests, while a higher intake of nuts and moderate wine consumption were found to have a positive effect on overall cognitive function.

The results suggest a Mediterranean style diet high in polyphenols may protect against the cognitive decline associated with age, and add to the growing evidence of the benefits of such a diet in an increasing number of pathologies.

conditions. Reducing the competition between omega-6 and omega-3-PUFAs can lead to an increased use and incorporation of beneficial omega-3-PUFAs. As dietary omega-9 monounsaturated fatty acids, such as oleic acid in olives, have been found to replace omega6 polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFAs) in several aspects of cell metabolism, it seems obvious that the ‘healthy oils’ recommended in the review should be olive oil.

Source: www.nutraingredients .com.

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Source: oliveoiltimes.com ...supported by new review on nutrient modification for Alzheimer’s prevention Meanwhile, another review has found that a diet with an appropriate ratio of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acids, rich in healthy oils and antioxidants, but low in cholesterol-containing foods, may be a beneficial component in the prevention of Alzheimer’s disease.

Over-consumption of omega-6 fatty acids compared with omega-3 intake has long been recognised as detrimental to health, and is most likely a contributing factor to many common

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Issue 85 • June/July 2012 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • 47

Products & services

New chemical drums improve grove safety and recycling Safety is one of the most important considerations for farmers working with chemicals. This was the driving force behind Dow AgroSciences’ new fivelitre drums, which are not only safer and easier to use but are also better for the environment.

The new package is progressively replacing the previous design - a generic one used industry wide – and has been specifically designed to be easier to use.

“Farmers gave us feedback that traditional drums are difficult to handle, pour and rinse thoroughly for recycling, so we responded with larger openings, bigger handles, and separated the handle from the chemical content for more effective rinsing” said Dow AgroSciences marketing specialist Jim Phimister.

Phimister said the major difference in the new packs is the much larger handle, making it easier for farmers to hold and pour the chemical without removing their safety gloves. ”The new packs are designed to reduce the potential for product to accidentally touch the skin,” he said.

“The larger opening allows the

product to flow more smoothly from the container, eliminating ‘glugging’ and hold ups. This more reliable, predictable flow helps reduce the chance of spillage.

“The new handle is also much stronger and is sealed from the contents, which makes the triple rinsing process more effective for recycling too.”

“Australians use thousands of these five-litre packs every year, so they need to be as environmentallyfriendly as possible. The new design was created in conjunction with New Zealand manufacturer Alto Plastics and uses 20% less plastic than the previous pack, so all-round they’re better for the environment.”

Dow AgroSciences is a member of the International Council of Chemical Association’s Responsible Care (R) initiative – a voluntary initiative within the global chemical industry to promote the safe handling of chemical products from inception in the research laboratory, through production, distribution, use and disposal.

“A key objective of the Responsible Care (R) charter is be responsive to the concerns of key stakeholders and

focus on effective management of chemicals along the value chain. These are quite significant changes for such a small, seemingly simple pack, and reflect our commitment to safe chemical management in Australia,” “We pride ourselves on offering confidence in a drum and that extends beyond the product itself to the application and disposal of that product” said Jim. The new packs really demonstrate our commitment to providing the best products for the farmer and for the environment,” said Jim. The new five-litre packs will be used for insecticides, fungicides, herbicides and adjuvants.

More information: www.dowagro. com/au

Silverlock Packaging Established in 1976, Silverlock Packaging supply retail and industrial packaging products and material handling solutions to a diverse range of industries across Australia.

The company prides itself on its market reputation for superior service and attention to detail, and is a Quality Assured Company compliant with the ISO900.2003 Standard.

National coverage Silverlock Packaging has external sales staff situated throughout Victoria, South Australia and Western Australia and, together with their central telesales operation, they can readily service the requirements of clients anywhere in Australia.

Packaging solutions Silverlock offers a constantly evolving product range, in line with international market trends and changes in technology. The outstanding depth of range and variation allows the delivery

of customer-specific solutions at a costeffective price.

Olive industry products Silverlock Packaging specialise in packaging for olives, olive oil and related products. Their range includes: • glass bottles from 50ml-500ml suitable for olive oil, with various cork or metal screw closure options available. Silverlock is a national O-I distributor and carries both local and Europeanmade bottles.

• glass jars from 50ml-2L in various shapes, including round and hexagonal, complete with metal twist lids.

• plastic PET olive oil bottles from 250ml–500ml with 31.5mm Olea screw caps to suit.

• tubs, crates and tanks ranging from 20L-10,000L. • pails from 750ml-25L. • barrells from 20L-200L.

48 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

Silverlock Packaging is also a national Tecpak Industry distributor.

Tecpak Industries specialise in food packaging products including tubs, bowls, dishes, and accessories for the food industry, ranging from 100ml-4L. All Tecpack containers come with a variety of lid options with differing levels of seal security, from the overlid (for use with membrane or foil) through to the highsecurity SAP plug-fit lid. All lids can be easily applied to containers by hand or machine.

Visit the product range at www.silverlock.com.au or call 1300 551 605 to speak to a friendly Silverlock representative.

your calendar of olive events

Jul

Aug

September 30-October 4 World Congress on Oils & Fats/29th ISF Congress – Nagasaki, Japan www.convention.co.jp

July 21 Australian Golden Olive Awards: final date for returns of Invitations to Participate – Victoria www.vicolives.com July 25-27 Extra Virgin Olive Oil Savantes Oil Tasting program – Melbourne. www.savantes.com August 4 Royal Melbourne Fine Food Awards: entries close; judging 23-25 August - Melbourne www.rasv.com.au

Oct

October 30-31 AOA National Conference & Expo/Awards Dinner – Adelaide www.australianolives.com.au

Nov

November 9-12 Korea Food Expo – Seoul, Korea www.koreafoodexpo.com November 25-26 Waiheke Olive Festival – Rangihoua Estate, Rocky Bay, New Zealand www.waihekeolivefestival.co.nz

August 27-28 Specialty Food & Drink Fair - Sydney http://www.specialityfoodanddrinkfair.com. au

Sep

September 10-13 Fine Food Australia - Melbourne www.finefood.com.au September 23-26 10th Euro Fed Lipid Congress - Cracow, Poland www.eurofedlipid.org/meetings/cracow

What’s on

November 27-29 Middle East Natural & Organic Product Expo (MENOPE) – Dubai, UAE www.naturalproductme.com

2013

To subscribe and for more information visit www.olivegrower.com.au

March 16 Olives New Zealand Conference 2013 – Auckland www.olivesnz.org.nz

To advertise in the marketplace, call our sales team on (08) 8369 9555 or email sales@olivegrower.com.au

Advertiser index Agromillora Australia..................................................................... 50 Axis Industrial................................................................................ 25 Costante Imports......................................................................41,50 Dorato........................................................................................... 52 Eclipse Enterprises Aust Pty Ltd..................................................5,7 Felco..............................................................................................15 HPS Australasia Pty Ltd................................................................24 Hunter Bottling Company..............................................................21 Irwin & Sheehan............................................................................13 Liftek ............................................................................................. 40 Measurement Engineering (MEA).................................................. 6 Multipac Systems..........................................................................17

Olive Oil Packaging Service......................................................... 20 Organic Olives Aust...................................................................... 50 Pieralisi MAIP Spa ........................................................................11 Plasdene Glass-Pak......................................................................19 Sicma SRL...................................................................................... 2 Silverlock Packaging.....................................................................18 South West Olive Association...................................................... 42 Sumitomo Chemical Australia Pty Ltd......................................... 33 The Olive Centre............................................................................. 9 W. E. Ware & Co. Pty Ltd.............................................................. 45

Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

49

Editorial

Olive Marketplace For Sale

Olive Nursery

FOR SALE

Arbequina I-18, Arbosana I-43, Koroneiki I-38

Secondhand Fimo olive oil processing machine 50 kg per/hr. 6 years old and has only done 60hrs of work.

Please phone Arthur on:

0409 357 820 AgromillorA AustrAliA pty ltd Waikerie S.A. Ph (08) 8541 3600 Fax (08) 8541 3285 Mob (08) 0429 413 600 E agromillora1@riverland.net.au

$20,000.00 ONO

FOR SALE

ROW SPREADER $11,400 Model RUR55

www.agromilloraaustralia.com or www.olint.com

The machine will side deliver in adjustable width bands from 50cm to over 200cm under trees.

Don’t waste expensive compost, mulch and fertilisers.

Holds over 8 cu meters of mulch or compost.

5.5 tonnes of lime.

Travelling floor and hydraulically adjustable spreader.

Large photos available on request.

To advertise in the marketplace, call our Nicole Evans on (08) 8369 9555 or email sales@olivegrower.com.au

Ph. Peter on 07 3371 6221 E. info@olivfresh.com.au

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50 • Australian & New Zealand Olivegrower & Processor • June/July 2012 • Issue 85

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