California Olive Oil News^©
A Publication of The Olive Oil Source  

Volume 4 Issue 10

October 2001

Olive Oil Labeling

A U.S. reader recently complained about olive oil labeling.  He related how a couple of years ago there was an article in the National Geographic Magazine about the olive oil industry which reported that olive oil was "a rich source of natural Vitamin E." However, when he looked at the various labels of olive oil, he never saw Vitamin E in the list of ingredients.

In the U.S.,  the Food and Drug Administration requires a very precise set on information on the "information panel"  on food items sold in retail sizes.  The information panel contains the name and address of the manufacturer, packer or distributor, the ingredient list and nutrition labeling.  There can be no "intervening material"  between these items and the type size, prominence and conspicuousness is regulated.

The ingredient label lists what has been added to the food. No Vit. E has been added to the olive oil. An analogy: an orange isn't labeled with Vit. C but it does indeed contain Vit. C.

On the nutrition label the FDA has specified that the following nutrients must be declared: calories, total fat, saturated fat, cholesterol, sodium, total carbohydrate, dietary fiber, sugars, protein, vitamin A, vitamin C, calcium and Iron. However when a product contains insignificant amounts* of seven or more of these nutrients, such as olive oil, only the following nutrients must be declared: total calories – calories from total fat – total fat – saturated fat – total carbohydrate – protein – sodium, and nutrients present in more than insignificant amounts.

*An “insignificant amount” is defined as an amount that allows a declaration of zero in nutritional labeling, except that for total carbohydrates, dietary fiber, and protein, it shall be an amount that allows a declaration of “less than one gram.”

Additionally, the serving size and the number of servings per container must be declared. The serving size is declared in a common household measure and in grams or milliliters (if product is fluid). For olive oil the serving size would be 1 tablespoon (15mL). 

When a company decides to add a declaration to the simplified format, such as "monounsaturated fat", then the statement "Not a significant source of dietary fiber, sugars, vitamin A, calcium and iron” must be added.

The label format is very specific.
For more information  at the Olive Oil Source: click here For more information at the FDA click here

Texas First Pressing

Texans enjoy being first. Competing press releases claim several firsts in Texas olive oil. John Dougherty, founder of First Texas Olive Oil Company, has his company name on the line. He is one of the pioneers in the Texas olive oil business but has been frustrated by freeze, hail, varmints and other natural disasters on his Bell Vista Ranch in Wimberley, in the beautiful Texas hill country. David and Beverley Anderson didn't expect to be first but their South Texas trees have flourished and started ripening olives in July with olives dropping off the trees as early as August.
 

Anderson Ranch oil coming out of the final clarifier on the Olerina olive oil mini-frantoio

Both companies have fully licensed manufacturing facilities. Jack finished his first pressing September 24, 2001 with an Oliomio 60 centrifugal press made outside of Florence, Italy. The Andersons did several preliminary pressings on a hydraulic 15 kg/hr First Press machine August 19th then picked up their Olerina centrifugal press September 11 in Houston as customs was closing down due to the terrorist attacks. They were making olive oil from Maurino olives 2 days later, on September 13; so get the claim for the first estate pressing on a commercial quality machine. The Olerina is also made outside Florence and was developed with help from the University of Florence.
 

If the definition of a commercial pressing is the pressing of another's olives, then John deserves that claim as he pressed olives grown on trees in the San Antonio Botanical Gardens on September 24. The Botanical Garden hopes to sell oil as a fundraiser. The Andersons were pressing neighboring farmer Jim Henry's olives on September 29. It is unclear whether anyone has gotten paid for the pressings, if that makes a difference in this horse race.
 

David Anderson with Stefano & Daniele Franchi of Olerina

Small centrifugal presses are gaining popularity in Europe as the answer to the problem of bland mediocre oil made from large multinational companies. It is a new concept there, where orchard owners have been taking their harvest to the local mill or frantoio for centuries. By keeping control of their pressing, small orchards can pick the olives in several batches for late and early harvest oils and pick when they decide the time is right instead of when the local mill has an opening in their production schedule.

Americans have always been keen on the do-it-yourself concept. Many small presses instead of a few large centrally located press makes more sense in a large state like Texas where olive ranches are separated by hundreds of miles. There are several vendors of small hydraulic presses but their popularity is fading in favor of the centrifuge type presses.

These small centrifugal presses are a complete olive oil factory or "mini frantoio". Olives are dumped into a hopper on one end; oil, paste and water come out their separate ways at the other end. Labor is minimal though the centrifuges require adjustment for olive variety and ripeness. Typical throughput is 50 - 60 kg/hr on the small models, up to 100 kg/hr on the larger. For truly high volume throughput most larger cooperatives or commercial mills use the industry leaders Alfa Laval, Pieralisi and Rapanelli. These machines are able to process 1000 kg/hr or higher. There are only a handful of these high volume presses working in the U.S for olive oil. In Spain and Italy a single cooperative mill may have dozens of these machines running at the same time.

On their larger machines the Oliomio and Olerina use horizontal decanters similar to the large Pieralisi and Alfa Laval equipment. The olives are de-leafed, cleaned, ground into a paste then mixed (malaxation). When malaxation is complete, the centrifuge processes the olive paste. Olerina uses a bell shaped centrifuge on their smallest machine which batch cycles every few minutes so the process is continuous. The oil may or may not be put through a final centrifuge clarifier on these smaller machines. This final step makes the oil even clearer and recovers a bit more oil from the olive water.

Although the terrorist activity stalled equipment in customs and prevented travel of technicians, the Andersons had factory-trained specialists from Italy as well as Olive Oil Source staff setting up and fine-tuning their machine. The Andersons reported that the Italians were captivated by the wide-open spaces, coyotes and wild turkeys, and the seas of pick-up trucks parked around the barbecue joints in the local towns. Gazing at a prickly pear cactus, Stefano Franchi of Olerina was quoted as saying " I feel I'm living in a western movie I’ve seen".

Texans seem to have a devoted interest in this new agricultural industry. Both operations have had plenty of visitors from the media, friends, neighbors and people contemplating becoming a new type of oil tycoon. The Anderson’s ranch is an hour and a half from the nearest airport, San Antonio. That didn’t keep it from being covered by the Texas Culinary Magazine, Houston Chronicle, Dallas Morning Star, San Angelo, Temple and Brownsville papers, and Texas Monthly magazine. Associated Press and Houston Culinary Thymes reporters, Trig Dealey and Rollie Blackwell of the Texas Olive Oil Council and Patricia Sharpe, the senior editor from Texas Monthly drove down dirt roads to see the pressings. Typical of other visitors, E. K. Bryan, owner of a local trailer park stayed to pick and have lunch on the 13th - he is interested in planting olives on his property to beautify a religious shrine. Beverly Anderson served up potato salad, and barbecue to the pickers and onlookers. The presses have generated so much attention that signs have had to be put up pointing out the orchard to keep people from ringing the doorbell at the ranch house at every hour of the day.

John Dougherty has plans for an extensive you-pick farm, bed and breakfast, retail sales of olive oil from his own trees, as well as contract pressing of olives from others. He has also started producing olive oil soap and will act as consultant for new growers. The Andersons have plans for retail sale of their oil and contract pressing. Both ranches have young trees with small crops at this point.

”Since olive oil has never been produced in Texas before, we weren’t sure what to expect as to output and quality of oil,” said John J. Dougherty. “However, early indications are that we’ll get excellent oil.” It will be a few years before there will be enough producers making enough oil to put on an olive oil tasting competition. Who's got the best oil? - It may be too oily to tell.

For information on small centrifugal presses such as the Olerina, Oliomio or on larger presses such as Alfa Laval, call the Olive Oil Source at 805-688-1014 or go to Presses
 

Little Book Big on Value

Flammarion of Paris has recently released a book on olive oil in their Little Book series.  Catering to the surge in olive oil popularity, this book does a yeoman's job of covering the subject and includes chapters on topics usually ignored in larger tomes: sections on symbolism, pruning, Mount of Olives, aioli, ointment, North African oil, and consecrated oil. 

The Pictures are excellent.  The olive oil experience is a visual one and the photographer and editor has done a wonderful job of taking and choosing pictures which aren't the usual cliché still lives or views of orchards in a Tuscan sunset.  In compensation for the 5 X 8 inch size of the book, the pictures are well printed and bleed to the edge of the page.

The Little book of Olive Oil is arranged in a glossary style with chapters covering a variety of topics in alphabetical order.  Flavorings is followed by France then freezing weather.  Instead of confusing it makes each chapter a surprise when read from front to back.  There are summaries of key facts and dates in easy-reference tables.  At a price of about $10 at online booksellers, its quite a bargain.