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

Volume 4 Issue 9

September 2001

Cañada College Olive Festival

Olive producers and aficionados are urged to attend the Cañada College Olive Festival Oct. 6 & 7 at Cañada College, Redwood City, CA.  This annual event usually has a good turnout of California olive oil producers in the past and is the only festival in the state which celebrates California olives and olive oil. It has prompted national recognition with a recent mention in Newsweek magazine. The Olive Oil Source will be there with oil, storage equipment, books,  and demos of  the First Press and pneumatic harvesting & pruning equipment.  Pop olives in your mouth, sample some of our regional olive oil, drink wine while enjoying outdoor entertainment.  Go home with a bottle of excellent olive oil or maybe even an olive tree.  Don't forget to stop by the cooking demonstrations. A fun filled day of food, craft vendors, activities for the children - and it's all FREE.

Presentation of the Olive Oil Regions of Italy

August 12th McEvoy Ranch hosted a presentation by farm advisor Paul Vossen of his recent fact finding trip to Italy.  The slide show described olive growing, picking and processing practices in Sardinia, Puglia, Tuscany, Umbria and Liguria.

Interesting nuggets included recent research on tree spacing - 5.5 meter was too close, allowed insects, black spot, etc. to develop while  5 x 7 meters was better. New pruning schedules which alternate hedge pruning first year, no pruning second year and selected hand pruning of large branches the third year were described. The Italians tended to use a small box which held 70 kilos to harvest instead of the half ton ones in use in California.  The reason given was less fruit bruising. Paul saw an experimental vertical malaxator with no air exposure which is being tested as well as olive pitters for "pitless olive oil".  Paul spoke about the DOP labeling and described some even more strict appellations like laudemio where the olives must be picked be a certain date as well as conform to variety and regional specifications.  The group saw the wild Oleaster which resembles the Redding Picholine in California.  

During Paul's presentation,  Daryl Corti lead a tasting of Italian oils.

Cancer Concerns With Olive Oil
by John Deane M.D.

8/8/2001 - There has been a deluge of mail from persons concerned about developing cancer from frying with olive oil. It is unknown where this latest food myth comes from but this sort of misinformation seems to spread like a computer virus. Perhaps it was the finding of contaminants in Spanish refined olive oil in early 2001 which prompted the concerns.

Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons are a group of chemicals which are formed when petroleum, petroleum products, coal, wood, cellulose, corn, or oil are burned. There are over 100 PAHs which have been studied. During oxidation and detoxification in the liver they are thought to form substances which damage DNA, starting a chain of events which could lead to cancer. A few of them have been classified by the EPA and The Department of Health and Human Services as carcinogenic to animals in studies and probably carcinogenic to humans.

A person's exposure at home to PAHs would likely be through tobacco smoke, wood smoke, vehicle exhausts, asphalt roads, coal, coal tar, wildfires, agricultural burning, waste incineration, creosote-treated wood products, cereals, grains, flour, bread, vegetables, fruits, meat, processed or pickled foods.

At work you could be exposed to PAHs in coal tar production plants, coking plants, bitumen and asphalt production plants, coal-gasification sites, smoke houses, aluminum production plants, coal tarring facilities, municipal trash incinerators and by inhaling engine exhaust. PAHs can also be found in the mining, oil refining, metalworking, chemical production, transportation, and the electrical industry.

Twenty years ago there was a food scare when PAHs were first being researched. They were found in meat and other foods which had been cooked at high temperatures, such as grilling and charring. The American Institute for Cancer Research recommends to avoid charring meat when grilling, pre-marinade, which somehow minimizes PAH formation, and minimize the amount of grilled meats consumed. (Grilled vegetables or fruit do not form PAHs).

Many foods naturally contain small quantities of PAHs. Olive oil, like other vegetable cooking oils, has been found to contain minute amounts of up to 17 PAHs such as benzanthracene and chrysene. Unripe olives tended to have more than ripe olives.

Burning any cooking oil can increase the amounts of PAHs. Oil of any kind which has been repeatedly heated to its smoking point will lose it's natural antioxidants and begin to accumulate free radicals and other cancer causing substances. Whether this has actually caused cancer in humans has never been proven. Commercial industrial kitchens which fry foods would be where this sort of thing might happen. It is unlikely that you would repeatedly fry at continuous high temperatures with the same oil at home. In commercial operations the oil is examined regularly with a rancidity test and discarded before it gets to a dangerous stage. Olive oil is typically not used in commercial kitchens as it is much too expensive. Cheaper oils like canola, corn or peanut oil are used instead. Extra virgin olive oil has fewer free fatty acids and more antioxidants which soak up free radicals. So heating it would produce fewer free radicals than a lower grade olive oil. It is unlikely that in home use olive oil or other cooking oils would be a significant source of PAHs.

Sometimes when people hear cancer, they panic and forget that we are surrounded by possible carcinogens, ranging from nearly every food we eat to sunlight. Although a substance we are exposed to is capable of causing cancer, the probability that this actually happens may be vanishingly small. Exposure to second hand cigarette smoke or going outside without sun block is probably thousands of times more likely to cause cancer than burning your cooking oil.

References:

Encyclopedia Britannica
Kiritsakaas, Apostolos, Olive Oil From the Tree to the Table,
Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR). 1995. Toxicological profile for polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs). Atlanta, GA: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Public Health Service

Mission San Jose Chamber of Commerce Olive Festival.

The Mission San Jose Chamber of Commerce will present its 1st annual Olive Festival, Saturday, October 27, 2001, behind the historic Mission San Jose Mission museum, from 10.AM until 4 PM.

If you have been watching CNN, FOX News, reading local and nationwide newspapers, you are aware that Sister Jane Rudolph and the Dominican Sisters of Mission San Jose are again harvesting olives on their property.  Sister Jane is passionate about the harvesting and sees the entire process as a privilege.  As the Gilroy Garlic Festival and Hayward Zucchini Festival have become annual social events for their areas,  the Mission San Jose District plans on having the Olive Festival do the same.  There will be a mix of vendors selling merchandise that coincides with olives, as well as merchandise that appeals to everyone.  In addition to arts and crafts vendors, there will be activities for children, food and entertainment to help add to the celebration.  For more information call 510 - 873-7701

Update on Texas Oil Race

Anderson Ranch seems to have won the race for the "first Texas olive oil". As reported in an earlier issue, several Texas planters are getting ready to harvest. The season came unexpectedly early after weeks of over 105 degree weather. California Agricultural expert Paul Vossen expressed disbelief at reports that ripe olives were dropping in early August. David Anderson reports that their ranch pressed their first oil August 18. It was a well publicized media event, Texans are excited about anything homegrown. The Andersons are expecting delivery of a new centrifugal press next week to augment their hydraulic press and complete harvesting. Oil yields so far have been about 10% from their Tuscan varieties: Pendolino, Maurino, Leccino, and
Frantoio. The Andersons hope to have their product on the shelf of local stores in a  Texas motif bottle.

About Pitters and Stuffers

Many who grow for the olive oil industry have considered table olives as a sideline.  We have gotten inquiries about the machinery involved.  Have you ever wondered how the pimento or anchovy gets into the olive?  No, it's not slave labor or trained monkeys but highly sophisticated equipment which makes the vast majority of  these stuffed olives.

Sadrym Olive Pitter and stuffer

Most of this machinery is made around Seville, Spain and sold world wide.  The machines are designed for a certain size of olive and can pit only or pit and stuff simultaneously.  A plug the diameter of the pit is cut in one end as the pit is pushed out by an x shaped punch on the other end.  The stuffing is usually made in large sheets of a gelatin like material which is cut in strips and then fed into the machine in rolls.  Even more sophisticated machines will cut the plug of olive off the pit and re-insert it after the olive is stuffed, capping the olive so the contents can't spill out.

Olive pitting and stuffing line in Seville

Sadrym is one of the leading manufacturers and provides machines worldwide. On a recent tour of their factory the intricate workings of the machinery was explained then demonstrated at a large canning line nearby. Machines were busy stuffing olives with anchovy, the most popular filling in Spain. Large canning operations in Spain often have dozens of pitters. Machines are available in several sizes and speeds.

Technical challenges in the making of these machines included 100%accuracy in removing pits (for liability reasons) and jam prevention. The pitter blades eventually get dull and need to be replaced along with specialized bushings, otherwise maintenance is minimal. Many smaller California growers who can't justify these
machines still use hand labor. Hand stuffing is also still the norm for harder fillings  which can't be produced in sheets and ribbons,  such as nut meats.

For information on importing pitters and stuffers, contact the Olive Oil Source at 805-688-1014
 

Questions  from the Internet

Sam Borgese writes:  I was one of the first people to work with Lila in developing what was then the Northern California Olive oil association. The news of her passing is very sad. She was a strong force in bringing about the vision of California producing the world's best olive oil.

A reader asks:  Do you have a recipe for pastry dough using olive oil?

OOS responds:  We don't but you might want to check out the book FINE PASTRY WITH OLIVE OIL .. pleasing the palate while staying healthy by Maria Gabriella Fogli.  This book is out of print but can be found at Amazon.com or Barnes and Noble in their used book sections.

Lisa Asks:  I need to tell customs what classification olive oil is for import, they are asking if it's a fixed oil.
                     
Dr. Stan Kailis responds: Oils are broadly classified as either volatile oils or fixed oils. The old test was taking a piece of brown paper and placing one drop onto it.  This was allowed to stand for a period of time.  If the oil spot disappeared it was called a volatile oil and if it stayed it was fixed. From a chemical point of view fixed oils are mainly triglycerides. They are from plant, animal or microbe in origin. Tallow (lard, suet and dripping) Seed oils (canola, linseed, grapeseed, evening primrose, walnut, macadamia etc), fruit oils (olive, avocado) and microbes (an  oil rich in gamma-linolenic acid - used like evening primrose oil) are all fixed oils.

Volatile oils include edible ( flavors and aromatics rose, orange, lemon etc) and non-edible (tee-tree, lavender, geranium etc.). Some volatile oils are consumed in small quantities but are also used in personal and household cleaning products (eucalyptus, pine etc). (Prof Stan Kailis works at the University of Western Australia)

A reader writes: I wish you had a section on the cosmetic purposes of olives......I have you linked from my homepages.....


OOS responds:  We do have a page on cosmetics, however brief. Thanks for the link. Your site looks great. Good luck with it.

Jennifer Asks:  Hi, my husband insists that refrigerating olive oil makes it anaerobic and more susceptible to growing bacteria. All the info I find says that refrigerating olive oil is fine, and that it only thickens the oil, which may be an inconvenience, but is not unhealthy. Can you tell me if what my  husband says is true? I'm frustrated by how fast my oil loses it's flavor in the hotter seasons.

Dr. Deane responds:  When olive oil loses its taste or becomes rancid, it is not spoiling in the sense that bacteria and fungi are breaking it down and creating distasteful or toxic substances such as botulism toxins.

What is happening is oxidation. Oxidation speeds up if more of the oil is in contact with the air, with the presence of light and with higher heat. By putting the oil in the refrigerator you are slowing oxidation, not preventing bacterial growth, which is very unlikely in olive oil which tends to be an anaerobic (without oxygen) environment whether refrigerated or not and has no water for life processes.

Most foods are put in the refrigerator to frustrate bacterial growth. The cold slows down the biochemical processes in the bacteria so that they grow slowly. They do eventually grow as I'm sure anyone who has found a choice leftover forgotten at the back of the fridge will attest.

Gail asks:  Can Olive trees be grown from seed ??

OOS responds:  Many varieties of olives can be grown from seeds but they are very slow to produce olives that way. See Propagating Olive Trees for a full discussion.

For more news - go to our Food News Page

American College of Nutrition Annual Meeting
October 4-7, 2001 : Orlando, FL (727) 446-6086

Cañada College Olive Festival Oct. 6 & 7, Cañada College, Redwood City, CA.  This annual event usually has a good turnout of California olive oil producers.  The Olive Oil Source will be there with oil, storage equipment, books, pneumatic harvesting & pruning equipment and demos of  the First Press.  If our 40kg centrifugal press makes it here in time, we will have it there also. Pop olives in your mouth, sample some of our regional olive oil, drink wine while enjoying outdoor entertainment . Don't forget to stop by the cooking demonstrations. A fun filled day of food, craft vendors, activities for the children - and it's all FREE

Natural Products Expo East October 11 - 14, 2001 Washington Convention Center Washington, DC USA call: 303.939.8440 or