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

Volume 7 Issue 8    August  2004

COOC Southern California Regional Meeting

Figueroa Farms in Santa Ynez hosted the California Olive Oil Council's (COOC) Southern California regional meeting this June.  The council is soliciting members from this burgeoning olive growing area above Los Angeles.  Santa Barbara and San Luis Obispo counties are becoming important wine growing areas and as with other wine growing regions in California, olive orchards have followed.  Santa Ynez is near the tourist town of Solvang, with a climate tempered by coastal breezes.  The area is also famous for horse breeding

.
Superb weather in Santa Ynez

There was a good turnout to hear an afternoon lineup of speakers.  Steve Pepe of Clos Pepe Vineyards introduced COOC president Bruce Golino who gave an update on efforts to create new labeling standards through the USDA and other COOC initiatives.  Paul Vossen, U.C. extension Farm adviser, presented a primer on growing olives. He was available afterward for individual consultation with area growers.

Networking before the COOC presentation

Figueroa Farms owners Shawn and Antoinette Addison gave a multimedia presentation on the Chemical Evaluation of olive oil.  Using their state of the art Pieralisi Genius system, Figueroa Farms produced some excellent oils this past year. Using in-house acidity and peroxide testing, Shawn and Antoinette have been able to optimize their milling for each varietal and level of ripeness. Some of the oils milled went on to win awards at the Los Angeles County fair. In an interesting experiment, identical samples were sent to several commercial labs in California with widely varying acidity results.  Antoinette discussed how lab policy, reagent choice and rounding came up with liberal or conservative acidity levels.  Producers were very interested in any way to optimize their figures now that they are being used for COOC certification and bragging rights on labels.  Shawn gave tours of the mill to small groups after the presentation.  

Shawn Addison Explains the mill

Karen Guth of Willow Creek Olive Ranch directed an olive oil tasting featuring oils from the Santa Barbara area.  Lauren and Richard Cundiff of the Los Olivos Trading Co. provided a sumptuous spread of breads and cheese with wine from local producers.

The COOC is planning a similar event in San Diego on Saturday, September 18, 2004 at Bernardo Winery. See the Events section.

For more information about the COOC go to www.cooc.com.  For information about milling olives at Figueroa Farms, go to www.figueroafarms.com.

Olive Oil Bottle Labeling
Susan Sullivan
Label consultant at The Olive Oil Source

Olive oil presents some unique labeling problems.  Producers need to create an informative, artistic label which includes the legal requirements for their area . The label should be applied squarely on the bottle with an adhesive which doesn't give up half way through the distribution channel.  In addition, once opened, oil spills shouldn't bleed into the label, turning the product into an eyesore.  Many producers bottle special varietal or "nuevo" oils or date their product, which requires printing more expensive small runs. All of these problems have a solution. 

Label Art:  In the spirit of the trend toward more artistic wine labels, winning olive oil labels at the Los Angeles County fair had colorful, simple, but forceful graphic elements.  Color labels are more expensive but are necessary for producers who want to stand out on a supermarket shelf.  O Olive Oil's simple but colorful graphics clearly stand out and have carried them into many retailers.  Smaller producers who sell mostly at local specialty stores and farmer's markets may be able to get away with a less sophisticated "home made" looking label. 

Most producers should opt for a professional graphic artist who can create labels which fit into their corporate identity package.  If you are creating just a few labels for a wedding or special event, ready made graphics are available on the internet. Beware that most artwork is copyrighted and permission should be sought before "borrowing" it.  We have created a variety of decorative label designs that can be customized for uses such as wedding favors, corporate gifts, or gift store items.  Because they are pre-designed, we are able to print small quantities economically .

Flavored oils such as lemon or basil flavored oil are new to many customers.  Many olive oil producers are adding pictures or graphics which highlight the ingredient.  Although there is no federal law against it, COOC members sign an agreement not to label flavored oil as extra virgin to follow International Olive Oil Council standards.

Label Text:  Most legally required label information is enforced by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Their website has a variety of information about nutrient and calorie declarations (see site), as does the North American Olive Oil Association which answers many questions about labeling imported oil (see info).  Organic claims are now enforced by the USDA  (see info).  California has laws governing appellation.

Adding more text to your label has advantages and disadvantages.  Flavored oils or dippers often benefit from serving suggestions or recipes.  Too much text can clutter the label.  One solution we use for private label customers at the Olive Oil Source is a horizontal format. Areas heavy in text wrap around to the back of round bottles so they don't detract from the logo.

Label Stock:  Small producers or those bottling bulk oil for a special occasion can make a label on their home computer with standard Avery labels but there can be problems.  Labels made with the more common home ink jet printers will smear if handled with wet or sweaty fingers.  Standard label stock is not impervious to oil so once opened, oil drips tend to make for a greasy look.  For small runs at the Olive Oil Source we use heat fixed inks on oil-proof stock using our decorative designs or customer supplied artwork.  For larger runs we use commercial printers who have special stock for a label which stays clean.

Applying the label:  If you have a small run and cheap labor, labels can be hand applied. Many companies cost out label application at about 35 cents each if done manually. Label machinery can get the cost much lower.  Label application machinery can be hand operated or totally automated.  The Olive Oil Source sells a small manual machine which will apply pressure sensitive labels on a roll to a variety of round and square bottles. It makes for accurate placement and can apply front and back labels in one motion. A fast operator can label up to 30 bottles a minute.

Automated equipment for bottling lines can apply labels as fast as your bottle filler can feed it.  Equipment can be configured to apply glue to paper labels or apply pressure sensitive labels, both typically in rolls.  Paper labels are slightly cheaper but we notice they can sometimes fall off on market shelves leaving your bottle naked.  The Olive Oil Source represents foreign and domestic label machinery manufacturers and we can configure equipment to your specifications. Most California producers are too small for automated bottling equipment and will go manual or use the services of companies who own such equipment. 

Next month: bottle filling equipment

For information about private label olive oil and label purchases, call The Olive Oil Source at Voice:805-688-1014  or email

For information about bottle labelers call 805-688-1014. or email

Satellites and Spy Planes Count Olive Groves

The Wall Street Journal recently reported that global positioning satellites (GPS) and high altitude spy plane photos are being used aggressively in the EU to combat agricultural fraud.  Farm subsidies are given according to acreage or the number of trees claimed.  Aerial photos can allow auditors to actually verify the tree counts and calculate acreage.  EU inspectors on the ground can walk around a very irregular field with a GPS device which will instantly calculate the area.  43% of the EU's €100 billion budget is spent on agricultural and rural development subsidies.

Increased monitoring started in 1981 when EU officials became suspicious as olive oil subsidies to farmers in Italy tripled.  Audits found fraud on a massive scale.  Parking lots and forests were being claimed as olive orchards. Hundreds were arrested including members of the Mafia and local governments. The EU now has a registry of 600 million olive trees.

An aerial photo of olive trees in Ojai, CA

For those who want to count olive trees in the U.S., the Geological Survey has aerial and topographic maps on the TerraServer homepage. Unfortunately you can't spy on your neighbor's trees unless they have been in the ground for awhile.  Most of the photos are at least a decade old.

New or updated pages:

Consultants
Tree sources
Mills
Olive Fly
Labeling

Do you have information or press releases for the newsletter? email them to