Olive Oil Industry

Dr. OZ suggests olive oil for good health

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New Olive Oil Health Powers Revealed

By RealAge

You already know that olive oil is chock-full of healthy fats. But here’s another reason to cook with it: Olive oil might actually help “turn off” genes that could harm your heart.

In a study, eating a diet with lots of polyphenol-rich olive oil helped suppress genes related to heart-damaging inflammation and oxidation. Quite the modern-sounding health benefit for an oil that’s been around since the days of Homer.

Mediterranean Magic
In fact, olive oil has been a dietary staple in Greek and other cultures for millennia. And it seems those Greeks really have a good thing going. In a study where people ate either olive-oil-infused Mediterranean meals or their regular diet for 3 months, the olive oil group’s blood tests suggested better heart health. Specifically, their tests showed fewer markers of inflammation and oxidative damage — thanks in part to a reduced expression of genes that influence these harmful processes. (Here’s a trick to getting more out of your olive oil.)

Oil Me Up
DNA damage and atherosclerosis also were slowed in the olive oil group. But most of these good-for-your-heart changes were more pronounced in a select group of participants who were given an extra-polyphenol-rich version of olive oil, leading researchers to suspect it’s the polyphenols that make olive oil so good for your heart. And the study results help confirm that olive oil is one of the key reasons Mediterranean diets are so good for overall health. (Check out six other must-have foods for good heart health.)

Bring all the wonderful flavors and health benefits of olive oil to your table with these recipes:

Extra Virgin or Not?Calolea IS CERTIFIED EXTRA VIRGIN!

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Your Olive Oil May Not Be The Virgin It Claims

by Elaine Corn

Olives in oil. iStockphoto.com

To be extra-virgin, olive oil can’t be doctored with lesser oils.

July 25, 2010
from KXJZ

The next time you reach for a bottle of extra-virgin olive oil, beware. A new study from the University of California- Davis claims more than two-thirds of random samples of imported so-called extra-virgin olive oil don’t make the grade.

The Olive Oil Chemistry Lab overlooks many of the 2,000 olive trees on the Davis campus.

“It’s like we have our own CSI: Olive Oil lab here,” says chemist Charles Shoemaker, who manages the lab’s forensics.

To be extra-virgin, olive oil can’t be rancid or doctored with lesser oils. Shoemaker wasn’t all that surprised that many of the 14 major brands failed certain tests.

“It’s become a very sophisticated practice, the adulteration of olive oil throughout the world,” Shoemaker says. He says the lab can prove defects, degradation and dilution in olive oil beyond what human taste buds can figure out. The lab testing zeroes in on specific flaws.

“We do spectroscopic studies looking for oxidation,” he says. That means the oil’s old or spoiled. Shoemaker also tests fatty acids “to make sure the oil is all from olives and not from soybean, sunflower or other types of oil.”

See How Your Olive Oil Rates

The UC-Davis Olive Oil Report>No molecule can hide. Shoemaker revs up a small vacuum that removes solvents and isolates chlorophyll, which is always in oil made from green olives, but never in lesser-grade seed oil. As it sucks a sample, he’s patient.

“It takes about 25 minutes per sample to do just this one step,” he says.

The UC-Davis study was funded in part by the California Olive Oil Council. Oils were tested by some methods not yet recognized by international standards. For that reason, Bob Bauer of the North American Olive Oil Association, which represents importers, disputes the Davis study.

“It’s irresponsible to create the misperception that they’ve done based on unrecognized tests,” he says. “These results directly contradict our 20 years of more extensive sampling than what those results show.”

There’s never been a legal definition in the U.S. for any grade of olive oil, but mounting concern over truth-in-olive-oil-labeling has drawn in the USDA, and new American regulations will conform to international standards. Starting in October, olive oil from every olive oil-producing country, including America, will be subject to random sampling off retail shelves.

2010 USDA OLIVE OIL REVISION

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Dear COOC Members,

On Wednesday, April 28, 2010, standards for olive oil were published in the
USDA Federal Register. The standards will take effect October 24, 2010.

This is an historic achievement for the California olive oil industry as
well as consumers and retailers.

The petition, filed by the California Olive Oil Council in August 2005,
sought to set in place standards for grades of olive oil in the United
States, especially extra virgin. Heretofore, the absence of federal
standards allowed some unscrupulous importers to flood the US market with
mislabeled oils and misleading claims.

The standard will:

* Provide legal reference definitions for any government agency that takes
enforcement action against mislabeling

* Provide buyers in commerce with a common language of clearly defined US
grades of olive oil

* Serve notice to unscrupulous importers that the United States will no
longer be a haven for mislabeled low grades of olive oil or other oils
claiming to be olive oil

* Raise public awareness of the differences between extra virgin and other
grades of olive oil

* Inform the consumer by including taste (organoleptic) as well as chemical
testing requirements for olive oil

* Become the foundation on which an infrastructure of grading and testing
can be built

Special thanks to board members Bruce Golino and Tom Sloan, both on the COOC
standards committee. Tom spent hours crafting the text and preparing the
documents. Bruce has monitored this project tirelessly from inception acting
as liaison between the COOC and the USDA. Many thanks to all of our members
who supported the COOC in this endeavor writing letters and commenting to
the USDA during this lengthy period.

Congratulations to all! I am attaching a copy of the olive oil standard.

Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger Proclaims February as California Olive Oil Month

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February 12, 2010, Berkeley, CA?With the proclamation of California Olive
Oil Month this February, Governor Schwarzenegger urges everyone to make
California olive oil a staple in their kitchens and cuisines. He emphasizes
the rich history and important role of olive oil in California agriculture,
noting California produces 99 percent of U.S. olive oil, and has set
standards to align its grades and quality with producers around the world.

As the state¹s olive oil production continues its rapid growth, California
competes with the finest oils from around the world in both taste and cost.
With hundreds of olive oils from around the world from which to choose,
California Olive Oil Council Executive Director Patty Darragh urges shoppers
and chefs to look for the COOC seal, as the guarantee for extra virgin olive
oil produced in California. Darragh adds, ³The COOC Taste Panel, founded in
1998, has certified nearly 200 extra virgin olive oils from our recent 2009
harvest, and these oils are already available on store shelves, farmers
markets, online merchants, and foodservice channels.²