Part IThe product

1The extra-virgin olive oil chainClaudio PeriUniversity of Milan, Milan, Italy

Abstract

This chapter presents the classification and commercial denomination of six olive oilcategories recognized in international law (two virgin and four refined). Extra-virginolive oil is the highest quality olive oil. The extra-virgin olive oil chain, is presentedas a sequence of five processes: (i) olive tree cultivation, (ii) olive harvesting andprocessing, (iii) oil storage, bottling and distribution, (iv) selling bottled oil and (v)oil use in culinary preparations. Processes (ii) and (iii), the subject matter of thishandbook, are further presented as a sequence of unit operations. The main stepsand conditions determining oil quality and yield are outlined.

1.1 The legal classification and denominationof olive oils

When talking or reading about olive oil, the first point to be clarified is the categoryof olive oil that is being discussed. Ignoring the category that the oil belongs to canbe a source of confusion and misunderstanding and can lead to mistakes in buying,tasting or using it. Figure 1.1 is a flow-chart of the classification and denomination ofthe various categories of virgin and refined olive oils as globally agreed (see CouncilRegulation (EC) No. 1234/2007 of 22 October 2007, (Single CMO Regulation),consolidated version 2013-01-26, Annex XVI).

The six categories highlighted by the grey background are suitable for humanconsumption.

The flow-chart starts with the olive milling process, whose products are the‘virgin’ olive oils. Two of them, namely extra-virgin and virgin, are allowed forconsumption. The third category, lampante, becomes edible only after a physical-chemical refining process and it is called ‘refined olive oil’.

On the other hand, the pomace, which is the solid residue from the millingprocess, still contains a small amount of olive oil that is impossible to extract bymechanical means. It can be extracted with solvents; the raw oil from this extraction

The Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Handbook, First Edition. Edited by Claudio Peri.© 2014 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd. Published 2014 by John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

6 CH01 THE EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL CHAIN

OLIVES

The olive millingprocess

Virgin olive oils Pomace

1. Extra-virgin

The solventextraction process

2. Virgin Lampante

The physical-chemical refining

process

The physical-chemical refining

process

3. Refined olive oil 4. Refined olive-pomace oil

5. Olive oilcomposed of

refined and virginolive oils

6. Olive-pomace oil

Figure 1.1 The flow-chart of virgin and refined olive oils.

is refined with a process very similar to that applied to lampante oil. The refined oilderived from pomace is called ‘refined olive-pomace oil’.

Both the ‘refined olive oil’ and the ‘refined olive-pomace oil’ can be mixed withextra-virgin or virgin olive oil in various undefined proportions in order to improvetheir flavour. These are called, respectively, ‘olive oil composed of refined and virginolive oil’ and ‘olive-pomace oil’.

Chapter 17 gives a short presentation of the refining process. It is important thatolive oil producers, retailers and consumers know the difference in technologicaland compositional terms between a virgin oil and a refined oil.

Regarding quality, extra-virgin olive oil is higher in quality than virgin olive oiland refined olive oil is higher in quality than refined olive-pomace oil. Refinedolive oil is very mild and almost neutral in taste: it is very good for cooking, fry-ing and for preserving canned vegetables or meat or fish. Extra-virgin olive oil

1.3 THE EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL CHAIN 7

is flavourful and tasty. A picture of the culinary uses of olive oil and especiallyexcellent extra-virgin olive oils is given in Chapter 24.

1.2 The subject of this handbook

Focusing on extra-virgin olive oil opens a wide panorama because the oil variesdepending on cultivar, climate and soil, and the conditions of the production-extraction-storage-and-distribution process. Extra-virgin olive oils can be ofcommon or good or excellent quality. The purpose of this handbook is to discuss thetechnological and management conditions that allow an operator of the extra-virginolive oil chain to improve the quality of the product, which is finally served at theconsumer’s table.

1.3 The extra-virgin olive oil chain

The extra-virgin olive oil chain can be divided into a series of five processes:(i) olive tree cultivation, (ii) olive harvesting and milling, (iii) oil storage, bottlingand distribution, (iv) oil selling and (v) oil use in culinary preparations (Table 1.1).

These five processes have different structural and operational requirements, dif-ferent marketing policies and different economies of scale. They are therefore usu-ally managed and owned by different companies.

Table 1.1 The processes of the extra-virgin olive oil chain.

Process Input Output Ownership andresponsibility

(i)Olive tree cultivation

Olive trees(plus soil, atmosphericconditions, machinery,services, information,work, … )

Olives Agriculturalcompanies

(ii)Olive harvesting and

milling

Olives(plus the mill, services,information, work … )

Batches of oil Milling companies

(iii)Oil storage,

packaging anddistribution

Batches of oil(plus packaging plantand materials, services,information, work … )

Oil in bottles orother suitablecontainers

Packaging anddistributioncompanies

(iv)Sale of packaged oil

Packaged oil(plus sales facilities,services, information,work … )

Packaged oil soldto the final user

Retail companies

(v)Culinary use of oil

Packaged oil(plus cooking facilities,services, information,work, … )

Oil in culinarypreparations

Restaurants,foodservice andfamilies

8 CH01 THE EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL CHAIN

Processes (ii) and (iii) represent the core content of this handbook. There is somediscussion about process (i) in Chapters 5 (olive tree cultivars) and 7 (olive harvest-ing), whereas Chapter 24 gives some general indications about the use of extra-virginolive oil in culinary preparations.

1.3.1 Compact versus complex chain organization

The most compact organization of an extra-virgin olive oil chain entails a direct con-nection between only two parts (or modules): the first is represented by the producerand the second by the final consumer. In this case, which is very common in olive oilproducing regions, a producer who is responsible for the chain from the field to thepackage, sells his oil directly to the final consumer, either a family or a restaurant.This organization is typical of traditional markets in a narrow area close to produc-tion, but sometimes it is also implemented in a global market and across continents.It is common to find commercial agreements between a restaurant in Los Angelesor Tokyo and a producer in Andalusia or Tuscany.

On the other hand, very complex chain organizations are implemented in large-scale and global businesses with multiple inputs and outputs connecting the fiveprocesses listed in Table 1.1.

Traceability of product origin and identity is easy in the case of the compact chain,whereas it may be very difficult or impossible in complex chain organizations.

1.3.2 The extra-virgin olive oil processes

As chains can be considered sequences of processes, processes can similarly beconsidered as sequences of unit operations. Processes are interconnected in seriesin a chain, so unit operations are interconnected in series in a process with the outputof a unit operation being the input of the following one (Peri et al. 2004). Table 1.2presents the unit operations of processes (ii) and (iii).

1.4 Yield and quality

The primary objective of an extra-virgin olive oil company is to maximize oil yieldand quality. Obtaining the largest quantity of oil with a high level of quality is theultimate measure of process effectiveness and efficiency.

Contrary to the situation with other agricultural products, yield and quality arenot competitive in extra-virgin olive oil production, but independent or concurrentparameters. Conditions determining quality losses also determine yield losses.Figure 1.2 represents the critical steps and conditions determining extra-virginolive oil yield and quality.

The extra-virgin olive oil chain is divided into two parts. In the first part, corre-sponding to olive tree cultivation, the basic condition for success is olive integrity. If,due to climatic conditions or pest attack, olives are seriously damaged, the unavoid-able consequence is an irreversible loss of yield and quality.

1.4 YIELD AND QUALITY 9

Table 1.2 The unit operations of extra-virgin olive oil processes.

Preliminary activities Unit operation Ancillary activities

Monitoring of olive maturity.Supply and maintenance ofharvesting nets, crates andequipment

Harvesting

Storage and transportationof olives

Mill plant maintenance,cleaning, and start trial

Olive reception at the millplant

Standards agreed uponbetween the olive growerand the milling company

Visual inspection, control oforigin and olive integrity

Decisions in case ofnonconformity to standards

Milling batches,identification andweighing

Record of milling batches

Deleafing at the olive grovesite. Supply of potablewater

Olive cleaning and washing Disposal of solid residues anddirty water

Olive milling or pitting In case of pitting: dischargeand use of olive stones

Olive-paste malaxation Monitoring and control of thetime-temperaturerelationship

Solid-liquid andliquid-liquid separation

Pomace to treatment and use.Wastewater to disposal

Supply of filter aids or filterpads

Oil filtration Disposal of exhaustedfiltering material

Agreed upon standards of oilquality and yield

Oil weighing, chemical andsensory evaluation

Decisions in case ofnonconformity

Maintenance of storagefacilities

Storage batches formationand identification

Standard documentation ofstorage batches

Oil storage Waste disposal

Customers’ orders andrequirements

Oil blending, packagingbatches formation

Chemical and sensoryevaluation of packagingbatches. Record ofpackaging batches

Maintenance and supply ofpackaging material

Packaging Waste disposal

Shipment of consignment tocustomers

10 CH01 THE EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL CHAIN

The yes-or-nocondition of extra-

virgin olive oilquality and yield

Spoiled, rotten,wormy or

mechanicallydamaged olives

Healthy, undamagedolives

Irreversibleloss of yieldand quality

Three steps have asimilar importance indetermining the extra-virgin olive oil yield

and quality

The cultivar andenvironmental

conditions

The oliveripeness atharvesting

The processingand storageconditions

Figure 1.2 Critical steps and conditions for yield and quality of extra-virgin olive oil.

If, on the other hand, olives are undamaged and healthy, the final result is deter-mined by three factors of similar importance: (i) the cultivar and the environment(climate and soil); (ii) the ripeness of olives at harvesting; (iii) the oil processing andstorage conditions.

Processing of the olives and storage of the oil are the last and hence the decisivesteps affecting oil quality. The product of the best, healthy and undamaged olives canbe a very common oil or even a bad oil, as a consequence of errors and carelessnessin the processing and distribution steps.

A point that should be kept in mind is that the loss of quality of virgin olive oil isirreversible. Feedback control is not possible and amplification instead of slowdownof the negative effects takes place: spoiled olives produce spoiled oil and spoiled oiltends to spoil further at a much faster rate than good oil. Process control should bebased on prevention. The only corrective action available in the case of a spoiled oilis downgrading and refining it.

Reference

Peri, C., Lavelli, V. and Marjani, A. (2006) Sistemi di gestione per la qualità neiprocessi e nelle filiere agro-alimentari, Hoepli, Milan.