Olive Oil

Olive oil is one of the few oils that can be eaten in its natural state.

Olive oils are rated on their level of acidity and sold as different grades. As the acidity levels get higher, the less aromatic the oil will be.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil is obtained from the very first pressing with and acidity level of less than 1%.

Virgin Olive Oil is obtained from the second pressing and the acidity level ranges between 1 - 3 %.

Pure Olive Oil is a blend of refined olive oil with small amounts of Extra Virgin and Virgin oil added for flavour.

Light, Lite or Lighter Taste Olive Oil is a reference to its colour and flavour, not calorie component. All olive oils have the same amount of calories from fat.

There are four main steps involved in the making of olive oil:

1. Harvesting
   
2. Storage
   
3. Extracting
   
4. Packing
   

Step 1 - Harvesting

There are a number of different harvesting techniques used, including:

Harvest after natural fall: In the past, olives have been harvested by hand after falling on to the ground. This is a very labour intensive harvesting process. Development of this technique has led to plastic nets being spread under the trees and the fruit allowed to fall on to the nets naturally . To minimise deterioration of the oil, the olives should not be left on the nets for more than 15 days

Harvest from tree by hand: Olives are picked from the trees by hand. This method yields the best quality of fruit and oil, and results in minimum injury to the tree.

Harvest by beating trees: Olives are collected by beating the branches of the trees with long poles. This can be a costly method.

Harvest by shakers: Olives are mechanically harvested. This method is used mainly with olives in the Mediterranean countries of Portugal, Spain, Italy and Greece.

Step 2 - Storage

Ideally, the extraction of oil should follow the harvesting of the olive without delay. This is often impractical so the olives must be stored for a period of time before processing.

During storage, the oil may deteriorate in the olives due to fermentation. An effective and relatively inexpensive way of storing oil olives is to keep them in cool or refrigerated rooms.

Step 3: Extracting

The main processing steps for olive oil extraction are as follows:
Feeding: Fruit is put into a bid feeding hopper attached to a moving belt and the leaves are removed.
Washing: The fruit is washed to remove any foreign materials
Crushing / Milling: The first main step in the processing of the olives. Use of olive crushing machines made of stainless steel and machines consist of a large bowl in which 2 or 3 heavy wheels revolve, crushing the olives.
Malaxation: This process facilitates the separation of oil and water by using heated water to coalesce small oil drops into larger ones. The result is olive paste.
Separation of olive oil: The main constituents of olive paste are olive oil, small pieces of kernel, water and some debris of crushed olives. There are 3 main processes that may be applied for the separation of the olive oil from the other constituents:

A. Pressure Process: This is the traditional process used in olive oil production. The olive paste is placed in folded cloths and put into a moving unit. The moving unit is then placed under a hydraulic press unit.
B. Centrifugation Process: This is a relatively new process in which olive paste is diluted with water. After centrifugation in a decanter, the olive paste is separated into oil, oil cake and water.
C. Combination Process: In this process, selective filtration is combined with centrifugation to process the olive oil. The selective filtration separates approximately 80% of oil from the olive paste. To obtain the remaining oil, the olive paste is further moistened and undergoes further malaxation and centrifugation.

Step 4 -Packing

According to the rules and regulations set by the International Olive Oil Council (IOCC) in 1985, to enter international trade, olive oil must be packed in containers of certain kind and type such as:
· Tanks or tankers or wooden barrels
· Metallic sealed drums, lined with the proper type of varnish
· Tin plated cans or plastic bottles
· Small and large glass bottles

The packing of olive oil is important for the shelf life and marketing of the product.