California Governor Signs Landmark Bill Updating Definitions for Olive Oil

On September 30, the last day that he had to approve or reject bills, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed into law Senate Bill (SB) 634, legislation by Senator Patricia Wiggins (D – Santa Rosa) to update California’s definitions of olive oil grades to conform to international standards.

SB 634 also defines “flavored olive oil” to reflect market practices and would require that olive oil be labeled consistent with the updated food grade definitions.

According to Wiggins, “olive oil is a rapidly growing industry in California, with volume projected to increase by 1000 percent in the next five years. California also produces 99.9% of the olive oil grown in the U.S.

“But state law does not define olive oil grades, and as a result the grades commonly seen on olive oil bottles – such as extra virgin – don’t need to meet any standards,” Wiggins said. “I thank Governor Schwarzenegger for his support of SB 634, which establishes new definitions that meet international standards, and requires that bottles of olive oil be labeled accordingly. This will help consumers make informed choices based on consistent standards for quality.”

Dan Flynn, executive director of the UC Davis Olive Center, described SB 634 as “a landmark bill that will be good for consumers and California producers. ‘Extra virgin’ on the label finally will assure extra virgin in the bottle.”

Almost all of the state’s olive oil producers voluntarily conform to standards adopted by the International Olive Council (IOC) in the production of “extra virgin” olive oil. The IOC, based in Madrid, is an intergovernmental organization of 40 nations formed in 1956.

“Extra virgin” is the highest olive oil grade identified by the IOC. International standards require, among other things, that extra virgin olive oil be produced solely by mechanical means, without the heat or solvents used to make grain or seed oils such as corn and canola. The IOC standards ensure the quality of olive oil, but also make it a more expensive product than other oils.

Flavored oils, such as lemon olive oil or jalapeno olive oil, are increasingly popular with consumers, but existing law does not address these products.

Wiggins said the current state definition of “olive oil,” in existence since 1947, does not include “extra virgin olive oil,” which is the grade of nearly all California-produced olive oils. Nor does it include other common olive oil grades identified by the IOC or flavored oils that are increasingly popular with consumers.

Unlike wine, virgin olive oil does not need to be aged to create complexity. The faster the fruit is crushed, the fresher the product will be, due to the esterification reaction that occurs over time between free alcohols and free fatty acids. According to the California Olive Oil Council (COOC), the state’s olive oil producers are able to bring their fresh product to market sooner than international counterparts. Most imported oils arrive months, if not years, after they are pressed.

COOC Board President Alan Greene said that his organization is “delighted that the Governor has taken this positive step for California consumers and growers. We are grateful to Senator Wiggins for introducing SB 634 and working the bill through the legislative process. We also extend our thanks to the California Department of Food & Agriculture, and specifically, to CDFA Secretary A.G. Kawamura, for their support of this effort.”

Greene also echoed Dan Flynn’s characterization of SB 634 as “landmark legislation for California. And it shows how bipartisanship on the part of the Governor and Legislature can be positive and beneficial for both consumers and growers.”

The COOC, which represents over 80% of all the olive oil grown and produced in the U.S., is the only certified quality-control program in North America whose standards exceed those of the IOC.

The purpose of the COOC certification program is to provide producers and marketers with a standardized method of grading 100% California olive oil as extra virgin, to provide consumers with the assurance that the oil is actually extra virgin, and to provide producers and marketers that meet the certification standard with a means to distinguish their product in the marketplace.

In order for a producer to gain certification, they must submit their oil to the COOC panel of tasters for a sensory evaluation, as well as a chemical analysis, performed by a COOC certified laboratory. The panel of tasters has undertaken a training and certification program, and undergoes ongoing training. Their role is to ascertain an oil's defects, such as musty, rancid or greasy, as well as desirable attributes such as fruity, bitter or pungent.

According to Wiggins, SB 634 will “not only provide consumers with better information, it will also facilitate the increased export of California olive oils and help spur adoption of national standards.”

SB 634 was sponsored by the COOC, as well as the North American Olive Oil Association. Wiggins represents California’s large 2nd Senate District, which stretches from Humboldt County to Solano County and also includes portions or all of Lake, Mendocino, Napa and Sonoma Counties.

Real Food

In our family, we grew up eating healthy, balanced meals, produced as freshly as possible. I remember at some point my father not even allowing any canned foods in the house. My parents had a huge garden at the weekend cottage where they produced a surplus of vegetables we would bring back home for the week and share with family and friends. I wasn’t even conscious of whether I was eating well or not until I went to college and my roommate commented on how well I put together my meals as she pulled a frozen dinner out of the freezer.

In my mid-twenties I became very food and diet conscious, almost to the point of obsession. For example, I would scrutinize the tiny ingredient list on labels, and if I saw high fructose corn syrup, back it went. This proved to be difficult because most products at the supermarket use it. Eventually, I learned not to stress too much about every detail. The important thing was to eat food as high quality and fresh as possible, to eat in moderation, and to enjoy it!

A good set of guidelines to eating real food is “Six Rules to Live By,” provided by Michael Pollan and available on the blog of nutrition expert Tina Ruggiero. Definitely worth a read or a reread. Here’s the list in brief, but visit the page to get the specifics.

1. Don’t eat anything your great-great-great grandmother wouldn’t recognize as food.
2. Avoid foods containing high-fructose corn syrup (HFCS)
3. Spend more, eat less.
4. Pay no heed to nutritional science or the health claims on packages.
5. Shop at the farmers’ market.
6. How you eat is as important as what you eat.

Real food involves buzz words such as local, organic and sustainable agriculture. What do they mean exactly? Marissa Lippert, a registered dietitian and nutrition consultant, succinctly explains these terms and shows us their benefits in her article “How to find real food: Tips for improving your plate.”

Tastespotting

I wish I came up with that title myself, but it's the name of a simple but great site called www.tastespotting.com. This gorgeous site lives up to its tagline "feed your addiction." The site allows users to share articles or products that inspire them. Pages and pages of stunning photos submitted by visitors entice you to click through to recipes on other sites. It is so interesting to see what everyone else is cooking up. A search function allows you to look for specific food items or dishes. Even if you don't have time to download the recipes or read the articles, it's fun to look at the inspiring photos. And they make the submission process very easy, so feel free to share your photos of anything relating to food.

The Secret to Sun Dried Tomatoes

The truth is, I didn’t discover sun dried tomatoes until I was in my twenties. It was one of those Italian food items that didn’t make it into my family’s pantry. Sun dried tomato is not a taste that can be ignored in any dish with its powerful salty and meaty flavors and rare texture. Just a little chunk sends off an explosion of flavor in your mouth. And when they are packed in a good extra virgin olive oil, what a combination! I love to add sun dried tomatoes in my sandwiches of cheese and prosciutto, for example. I even eat them straight on a piece of bread.

Get the recipe >

What is now a gourmet food once had a utilitarian function. Sun dried tomatoes were conserved along with other foods to stock up on food for the winter season. In southern Italy, the tomatoes were dried in the sun and, to make them last even more, they were preserved in olive oil.

I’ve bought many jars of sun dried tomatoes in oil, but at some point I got curious about the sun dried tomatoes that were still dried. I had bought some and tried packing it in olive oil, but they were still too hard for my liking. Then I discovered you have to reconstitute them first before adding the olive oil. That means soaking them in hot or boiling water first. You can add white wine or white wine vinegar to the liquid combination. When you conserve them in olive oil, you can add any combination of condiments, such as garlic, hot pepper, fresh or dried herbs, cocktail onions and anything else you want to experiment with!

Although packing them straight in olive oil is one viable method, I still like the rehydration method better. It’s faster and helps release the flavor of the tomato.

For a description of the full process on how to reconstitute sun dried tomatoes and preserve them in oil, see the recipe Sun Dried Tomatoes in Oil.

To learn how to dry the tomatoes from fresh, ripe ones, here are a few online sources:

• Sun-dried-tomatoes.com
• DIY Dried Fruit - Ecobites.com
  
• Homemade Sun-Dried Tomatoes
• How to Dehydrate Tomatoes

Olive Oil and Infant Health

When my daughter first started eating solid foods, she immediately was drawn to dipping pieces of bread in extra virgin olive oil. Not only did she think it was fun, but she loved the taste as well. She’s three now and still asks for “dip it” or “the oil.” In fact, since she was introduced to olive oil in our house early on, she now equates maple syrup on pancakes as “oil,” so we call it the “sweet oil.”

Knowing how healthy olive oil is generally, I began to wonder whether there were any special benefits for infants and children. I did a bit of searching and discovered olive oil, and in particular organic olive oil, is great from a nutritional perspective, and it’s also useful for body care.

Children Need More Fat (the good kind, of course): Children under three require more fat intake as at least forty percent of the energy they consume comes from fat. Extra virgin olive oil is a favorable means to providing some of these essential fatty acids as its ratio of linoleic acid to linolenic acid is similar to that of breast milk, and it’s low in polyunsaturated fats.

Pregnant and Breastfeeding Moms too!: It is also advisable that pregnant and breastfeeding mothers consume more fat, primarily monounsaturated fat as in olive oil, to pass on essential fatty acids and vitamins to their newborn children during postnatal development. Of course, this doesn’t mean eat more sweets — general dietary guidelines should be followed as usual.

Helps Bones Grow Strong: Bones need a large amount of oleates. The oleic acid contained in extra virgin olive oil appears to have a positive influence on growth and bone mineralization during infancy and childhood.

Body Care: Olive oil can be used to moisturize the body, and it’s especially great for infant care. I know of some mothers who look for organic olive oil products to moisturize their children’s sensitive skin. As a solution for cradle cap, apply olive oil to the scalp and leave for 1 to 2 hours before bath time. Then gently brush with a soft brush and/or comb the hair with a very fine comb and finally wash the hair. Do 2-3 times within 10 days.

Symbolic Rituals: In some cultures, olive oil is a symbolic means of welcoming children into the world by rubbing them from head to toe in olive oil and giving them a light massage. As part of the baptism process in the Greek Orthodox Church, children are anointed with hallowed olive oil throughout their body.

Preserving Antipasti in Olive Oil

Roasted red peppers, sun-dried tomatoes, artichokes…we love preserving some of our favorite foods with olive oil to create flavorful antipasti. So we thought we’d share some of these in a multi-part series.

Most of these preparations are for short-term preservation in a refrigerator or even a freezer; they are not for long-term storage in a pantry. That type of preservation may require the boiling water method to better conserve the food. In addition, if you want to infuse herbs in oil, be sure that they are absolutely dry.

Things to know:

• Make sure your tools and containers are clean and dry before you start
• Use a glass storage unit with a seal or lid that closes tightly
• A narrow container is better than a wide one to keep the exposed top area to a minimum
• Place your food item in the container until full and then completely cover with olive oil. Make sure that none of the food items are protruding above the olive oil.
• Pour the olive oil all the way to the top to form a seal. Use a knife to push out the air bubbles.
• Cover tightly and store in the refrigerator, which will last a few months if stored properly
• Olive oil will congeal when cold. When serving the food item, allow the oil to clarify before removing a portion from the container.
• Add extra olive oil as needed while in storage

Get our recipe for tasty roasted red bell peppers and start preserving!

UC Davis Launches a New Olive Center

This week the University of California Davis launched the first university-based olive research and education center in North America. They are hoping to do for olives and olive oil what it has done for grapes and wine.

The center's program will be devoted to teaching, research and educational activities. The teaching component will eventually include a general-education class on olive oil; student internships; and short courses on olive growing, and olive-oil processing and sensory evaluation.

Neal Van Alfen, dean of UC Davis' College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences is confident that the knowledge coming out of the new center "will lead to advances in olive growing and processing, and a better understanding of the link between olive products and consumer health."

The new center's initial priorities will include strengthening California's olive oil labeling statutes, conducting research on issues identified by olive-oil and table-olive producers, and identifying better laboratory methods for detecting adulterated olive oil.

An olive-oil processing plant will enable the center to examine the impact of different olive varieties, environmental factors and growing practices on olive-oil quality. Researchers affiliated with the center will also explore potential health benefits of olives and olive oil, pest management strategies and mechanical harvesting improvements.

More information