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Volume 12 - April 2010
CONTENTS
President's Comments
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Harvest is well underway in the North. It is most likely the early start date is due to the extreme and unusual drought in Northland. Fruit is highly coloured with some impressive yields being recorded. It will be interesting to see how the flavour profiles are affected by the drought conditions and how unusual weather patterns in other regions over the summer influence flavours, yields and harvest timing. It is a reminder that despite our best endeavours to grow, harvest and press our product within our own pre-determined parameters that nature exerts a strong influence and often not the same influence as the year before.
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TV3’s Target programme approached ONZ for assistance in evaluating the quality of four supermarket available olive oils. The programme was aired on 23rd March 2010 – I hope you all had a chance to watch it. As revealed, all four products were imported product where FFA and PV met international standards of EVO. However, all three of our test panel rejected the oils due to rancidity. In our view the programme provided an excellent result giving a platform to expose the poor quality of imported olive oil and providing ONZ with the opportunity to explain the benefits of ONZ certified oils. There have also been two further requests from the Press for information regarding the poor quality of imported oils into New Zealand including aspects on the affects of poor imported oils on NZ growers and the need for country of origin labelling. Whenever possible, we are assisting anyone to explain the poor quality of imported olive oil in our market and highlight our points of difference including ONZ certification.
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The combined Regional Chairs and Executive Committee meeting was held on the 27th of March in Christchurch. It was an excellent opportunity for a wider group to consider how to prioritise and fund the medium term objectives. Ross Legh was able to introduce the Chair of the new Northland Branch of ONZ, Mark Bond. We look forward to Mark’s input and encourage all Northland members to make contact with him. We intend to arrange Executive meetings through the harvest period using Skype. Telephone conference calls are difficult and expensive. It will be interesting to see how well Skype will work for us. Hopefully, sufficiently well so we can reduce costs of meeting well into the future.
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The Olives to Oil Course held on the 17th & 18th of April provided an excellent opportunity for growers and processors to network, discuss points freely with our presenters and observe the facilities at The Village Press. Presentations by visiting speakers Marie Wong (Massey University), David Shovel, Allan Woolf (Plant & Food), and Phyllis Tichinin (Abron) covered the range of aspects from growing the olives right through to testing the bottled product. Feedback has been very positive about the content and the location. Our thanks to all the speakers who put much time and effort into the weekend, especially those members of ONZ who gave of their own time to make this event such a success. A special thank you also to our sponsors, OMT, Skeltons, Abron, and The Village Press.
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Congratulations to the HB Branch of ONZ who have secured funding from the Hastings District Council of $23,000 pa for the next three years to continue the olive festival. ONZ are keen to support their endeavours in promoting NZ EVO. ONZ intend to promote our certification and red seal identification of quality NZ EVO within this event. We appreciate also the opportunity Hawke’s Bay are offering for other regions to attend and promote their products.
I wish you well for the 2010 harvest.
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Combined Executive & Regional Chairs Meeting
The last Olives New Zealand Executive meeting was held on 27 March in Christchurch. The meeting also included Regional chairpersons not already executive members.
Mains points to come forth were;
ONZ AWARDS:
A confirmation that from the 2011 ONZ awards that all EVOOs so entered must have been processed in a plant with an Approved Food Safety Plan.
ONZ will communicate with members, prior to the harvesting season commencing, as to which processing plants have approved food safety plans. It is expected that by the 2011 harvesting season about 20 plants will comply. It was confirmed that any EVOO that receives an ONZ award is only to be used with the “Brand” under which that oil was entered. There is no transferability of awards between “Brands”.
CERTIFICATION:
Fees for certification 2010 are presently being finalised. Two changes are being proposed that will allow flexibility and transferability. These changes are, that so long as all individual varieties are certified, it will no longer be necessary to certify a blend made up entirely from oils already certified. This will allow people to change blend compositions thru out the year based on volumes of product held. Any ONZ awards for blends will only apply to original blend composition.
The second change allows for the transferability of certification results when bulk EVOO is sold by the original certifier to another party. The documentation trail is presently being drafted.
OLIVES TO OIL COURSE
Subject to final participant numbers being confirmed it was likely that the course was to proceed on 17/18 April.
WEBSITE
The present ONZ website is showing its age and at some stage will need to be redeveloped. Timing is finance dependent.
LEVY
A paper was presented outlining the decisions that needed to be made and the input requirements necessary prior to any attempt being made at introducing a levy. At this stage the executive have deferred any decision on this issue.
RED SEAL
A committee has been formed to review the ONZ “Red Seal”. All aspects of the seal and its value to consumers, ONZ and brand owners will be investigated.
HORT NZ fee.
The President and Executive Officer are having discussions with HORT NZ over the fee structure and the benefits to ONZ of membership.
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Photographs for Website
I would like to refresh the home pages in both the public and members only sections of the Olives NZ website.
To assist me in this I am appealing to readers for photographs of olive groves, processing plants or olive related activities. If you have suitable photographs that you are willing to have displayed on the website please forward them with a descriptive caption to me at info@cairnmuirolives.co.nz The contributor will be acknowledged.
The preferred file format is jpg. The file should be compressed or optimised for email transfer to avoid problems with sending very large photographic files.
I look forward to an enthusiastic response.
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Around the Regions
Kapiti
Harvest time will be upon us before we know it and your committee has planned your next Olive Growers Event for 2 May at 2PM at Te Horo Olives Olive Press
Come along to get your questions answered.
Topics for discussion will be:
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How do we know when to pick? What is ripe?
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Press operations and what to expect with time tables etc.
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What are the safety standards that apply.
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Birds and what to do about them.
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Harvesting tools and what works for people.
AND all this will be followed by a social time when you can catch up with your friends and colleagues.
Olivetti
The Northland members of ONZ held a meeting to discuss the possibility of forming Northland Area Regional Branch of ONZ as was promoted and agreed at the ONZ AGM in October. It has been agreed to proceed and the members present elected Mark Bond as the Regional Chairman.
Mark has provided the following biography by way of introduction :
Mark Bond
Initially trained in broadcasting electronics, Mark spent 19 years as an account manager in the New Zealand and UK Information & Technology sector. In 1988 Mark and his wife Mieke established Lynx Services (NZ) Ltd a Project Management practice which today is primarily focused on Change -Management, Telecommunications and Information Technology projects. From 1994 through 2003 Mark was managing partner of “On The Double Charters” which operated a sailing catamaran on Northlands East coast and in Tonga.
Mark’s professional roles include Conference Committee Secretary, Auckland Branch Chairman of New Zealand Computer Society and President of Iwikau Ski Club. Mark holds diploma’s in Electronics and Sales, and a Diploma in Management from Auckland University. Mark is a seasoned business professional with experience which includes team management, project management, product development, contract negotiation, as well as broad sales and marketing experience.
In July 2003 Mark purchased a small block of land on a north facing ridge in Dairy Flat and formed Rockhaven Estate Ltd as the vehicle to grow olives and potentially to act as marketer of oils from a collective of other small growers. Mark has been hands on in every aspect of the development and ongoing maintenance/operation of Rockhaven’s olive grove. The first olive crop was processed in 2009. The resulting ONZ certified Extra Virgin blend won a silver medal from the Royal New Zealand Show’s oil competition in late 2009.
Mark is passionate about educating the New Zealand market in how to use premium New Zealand EVOO and its points of difference from cheap imported product. He has a strong belief that the only way small olive oil producers can succeed commercially, is to work together to achieve economies of scale in both production and in marketing.
With Northland based members of ONZ voting to form a local Northland Branch, Mark has accepted the role of chairman to help create a local organisation representing member interests and to interface between the ONZ and the Northland olive grower’s organisation Oliveti.
mark@rockhavenoil.co.nz
Ph: 0274 941 232 / 09 426 1002
Waiheke Island
Not much is happening up here apart from the harvest which has begun. The olives are looking excellent, but there has been no rain for ages.
Wairarapa
The Wairarapa Branch of Olives NZ held its AGM on Saturday April 10.
The Committee elected is:
Chairman Ian Juno
Deputy Chairman Penny Elliot
Secretary Richard Winder
Treasurer Ruth Leaf-Wright
Members Odell Sugrue, Chris Penman, Rona Huggins, Andrew Priddle
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Department of Labour Publications
New employment relations and health and safety resource
A productive workplace is one where people are safe, healthy, and treated fairly. Creating this sort of environment helps organisations recruit and retain skilled staff, minimise employment relationship problems, and avoid tragic and costly accidents.
The Big Six is a series of six brochures that provide checklists and tasks that draw attention to legal responsibilities and good employment practices. The brochures cover the key areas on which small and medium businesses commonly seek information. Links are provided to the Department’s online tools and to further information on: health and safety; hiring new employees; pay; holidays and leave; managing performance; and ending employment relationships.
The brochures also list other organisations that can help with starting and running a business.
To find out more about the Big Six, or to download from the Department’s web-site visit www.dol.govt.nz/big6
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Understanding The FSSC 22000 Food Safety System Certification Standard
A White Paper on the Challenges, Impacts and Opportunities Contained in FSSC 22000
February 2010
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this document is to provide an introduction to the FSSC 22000 Food Safety System Certification standard requirements. This document is not intended to be a full explanation of the standard or of its implementation. Rather, it aims to promote understanding of the standard and its benefits to organisations doing business at a domestic or international level within the food industry.
Go to http://www.foodsafety.sgs.com/fssc-22000-whitepaper-information-request.htm to request a free copy of the white paper.
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News Briefs
The Secret Behind the Mediterranean Diet : Olive Oil.
The heart-healthy Mediterranean diet has been getting a whole lot of press lately due to some pretty significant research into its benefits. - more
"Mediterranean diet” benefits partly due to oil: study.
Ingredients of olive oil that suppress inflammation in the body are partly responsible for the healthy effects of “Mediterranean diets,” scientists say in a new report. - more
How much do consumers know about EVOO?
Given the size of the international olive oil industry it surprises me that so few studies have delved into what the average consumer actually knows about extra virgin olive oil. - more
What can you tell me about olives, olive oil, and carotenoids?
Among their many nutrition benefits, olives contain important amounts of carotenoids. - more
Effect of Preprocessing Olive Storage Conditions on Virgin Olive Oil Quality and Composition.
The quality of virgin olive oil (VOO) is intimately related to the characteristics and composition of the olive fruit at the moment of its milling. - more
The scientific truth on cooking with extra virgin olive oil
Which is the “ideal” cooking oil? Many factors determine it, but it is not about the best solution. more
What is a better than average extra virgin olive oil? Forget the official line.
The number one principle that anyone concerned with producing or using quality extra virgin olive oil should adhere to is – completely ignore the standards set by the International Olive Council (IOC) for what can be called extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).- more
Yes EVOO contains good fats – but are all EVOO’s the same?
Extra virgin olive oils (and indeed all edible fats) are actually a complex mixture of different fats – saturated, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated. - more
The all-time top 10 myths surrounding extra virgin olive oil.
I give my top 10 myths surrounding Extra Virgin Olive Oil ……
Myth No. 1 – Extra virgin olive oil is made from the first cold pressing of olives. - more
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Coming Events
May 2 - Kapiti. Your committee has planned your next Olive Growers Event for 2 May at 2PM at Te Horo Olives Olive Press.
August 2010. Savantes Programme and International Days.
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