With the involvement of more than 200 people, the 3rd Technical Workshop of the PDO Montoro-Adamuz has been one of the highlights of the 17th Montoro Olive Tree Trade Fair (held from 14th to 17th May 2014). In this edition it focused on the values and future of extra virgin olive oil in our designation of origin.

The first presentation in these workshops, dedicated to professionals from the olive industry, was given by the renowned Doctor Ramón Estruch from the University of Barcelona, manager and coordinator of the PREDIMED Study about the effects of the Mediterranean diet on the prevention of cardiovascular diseases. During his presentation he emphasised the conclusions of this study, which show the benefit of consuming extra virgin olive oil, making it clear that “4 or 5 tablespoons per day does not make you gain weight, but rather improves both good and bad cholesterol”.

Moreover, Teresa Pérez Millán, manager of the Interprofesional del Aceite de Oliva organisation, stressed that the level of polyphenols in extra virgin olive oil is what provides its health benefit. In that regard, she highlighted the advantages of the oil from our designation of origin, one of the richest in polyphenols.

Additionally, Pérez Millán noted the need to promote extra virgin olive oil to tourists in order for them to “appreciate our product”, highlighting the different campaigns being carried out by the “Aceites de España” brand throughout the world.

One of the central themes of the technical workshops was undoubtedly the issue surrounding the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) and mountain olive groves with natural difficulties, a theme that Rafael Sánchez de Puerta, chairman of the EU Olive Oil Advisory Group, addressed in his speech.

Sánchez de Puerta argued that the “CAP must have a better outlook” and said that to achieve this it will be “essential to develop the Rural Development in Andalusia programme”. As he mentioned, this programme will have a budget of 1,900 million and will be managed by the Rural Development Groups (RDG) of Andalusia, who will surely be committed to the mountain olive grove, one of the hardest hit. He continued by saying that “this type of policy, which covers the period between 2014 and 2020, could be implemented from next year”.

During his presentation, Sánchez de Puerta also emphasised the need for the involvement of companies that position our products in the international market. He stressed that two thirds of the olive grove production is already exported across the world, exceeding our main competitor, Italy. In this regard, he focussed on turning farmers into entrepreneurs through cooperatives, in order to strengthen industrialisation, commercialisation and, therefore, the growth of the industry.

In addition to the aforementioned presentations, others were given by renowned researchers and professionals from industries related to extra virgin olive oil, such as Doctor Francisco Pérez Jiménez, from the lipids unit of the Reina Sofía Hospital in Cordoba.

Similarly, during the technical workshops, those who took part were able to enjoy a healthy breakfast based, of course, on extra virgin olive oil.