« Go back Health benefits of olive oil
During the Olio Officina Festival, an event dedicated to condiments held in Milan from February 29 to March 2 2024, Andrea Carrassi, General Director of the Italian Association of the Olive Oil Industry (Assitol), reiterated the need to promote the great qualities of extra virgin olive oil to overcome the increase in prices and the drop in consumption caused by the reduced availability of raw materials: “Olive oil is a juice of olives, not a detergent, it is unacceptable to treat it as a commodity. Its ability to provide well-being is unique. This is the right historical moment to convey to consumers that extra virgin olive oil has a very specific value, so it must be adequately priced, as is already the case with wine”.
Assitol President Anna Cane added: “As it stands, it is practically impossible to convey on the label how beneficial our extra virgin olive oil is to health and why. EU regulations need to be reviewed to increase product knowledge not only in olive-growing countries like Italy but also where extra virgin olive oil is little known”.
In fact, olive oil is the only food studied in relation to human health, but this is not "communicated" to consumers through labels.
🔹Read also: Italian trade fair industry: revenues exceed 2019 levels