E.U. Interreg MED Programme | ARISTOIL Project Meeting | Larnaca, Cyprus
11 January, 2020 | Conference and Workshop | Steering Committee Mtg
Hosting Partner: Larnaca District Development Agency (Anetel) with Aristoleo Ltd.
Venue: Larnaca Environmental Informational Center (Skarinou)
The Interreg Mediterranean Programme supports projects in the region that develop innovative concepts, practices, and the sustainable growth and use of resources. The specific goal of the ARISTOIL Project is the “reinforcement of Mediterranean olive oil sector competitiveness through development and application of innovative production and quality control methodologies related to olive oil health protecting properties”, and includes partners from Greece, Italy, Cyprus, Croatia, Spain.
Following visits to Greece, Cyprus, Italy and Spain, the Aristoil Project Steering Committee’s first meeting and conference in 2020 was held in Cyprus, and was hosted by the Programme’s representatives in Cyprus .
See below for more general information about the Programme.
Meeting & workshop for producers on ‘health claim’ category Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
This conference is organized within the framework of the ARISTOIL program, which aims to enhance the competitiveness of the olive oil sector through the development and implementation of innovative production and quality control methods related to its health-promoting properties.
As is known, the European Union paved the way for the adoption, following decades of compelling research,of a Health Claim for polyphenols in olive oil . This health claim created a new category of extra virgin olive oil called “EVOO High Phenolic Olive Oil”. This EU Health Claim 432/2012 requires a specific concentration of polyphenols to claim:
Olive oil polyphenols help protect blood lipids from oxidative stress
The aim of the ARISTOIL Programme is to promote a new class of polyphenols rich in olive oil that can be labeled with this health claim, and the past years of efforts to produce, standardize and circulate such olive oil with increased polyphenols has reached the final stage. There are currently 7 clinical trials in progress on the beneficial effects of olive oil on diseases such as cancer, Alzheimer's, multiple sclerosis, and the results so far are encouraging.
The speakers at this conference resented the results of the ARISTOIL program, details about the latest clinical studies on the impact of olive oil on our health, and the next step of the Programme, that of the creation of the Mediterranean CLUSTER oil producers. It was followed by a workshop for the attending participants, olive oil producers in Cyprus, who wish to learn the methods and practices which are needed in order to produce this category of EVOO.
Program:
Opening statement: Evangelos Kepolas of the Larnaca District Development Agency (Anetel)
Speakers:
• Dr. Eleni Melliou
Researcher in the Department of Pharmacognosy and Chemistry of Natural Products, University of Athens
“Latest developments from clinical trials and future prospects for high phenolic olive oils”
• Dr. Prokopios Magiatis
Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacognosy and Physical Chemistry, University of Athens
“Presentation of the Aristoil Interreg Med Program” and “Olive mills - An important link in the process of producing high-phenolic olive oil”
• Dr. Nikos Krimianiotis
Coordinator of the Aristoil Interreg Med Programme
“The Establishment of an Aristoil Interreg Med Mediterranean Oil Producers Network”
• Athan Gadanidis
Director, Aristoleo Ltd.
“The true value of high phenolic olive oils in the world market”
• Haris Christoforou
Producer, ‘To Pervoli tou Theodorou’
“How the Aristoil Interreg Med Programme improved the quality of my olive oil”
The long-term objective of this Programme is to provide Mediterranean olive oil producers, especially that of small-scale farmers, the potential to increase the value of their product, to increase the knowledge capacity of all olive oil producers, and ultimately, to increase the understanding and the demand worldwide for high quality olive oil.
The speakers section of the conference was followed by a workshop discussion for the olive oil producers of Cyprus about methodology and trends and prospects for polyphenol-rich EVOO in the country and the region. Details such as the most critical factors and the parameters that embody the production of extra virgin olive oil with high phenolic content were addressed, such as genetic variety (olive tree cultivar), agronomic practices (such as water availability, soil management, harvest time) and technical factors (olive oil extraction and milling process) etc.
Steering Committee members are Athan Gadanidis, Dir. of ARISTOLEO Ltd & Melina Nicolaides, Dir. of ACTIVATE, with Larnaca District Development Agency (ANETEL), key partners in the ARISTOIL Interreg MED Programme representing Cyprus.
Above are two examples of labels of high-phenolic Extra Virgin Olive Oil bearing the EU 432/2012 Health Claim.
SOME BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
Interreg is one of the key instruments of the European Union supporting cooperation across borders through project funding. Its aim is to jointly tackle common challenges and find shared solutions in fields such as health, environment, research, education, transport, sustainable energy and more.
Interreg is one of the two goals of the EU Cohesion Policy in the 2014-2020 period and it is funded by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The ERDF is a fund allocated by the EU aiming to help redress the main regional imbalances in the Union. It aims to allow less advantageous regions to start attracting private sector investments, and create jobs on their own. It also aims to strengthen economic and social cohesion in the EU by correcting imbalances between its regions and focuses its investments on several key priority areas, known as ‘thematic concentration’; one example of a theme is ‘Innovation and Research’.
Interreg has a budget of EUR 10.1 billion invested in the several cooperation programmes responsible for managing project funding, and has three types of programmes: Cross border (60); Transnational (15); Interregional (4).
Interreg Europe helps regional and local governments across Europe to develop and deliver better policy. By creating an environment and opportunities for sharing solutions, it aims to ensure that government investment, innovation and implementation efforts all lead to integrated and sustainable impact for people and place.
The Interreg MED Programme gathers 13 European countries from the Northern shore of the Mediterranean that work together for sustainable growth in the region. The main objective of the Programme is to promote sustainable growth in the Mediterranean area by supporting projects that develop innovative concepts and practices, promote a reasonable use of resources, and support social integration through an integrated and territorially-based cooperation approach.
The ARISTOIL Project: Why & How
The olive tree, native to the Mediterranean basin has been utilized by people of the region as far back as the 8th millennium BC and archeological evidence has shown that by 6000 BC olives were being pressed into olive oil. Today, 95% of the world's olive oil is produced in the Mediterranean; mainly in Greece, where the Peloponnese which produces 65% of Greek olive oil; the regions of Sicily, Calabria and Puglia in Italy; and the Andalusia province in Spain, which is also the biggest olive growing area on the planet. The composition of olive oil varies depending of many factors, including the cultivar type, altitude, time of harvest and extraction process.
The main common challenge for all participating countries in the ARISTOIL project is that the average price of olive oil is low in comparison to the production cost and moreover, there is strong competition with the non-Mediterranean seed oil sector. The producers of the Mediterranean are compelled to either reduce the cost of production or to increase the value or the demand for olive oil in the international market in order to maintain the viability and sustainability of olive tree cultivation and olive oil production.
The main objective of the Interreg Med ARISTOIL Programme is the reinforcement of Mediterranean olive oil sector competitiveness through development and application of innovative production and quality control methodologies leading to olive oil with enhanced health protecting properties (as recognized by EU 432/2012 regulation). The development of a Mediterranean Cluster for olive oil producers and businesses, combined with specialized training, development of innovative methods for identifying the phenolic ingredients of the oil, as well as providing oil producers with support by special product certification, is the strategy which will lead to the project’s objective.
High Phenolic olive oil is olive oil with a high concentration of oleocanthal and oleacein.
The expected results of the project are:
Reinforcement of production of innovative olive oil product
A comparison of available analysis methods for olive oil ingredients and optimization of the most suitable methods will be completed throughout the project. The optimization of methods will accompanied by the development of a tool which can be used by the producers for fast oil analysis in the field in order to know if it is the right moment to collect the oil and achieve the optimum taste and phenolic ingredients. All relevant information will be simplified and provided to the producers through a user-friendly Guide for production of olive oil.
Training for over 3000 olive oil producers and millers
A total of 3230 olive oil producers and millers will be trained through the organization of 72 training courses and seminars for olive oil producers and olive millers throughout the project implementation. Training and seminars will be dedicated to inform producers and olive millers on innovative production methods and tools which are at their disposal.
Consumer awareness-raising
Consumers should be informed on the health benefits of olive oil high in phenolic content according to EU 432/2012 regulation. A series of info days (44) organized in the participating countries are dedicated to enhance the knowledge capacity of stakeholders and consumers.
Development of a standardized procedure for Olive oil “Health Claim” certification
The increase of the Mediterranean olive oil sector competitiveness lies upon the construction of a “high quality” brand for olive oil produced in this region meeting minimum specific standards. The development of standardized procedures for certification and the creation of two certification centers in Spain and Greece covering the needs of all the Med area will ensure the final consumer on the product quality.
Development of Mediterranean Olive Oil cluster of key actors
A Mediterranean Cluster of olive oil sector key actors will be developed aiming to facilitate networking and cooperation across the Mediterranean region. An e-hub will support the communication and exchange of experience among the key actors. Information on new market opportunities, exhibitions, seminars, demand and other ideas will flow through this hub.
