Extra-virgin olive oil is a unique food — in taste, beneficial properties and culinary use. When it's organic, it goes even further and genuinely improves our lives. Because it relies on methods that don't damage the soil, the environment or our health. On the contrary, they enhance their vitality.
When can an extra-virgin olive oil be called organic? When its production has been obtained in compliance with the directives of the EU regulation on organic production, a regulation that distinguishes agricultural production from processing. The added value of organic oil, in fact, lies more in field cultivation than in the processing of the product: it is in the olive grove that no synthetic chemical fertilisers or pesticides are used, and the soil is enriched through crop rotation, organic fertilisers and pruning residues worked into the ground. In organic farming, the growth of weeds is kept in check through agricultural techniques such as shallow ploughing and mowing — sustainable practices that protect the biodiversity of the land and the health of the planet. As regards processing, organic oil is not subject to any different obligations from those that apply to conventional oil. All extra-virgin oils, in order to be labelled as such, must be processed in accordance with best practices spanning from the olive harvest right through to final bottling. If olives are collected from the ground rather than from the tree, if they are transported and stored inadequately, milled too long after harvesting and perhaps even at high temperature, the oil will not have the characteristics required to merit the label "extra-virgin", whether conventional or organic.
To avoid any misunderstanding, however, organic certification bodies provide those they inspect with a specification document that sets out the recommended actions for obtaining the best extra-virgin oil, with guidance aimed at retaining the highest level of natural antioxidants , the best acidity and the greatest beneficial properties. As a precaution against contamination, certifiers advise producer companies to use separate lines for transporting organic and conventional oil, or, if the pipework is shared, they ask for the passage of conventional oil to be temporarily suspended so that the system can be flushed and then used for transporting organic oil.
Going against the trend of food consumption figures in Italy, which remained virtually stable in 2016, sales of organic products recorded overall growth of 20 per cent, according to estimates by AssoBio, the national association of companies involved in the processing and distribution of organic products. Within this segment, organic extra-virgin oil grew by double digits for the third consecutive year: +13.7 per cent, according to Nielsen data (Market Track – 2016). But how many olive groves in Italy are free of synthetic chemicals, and where are they mainly concentrated? Of the approximately 180,000 hectares of organic olive groves nationwide, 57,665 are located in Calabria and 52,698 in Puglia. The latter, according to estimates presented in Ostuni at the 22nd Premio Biol — the international competition for the best organic extra-virgin oils — boasts a production of 20,000 tonnes of organic oil, with a commercial value of 80 million euros, around 20 million more than producers would earn if they were farming conventionally rather than organically.
Why is organic extra-virgin so popular? A food that symbolises the Mediterranean diet and an undisputed elixir of health, extra-virgin olive oil is a constant on Italian tables. When it is organic, it adds to its many benefits the advantage of protecting the environment, biodiversity and the plant's ability to synthesise, more readily, substances that are precious for health. This is precisely what numerous studies on organic products highlight.
The Fao in its report "Organic Agriculture and Food Security" writes that "the strengths of organic agriculture are its independence from fossil fuels and its reliance on locally available means of production. By working with natural processes, organic agriculture increases the resilience of ecosystems in the face of difficult climatic conditions."
As well as consuming less energy and emitting fewer greenhouse gases, organic farming acts as a carbon sink: every hectare farmed this way absorbs 2.3 tonnes of carbon per year compared with non-organic farming. This is the finding of research presented by Ifoam, the international organisation that brings together more than 870 organisations in 120 countries and comprises millions of small farmers — those most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. For this reason, the multifunctional role of organic farming in terms of adaptation to and mitigation of extreme climate events is considered crucial by Ifoam for the survival of the world's smallholder farmers.
Higher antioxidant and lower cadmium concentrations and lower incidence of pesticide residues in organically grown crops is the Newcastle University study that demonstrates how foods grown by organic methods contain fewer pesticide residues, lower concentrations of cadmium and a greater quantity of antioxidants. After analysing 343 studies on the subject, the researchers concluded that putting organic food on the table means enriching one's diet with an additional quota of antioxidants, as if we were eating two extra portions of vegetables or fruit each day. Why? Organic foods produce antioxidants in response to stress — for example to counter the stress caused by pest attack. Organic farming, by not using chemical substances, leaves plants free to synthesise antioxidants in order to protect themselves. According to experts, moreover, the higher the level of nitrogen applied to the soil, the greater the risk of dilution of antioxidants in vegetables and fruit. The study also demonstrated that in organic foods the levels of cadmium and mercury — both toxic — are at least 50 per cent lower.