Regional Institute of Wine and Oil

Oil, redevelopment and quality in the foreground

The activity of IRVOS in the oil and olive growing world, "oriented towards improving the island's production in the name of quality and the redevelopment of the product", as explained by the director Dario Cartabellotta, comes to life. The meeting, which was held at the Marsala laboratory, kicked off the meeting between the director and officials of the Institute and the olive producers of western Sicily.

“Organizational models and quality criteria in olive oil production” is the title of the meeting which involved thirty-five producers. “We wanted to draw attention – explains Lucio Monte, head of the technical-scientific area of IRVOS – to the real possibility of forms of organization that aim to improve the production and quality of Sicilian extra virgin olive oil”. And to do so, the members of AIPO, the interregional association of olive producers, the most important association in Veneto, Trentino Alto Adige and Friuli Venezia Giulia, were invited. And a reality certainly worth "imitating". In fact, AIPO has been operating for over thirty years and represents approximately six thousand individual olive producers, members of cooperatives and consortia for the production, processing and transformation of olives. “We offer assistance – explained the director of the association, Enzo Gambin – chemical analyzes and organoleptic analyses, and then community programs for interregional interventions on improving the quality of olive oil and the environmental impact of olive growing, training and refresher courses". Twelve agronomists are part of it, including Antonio Volani, head of the olive land registry office, quality certification and regulations, who was also present during the meeting organized by IRVOS. As for wine, also for oil, the Foss company supplies high-precision machinery to determine the quality of olives and oils. One of the managers of the leading company in the sector, Dario Bianchi, explained its characteristics and operation. The meeting, which proved interesting and above all a stimulus for a positive change in the world of oil, will be organized shortly to also involve the producers of eastern Sicily.