Olive Trees + Oil

I rely on Olive Oil for everyday cooking, and always have a bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Virgin Olive Oil. Without this oil, I would be hard-pressed (a pun) to make it through a day of cooking. But, there are harsh realities about the fragility of the olive tree and its relationship to its environment; the very real impacts of global climate change; the continuing labor and economic impacts of the 2020 pandemic; and the ever growing problem of olive oil fraud.

Originally posted 25 December 2020; revised 28 September 2023.

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Enemies of Olives + Olive Trees

Xylella Fastidiosa Bacterium

It is currently believed that a bacterium, Xylella fastidios, arrived in Southern Italy via a Costa Rican coffee plant. The European Commission wrote, Xylella fastidiosa (Wells et al.) is one of the most dangerous plant bacteria worldwide, causing a variety of diseases, with huge economic impact for agriculture, public gardens and the environment.

• Xylella causes plants to die of thirst from the inside out.
• It drinks from the tree’s arteries, depriving the tree of necessary moisture.
• It is believed to have originated in Central America.
• In Italy they found that the bacteria is spread by the spittlebug.
• Currently, there is no cure.
• And is known to infect ~600 different plants.

This bacterium, and its variations, can infect stone fruit trees like cherry, almond, and plum; and have devastated Italian, Spain, and Greece Olive Trees, California wine vineyards, and Brazil citrus trees.

In 2018 NationalGeographic wrote: The Salento region, in Italy’s boot heel, is widely known for its olive oil. But its storied groves face an uncertain future. In 2013, a devastating plant bacterium called Xylella fastidiosa was introduced to the region. To prevent the bacterium from spreading farther, officials made farmers uproot and burn infected trees.

In 2020 the OliveOilTimes writes: Many of the trees recently infected by Xylella fastidiosa are part of the Monumental Olive Tree Valley, an area considered by local farmers as the heart of Apulian olive culture.

All the trees within 50 meters of the infected tree must be destroyed, which in some areas include famed millennial olive trees. This has been causing tensions and anger, as farmers are asked to do the unthinkable. For olive trees are not just fruit producers used to make olive oil and other products, they are cultural touchstones, representations of country and identity.

The large impact of this bacterial infection has been documented by various articles, governmental policy reviews, and published studies. The economic model studies project ~95% impact on olive oil grown in Italy, Greece and Spain. Right now, these studies show the bacteria have been firmly established in Italy, France, Spain, and Portugal.

Recently, OliveOilTimes (Dec 2022) reiterated that the infection continues and has expanded into new regions. Years after the initial recognition of the bacterial infection specific to olive trees, it is now called the Olive Quick Decline Syndrome.

ChanelNewsAsia reports that in 2023, Xylella fastidiosa has killed more than 21 million olive trees so far in the southern Puglia region, which until recently, produced 50 per cent of the country’s olive oil.

Global Climate Change

The North American Olive Oil Association has a website where they state, despite the horrifying destruction of Olive Trees in Italy, there is no shortage of olive oil. Specifically, they write, while it is true olive oil production in Italy, Tunisia, Greece, California and others have been impacted by blight or significant temperature swings, the larger picture of olive oil production globally is far from dire.

However, Eater and other sites, note Italian olive producers have already seen a reduction of 60 percent in crop yields since 2013. And, in 2017 even the WaPo were suggesting we are approaching a world wide shortage of olive oil, and predicts the oil will start to become a luxury item.

What has happened is that the impacts of global climate change is being felt in the Mediterranean regions. InsideArabia specifically states, as old as the Middle Eastern civilizations, the olive tree is an integral part of the region’s major religions, identity, history, culture, and economy. Having been resilient to the impacts of elements and wars for thousands of years, the tree is now facing a less certain future under the changing climate, increasing desertification of the Middle East and North Africa, and infestations by insects and bacteria.

Generally, people have thought of Olive Trees as long lived, survivors. They are hearty and importantly drought resistant. But the Mediterranean Sea is warming, and Saharan Desert is heating up, both of which will reduce rainfall in the Mediterranean region. The area is susceptible to desertification, and thus kill off the trees that need fertile soil and warm but not hot weather.

Already evidence of climate change is everywhere: changing rainfall patterns, early spring frosts, increasing droughts and/or floods, strong winds, insect infestations, and the bacteria. Olive harvests is dropping in many countries across the Mediterranean.

• 2017 extreme heat in Israel + Palestine reduced olive harvest and therefor oil production
• Tunisia is facing growing desertification and lack of fresh water makes future harvests a question. (Currently up to 80% of the water is supplied to these trees via natural rainfall.)
• Italy, Greece and other Southern European olive-oil-producing nations experienced in 2018 very erratic weather patterns. Summer droughts, late frosts, and strong winds.
• In 2018 Spain experienced a lack of rain, causing olive oil production to decrease by 44% (1).
• Turkey is experiencing climate change as well, and between 2018-19 had a 37% drop in olive oil output (1).
• In 2019 Italy’s production was down 57 percent as a result (1).

Some people argue if we can find a way to deal with the bacteria infection and the fly infestation, a heating of the region (if moderate) could be a boon to olive production. Others think with good agricultural management, and relocating the orchards, olive oil production can still succeed in these areas.

It might be that the olive trees will like the added heat; it might be too hot for the flies; but only time will tell, and in the meanwhile, it does not look so good.

Olive Fruit Flys

So climate change is weakening the Olive Trees, thereby making them susceptible to the Olive Fruit Fly. What these flies do is lay eggs inside or outside the olive fruit, changing it so it is too acidic for food-grade oil production.

• 2017 saw the worst Olive Fruit Fly infestation in Palestine in recent times (1).

This is especially a problem if you are making organic olive oil.

Pandemic Effects

OliveOilTimes writes, Olive farmers and olive oil producers have been hit hard in nearly every region. In Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal and Tunisia, France, Turkey, Croatia, Lebanon, Syria — places where olive oil production is a way of life — there is growing despair and uncertainty for an industry that seemed under attack even before the pandemic arrived.

The pandemic has shut down processing factories, some shipping and delivery systems, and farmworkers are hard to find for maintaining and harvesting the olives. Owners are saying they are in the orchards, pruning trees themselves as they cannot find labor. Maintenance like checking the drip irrigation, pruning, inspections, and testing are being postponed. Some areas, like California, are having mandatory “shelter in place” orders. Containers are sitting on ships waiting for approval to sail and dock in another country.

Many consumers of the oils, specifically in the restaurant and related food services trade, are shut down and not ordering. But families are cooking more around the world, so perhaps on-line sales may help buffer revenue loss. So long as the oil can be processed and bottled, and the post is delivering.

Olive Economics + Fraud

What I have seen for sure, is rising prices. But increased costs are not just from reduced plantings, tree destruction, bacteria + insects, or lack of labor. The economics of olive il also includes, as the NewYorker writes, fraud: Olive-oil fraud has been around for millennia. The earliest written mention of olive oil, on cuneiform tablets at Ebla in the twenty-fourth century B.C., describes teams of inspectors who toured olive mills on behalf of the king, looking for fraudulent practices.

Even Italian producers will import generic vegetable oils, mix with a little bit of olive oil and sell it as olive oil to the unsuspecting consumer. This is big business. The NewYorker continues, Olive-oil fraud continues today, though modern governments are often less thorough and effective than the Romans at preventing it. Or put another way, olive oil fraud makes as much money as trafficking in cocaine, with the same risks.

Of course this is devastating to the farmers who want to adhere to pure standards and get paid for their labor. Here in the USA, the FDA does not monitor olive oil at all. One last item on fraud. This is from Forbes: It’s reliably reported that 80% of the Italian olive oil on the market is fraudulent.

Grades of Olive Oil

Olive Oil Making

• The olives are harvested, sorted, debris removed, and washed in cold water before being trucked to the processing area.
• Then the fruit is crushed at a mill, but done in a way to not break up the pits, and the resulting paste and oil is mixed to break up the oil and water emulsion.
• The resulting paste is spun through a high velocity centrifuge to separate the lighter oil from the heavier water. No chemicals or heat is applied.
• The resulting oil is left to settle for one month, producing an unfiltered extra virgin olive oil.
• Any leftover solids from the olive, is known as pomace.

There are grades of olive oil we can purchase at our local stores or buy on line. I am relying on USDA for these US defined distinctions. Note that every country has its rules related to olive oil, as I live in the USA I am going to highlight this countries definitions.

Grades

Extra Virgin Olive Oil: EVOO is the highest grade of oil consisting of the the first pressing of the juice of the olive fruit. This is generally done within 24 to 72 hours of harvesting. EVOO is high in natural antioxidants, vitamin E and phytosterols from the olive fruit.^3,4

• The resulting oil has a green color and a grassy, peppery flavor with a fruity aroma. I always find this oil a bit bitter as well.
• This oil has less acidity at <0.8%, than lower rated olive oils.
• I use this oil for salad dressing, dips, and finishing drizzles but do not usually cook with it. The reason is that I want the fresh flavor to shine and cooking will not do that.

Virgin olive oils: VOO is made exactly like EVOO in how it is made, including it is from the first pressing. But this oil is considered of a lower grade, for it might have some slight defects or its percentages of acidity may not meet the EVOO requirement.

• To me this has a slightly darker green color and flavor as EVOO.
• The acidity is <2.0%
• This to me is a daily cooking oil.

Pure or Refined or just Olive Oil: Is VOO oil that’s been further refined (using chemicals or heat) to remove defects and may add alpha-tocopherol to restore natural tocopherol lost in the refining process.

• It is slightly green and minimal olive flavor.
• The acidity is <1.0%
• I do not generally cook with this oil.

Olive-pomace oil is the oil obtained by treating olive pomace (the product remaining after the mechanical extraction of olive oil) with solvents or other physical treatments. I consider this type of olive oil as not for consumption although there are people who do use it for food.

• Used in olive oil soaps
• Can be rubbed on scalp or put in baths for dryness

Lampante Olive Oil: Not fit for human consumption. The USDA writes that it is intended for refining or for purposes other than food use.

My Recommendations

I currently only buy from a handful of olive oil brands. When living in Europe, I had many other local brands to choose from, but now that I live in California, I limited my choices to:

• California Olive Ranch for their price, consistent quality, and company goals. They also do use glass bottles, as well as plastic. Also they are local to my state.
• But for a family that does a lot of cooking I like the Costco brand Kirkland Olive Oil that comes in very large containers using olives from Italy, Portugal, and Spain. This oil only comes in a dark green plastic container, and is considered a blended oil.
• Manni Olive Oil is a higher cost and quality olive oil, recognized by Michelin Star chefs like Thomas Keller and Gordon Ramsey as the finest, organic extra virgin olive oil. Grown in nutrient-rich volcanic soil in Tuscany it’s super-high in antioxidants and is Toscano PGI and Kosher certified.

I tend to always have EVOO and VOO on hand for my cooking needs. I avoid any olive oil that says “pure,” “light,” or “olive pomace oil”. The key here is to read the labels carefully and pay attention to where the fruit was harvested versus packaged.

If you see any cheap “early harvested” olive oil avoid that as well, for it may be fake; this should be expensive. What this terms means is that the fruit is picked just before fully ripe so while it has great nutrition, the fruit does not produce lots of oil. So it should cost more since less is made.

Olive oils do not have a long shelf life, and I try to use up my oil within 12-16 months. As a result I tend to buy a size that reflects the amount of oil I would use in a year. Then when I am close to being out, say down to 1/4 of the bottle left, I buy a replacement and keep it in my cool, dark pantry.

All quality olive oils come in a bottle that has a harvest date, with specific information on where the fruits were harvested and by whom. This way you can clearly see when it is best to use by. Avoid If the bottle has no date.

Oils can be ruined by light, heat, or moisture. For that reason I do not buy oils that come in clear bottles, and prefer not to use oil from porous plastic bottles. I favor colored glass bottles.

There, I have just provided all I know about olive trees and the oil that comes from their fruit. I have taken a workshop on olive oils and have tasted off-the-shelf “olive oil“ (awful, bland, oily in the mouth, tasted musty) and EVOO from a local small farm (grassy, peppery, bitter, light in the mouth); doing this explains a lot about what olive oil is and why it should be used.

—Patty

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