Your Gateway To Greece's Finest...100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil

As a  member of the North American Olive Oil Association we are committed to supplying North American consumers with quality products in a fair and competitive environment; to fostering a clear understanding of the different grades of olive oil; and to expounding the benefits of olive oil in nutrition, health, and the culinary arts.

 

 

Classifications of Olive Oil

To maintain international standards for olive oil, the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC) has established the following classifications. These classifications or grades are also useful in helping consumers distinguish the major differences in flavors, colors and aromas of olive oil available on the market today.

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (Highest Grade)

Derived from the cold pressing of olives without any refining, Extra Virgin Olive Oil has a distinctive aroma and taste and intense fruity flavor. It’s also low in acidity (less than 0.8 percent).

VIRGIN OLIVE OIL (Medium Grade)

Virgin Olive Oil is also derived solely from the pressing of olives and requires no refining. With a mild taste and odor and a fruity flavor that varies in intensity, it has an acidity level of (less than 2.0 percent).

OLIVE OIL (Low Grade)

Usually described as “pure” or “100 percent pure,” Olive Oil is a blend of refined olive oil and extra virgin or virgin olive oil. Because the refined oil is neutral, it must be blended with extra virgin or virgin olive oil to enhance its flavor.

OLIVE-POMACE OIL (Lowest Grade)

Olive-Pomace Oil is a blend of refined olive pomace oil and virgin olive oil. Pomace is the crushed olive material that remains after pressing. Oil is extracted with the use of solvents. After refining, the oil is blended with virgin olive oil to produce olive-pomace oil.

Moreover, many edible oils are industrially processed foods and are generally extracted by means of petroleum-based chemical solvents as is Olive-Pomace Oil. They must then be highly refined to remove the impurities. Consequently, along with the removal of the impurities, refining removes taste, color and nutrients. Extra virgin olive oils are not processed or refined. 100% EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL CAN NOT BE MADE, ITS GROWS NATURALLY. 100% Extra virgin olive oil, adds a flavor and textural dimension lacking in other oils, making it a suitable substitute for butter and margarine in almost any recipe. In fact, more and more restaurants are serving 100% extra virgin olive oil, both plain or flavored with salt and pepper, as an alternative to butter for bread.

The cultivation of olive trees in the region of Sitia covers approximately 75% of the overall cultivable land, namely an area of 110.000.000 m² with approximately 2.500.000 oil trees. 60% of these lands are watered. The mean return in olive oil per 1000 m² is 60 - 120 kg.

The annual production of olive oil is approximately 15.000 tones.

Almost 100% of the olive oil produced in Sitia belongs to the extra virgin olive oil class, and 75% of which has an acidity of less than 0.8%

 

 

• The first prize in the balanced extra virgin olive oils category, in the contest conducted in 1998 by the Patrimonio Communal Olivarero in Spain.
   

•  The Golden Lion prize in 1999 in the contest of extra virgin olive oils conducted by the International Fair SOL in Italy.
   

•  The first prizes, MARIO SOLINAS, in 2001 at Aix en Provence of France and in 2002 at Madrid, Spain in the category of extra virgin olive oils with intense fruit taste, in the contests conducted by the International Olive Oil Council.
   

• The first prizes for the extra virgin olive oils in the contests conducted by the Conservatoire des cuisines Mediterranean’s in 2002 at Ismir of Turkey and in 2003 at Toulon of France.
   

•  Furthermore, from a recent study conducted by researchers (Mrs. Christopoulou Mrs. Lazaraki) of the chemical laboratories of the Ministry of Development, where extra virgin intense oils from a certain oil period were examined from organoleptic point of view, occurred that the olive oil of Lasithi of Crete possesses the best organoleptic degree in relation to other regions of Greece.

 

 

Variety Used For Cretan Vitality™

The cultivated olive variety used for Cretan Vitality™ is exclusively, «Koroneiki». This variety of small fruits has a very good performance rate
which approximately 25% provides an oil of excellent quality. This olive variety grows at elevation of 700 meters above sea level. The tree has a height of 5-7 meters and this olive type is well suited for stony and dry grounds. The «Koroneiki» fruit generally, matures in November - December.

Cultivating For Cretan Vitality™

The cultivating care given to the fruit by the oil producers of the Sitia region are the fertilization, lopping, plowing and the battle against diseases which can affect the olive trees. The primary adversary of the olive trees, in this region is: Dakos. To protect the olive trees from contamination organized groups under the supervision of the agriculturists from the Agricultural Development Office of Sitia, administer preventive maintenance to ensure health crops. More specifically, one month before the harvest, the oil producers properly fertilize the olive trees, so that no pesticide traces are found in the end product. 

Harvesting For Cretan Vitality™
                                                      
Harvesting of the olives takes place when the color of the fruits starts to change from green to black. This is when the conciseness of the fruit and oil are maximized and the organoleptic and qualitative properties are the best.

To harvest the olives harvesters use of short or long sticks made of wood or plastic, however, during the past few years, stick machines are becoming widely used to speed up the harvesting process. The olives fall onto nets which are placed underneath the trees to catch the fallen olives. After the removal of leaves, small branches and any other foreign bodies, the olives are placed into sacks made of cloth and transported to the oil-mill.

The time interval between the harvest and the milling of the olives has to be minimized, so that the quality of the extra virgin olive oil is not affected.

Production of Cretan Vitality™

The stages involved for the production of oil are as following:

Defoliation and washing of the fruit - This process involves the removal of any leaves not removed from the harvesters and dirt, such as mud.

Breaking - The breaking process cuts up the olive to release the oil from the oil-giving cells.

Kneading - Homogenization of the produced paste is done before the separation takes place between solids and liquids.

Separation - Takes place either with pressure in hydraulic presses, or with centrifugation. Through the use of centrifugation, the water and the olive kernel are separated due to their difference in specific gravity.

Final separation - Takes place in the oil-separators and is based on the difference between the specific gravities of the water and oil for the removal of the remaining dirt traces from the oil.

Bottling of Cretan Vitality™

Cretan Vitality™ is produced through 25 Cooperatives and 5 privately owned  oil-mills which meet the standards as set out by the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Sitia.

From this olive oil, the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Sitia selects the finest quality of 100% extra virgin olive oil for bottling and it must comply with the quality standards defined by the Certified Quality Assurance System ISO 9001 and the special standards defined by the Greek and European Legislation in relation to the products of:

Protected Designation of Origin by the Greek State in virtue of the Ministerial Decision 440339 (Official Gazette Β’698/93) and the European Union (134/98 L15/21.1.98/6) with the name Sitia-Lasithi-Crete.

The Union then transports the olive oil from the oil mills to its bottling plant in stainless containers. Once the control and inspection of the oil is completed in relation to its compliances with quality standards the oil is filtered and stored in stainless steel tanks ready for bottling.

The bottling process takes place in a state-of-the-art facility using modern mechanical equipment which is in accordance with the food hygiene and safety regulations according to the principals as set out by BRC standards (British Retail Consortium Technical Standard).

To protect the oil from oxidation dark green bottles are used to protect the health properties of the oil utilizing a semi-automatic bottle filler.

Once bottled, the bottles are sealed with a (Red) government controlled label and the product code and expiration date are printed onto the bottles. The bottles are then placed into carton boxes and place onto pallets ready to be shipped.

Cretan Vitality™ is top grade 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil. Hence, it bears the PDO designation, putting it into the elite and superior class of Olive Oils. Like wine, extra virgin olive oils vary dramatically in taste, depending upon the type and quality of the fruit that is pressed, the time of harvest, the weather during the growing season, and the region from which the olives were produced.