I have frequently been asked about the differences in organic and non organic olive oil. So let’s talk about them:
In the olive grove:
- Herbicides are not allowed. With this measure we want to eliminate any possibility of human health or environment damage, and stimulate biodiversity.
- Synthesized fertilizers are also forbiden. This means we can only use fertilizers produced in a natural way, because only those ones promote a truly soil enrichment.
- Only some products can be used to combat plagues and diseases. However, those are rarely used, this is not an intensive production so the plagues are not intensive too.
- Agriculture techniques to promote the soil enrichment are encouraged:
Green cover –This practice consists in the maintenance of annual green cover, seeded or spontaneously, that greatly contributes to erosion protection and the increasing of organic material and biologic activity.
Shredding of the pruning foliage –When the olive trees are pruned, their branches and leaves can be shredded for easily composting in the soil.
Wild spaces – We preserve the natural spaces in the grove, like hedges or native forest, which are shelters for birds and auxiliary insects that eat some of the plagues.
To prove the best practices in organic farming the olive oil production is certified every year, allowed our product to have the European bio stamp.
To have an organic olive oil the concerns must be taken to the olive press. It must operate only organic olives and it needs to be certified for that.
The olive oil:
Might be analyzed every time the certifier company thinks it’s necessary, to find pesticides or other chemical traces...
Some of this rules and options during the olive oil life cycle result in some extra expenses, comparing with the conventional way. But now you know we are talking about a distinct product.