About Olive Oil: history & health benefits
The first written testimonies for the cultivation of olive trees come from Elva, Northern Syria, where discovered signs dated back to the middle of the 3rd millennium BC speak of large oil production.
The wild olive tree seems to have initially appeared in the Mediterranean Basin and has been considered therapeutic in Medicine. In the Hippocratic Code, olive oil was mentioned for over 60 medical uses, one of which is the spreading of olive oil on pregnant women. Hippocrates also recommended its use to treat chronic fevers, abscesses, wounds, oral hygiene, and eye sanitation.
A teaspoon of virgin olive oil has 45 calories. It is a good source of monounsaturated fatty acids. Olive oil contains substantial amounts of vitamin A and carotenoids and smaller amounts of vitamin B1, B6, and B12. It is also rich in total tocopherols and contains tocopherols and a-tocotrienols. Olives contain minerals such as potassium, calcium, phosphorus, iron, and magnesium, while olives preserved in brine contain large amounts of sodium.
Olive oil and Crete
At the end of the 1950s, American dieticians arrived in Crete to investigate the phenomenon of Cretan longevity, and they were immediately amazed to witness the amount of olive oil that Cretan people use in their food salads and cooking recipes. Perhaps it was then that the dieticians realized why almost all travelers in the past centuries had shown a keen interest in Cretans’everyday life and food culture. Greek people have used in daily bases olive oil, even in their traditional family sweets where no butter or refined oils, olive oil is their main ingredient.
Crete defined by a long, distinctive tradition in the production of exceptionally high-quality olive oil. The island is ideal for the cultivation of olives purposely grown for oil production: the soil and climatic conditions of the island (a combination of Middle Eastern and Mediterranean climate), particularly in the north-eastern part, at the Chania prefecture, provide the perfect circumstances for the original production. It is where most olive cultivation producers and farmers who work with our company located. The constant successful production is mainly due to the way olives are harvested and processed.
The collection of the olives carried out through the method of traditional hand pole beating. The olives concentration immediately follows this in sacks in quantities of no more than 50 kilograms, the direct transfer at the mill (usually on the same day they are collected), and their fast grinding. Therefore, the quality and purity of the product are guaranteed.
To this day, many people believe that olive oil is the greatest secret of the Cretan diet and longevity. All those mentioned above have made Cretan olive oil famous, not only in Greece but also worldwide.
What the consumer should know
One aspect that vastly establishes the value of a product to the consumer is any indication on the packaging label. The European Union highly regards the importance of food labeling and recognizes that consumers demand and ought to know the vital information about the product(s) they are buying.
Also, the consumer should have the right to ask for all analyses -conducted by official, certified laboratories - which evaluate and verify the authenticity and pure taste of the products.
It is worth mentioning that the olive oil label cannot refer to images, representations, or elements that may mislead consumers. It could be by giving the product qualities that do not apply or promoting general properties that most olive oils have and presenting them as individual characteristics.
