Grove - Our Practices Olivo follows a sustainable quality management program to ensure that it produces olive oil of the best quality. All Olivo oil is extra virgin of international quality, with a remarkably low acidity. This reflects the careful management of the trees and the emphasis on quality during picking, pressing and storage. The olives are hand picked, cold pressed without delay, then stored under inert gas until bottling. Bottling is carried out by Martinborough Wine Services in a hygienic environment and the bottles are stored in a cool store until sold AsureQuality provides laboratory services to analyse the oil for its extra virgin properties – level of free fatty acids, peroxide value and total phenolics.   Olivo always puts its blend in to qualify for Olives New Zealand Certification. This means:   Certification criteria New Zealand olive oil must meet specific requirements. These include bottling and labelling standards as well as the chemical and sensory criteria that Olives New Zealand (ONZ) has based on the International Olive Council (IOC) standards for extra virgin olive oil. These are: Chemical Analysis: The Free Fatty Acid level measured as oleic acid must be less than 0.5% and the Peroxide Value less than 15mEq per kg. These standards for extra virgin olive oil are better than those set by the IOC which are less than 0.8% FFA and a Peroxide Value of less than 20. Criteria IOC standard Olives NZ standard Olivo results (2011) Olivo results (2010) Free Fatty Acid (oleic acid) Less than 0.8% Less than 0.5% 0.07 0.06 Peroxide Value (oxidisation level) Less than 20mEq per Kg Less than 15mEq per Kg 4.7 8.7 Sensory Analysis: This is undertaken by the ONZ Sensory Panel at the Plant & Food Research Sensory Science Facility in Auckland. The oils are evaluated for the absence of defects and the presence of the required desirable attribute, namely fruitiness. Labelling: the label on the oil must meet the required NZ Food Safety Authority standards, and have the month of pressing on it. Containers: oil must be in dark glass bottles or if clear bottles or light glass bottles are used, they must be packaged in a container that will exclude light. Those oils that meet all the above requirements are eligible to use the OliveMark once the Certification Licensing Agreement has been signed by the grower.