**5. Codex alimentarius**

During the early years of the olive industry, although Australian growers were producing high quality olive oil, it was recognised that there were minor differences in the chemical profile of oil from olives grown across the range of Australian environment. These oils had a

Cultivation of Olives in Australia 219

standard was created with consultation within the industry including producers, marketing and exporters. It needed to address issues of authenticity, to detect any efforts to blend or mislabel the product. It needed also to be able to detect oil which had been heated and/or

The standard was established with the support of Australian Standards organisation (www.standards.org.au). A wide spectrum of representatives from the industry contributed. A final draft was made available to the public for comment in early 2011. The draft drew both praise and criticism from all aspects of the industry both domestically and internationally. Ultimately it had strong support and was accepted with the final standard

The new standard is similar in many ways to that of the IOC. The standard allows for a higher level of linolenic acid and campesterol, reflecting the actual properties of the Australian product. It has also included some new tests developed by the German DGF which allow traders to identify fresh oil from old oils or oil which has undergone heating,

In the early years of Australian settlement, there was not a strong demand for olive oil. Olives were grown for personal use or for a small boutique industry. The major edible oils used continue to be refined sunflower, cottonseed and canola oil. It was not until the late 20th Century that the olive industry began to grow. Australia had an increasingly cosmopolitan population including a large portion of Greek and Italian migrant workers who increased the demand for olive oil production. Despite this, the industry continued for many years as a boutique industry with small farms of only a few trees in which people produced their own oil or sold small quantities to others. Olive oil was imported from Spain, Greece and Italy for many years and by the 1990s the value of the imported olive oil

Outside the Mediterranean region, Australia is currently the largest consumer of olive oil per capita, consuming about 32,000 tonnes of olive oil in 2008. The demand for olive oil continues to grow, creating a good opportunity for the domestic market. The increased demand is highlighted by the increase in total imports of olive products in the last five years

Australia currently has about 10 million olive trees spread across approximately 30,000 ha. Although the initial plantings of olives in Australia included a large number of cultivars, today about 90 percent of Australian olive oil is produced from 10 major cultivars including Arbequina, Barnea, Coratina, Corregiola, Frantoio, Koroneiki, Leccino, Manzanillo, Pendolino and Picual. These cultivars have been found to be agronomically suitable while at

such as in refining. The standard is available from Standards Australia.

refined or if the oil had exceeded its potential use by date.

approved in July 2011 for release during 2011.

**7. Consumption and production** 

**7.2 Australian consumption** 

**7.3 Australian production** 

(Table 2).

**7.1 Development of a boutique industry** 

products was in excess of \$100 million dollars per annum.

spectrum of flavours and qualities not apparent in olives grown in the limited environmental fluctuations of the Mediterranean climate. The first workshops in Wagga Wagga in 1996, identified linolenic acid levels from 0.6 – 1.8% whereas the IOC standard for olive oil was <1.0%. Many studies have shown that fatty acid profiles are strongly influenced by environment, particularly the temperature during fruit development. Although insignificant in value, and no problem in terms of nutritional quality, this factor needed to be considered within international standards.

Further studies at WWAI in subsequent years showed other chemical parameters to sometimes vary from the existing and restrictive limits of the IOC standards (Mailer, 2007). Some cultivars being grown in Australia, particularly *cv* Barnea, from Israel, contained up to 5% campesterol whereas the limit imposed by IOC was <4.0%. These limits, developed as a means to detect adulteration, have no bearing on the nutritional value in olive oil. These components became a limitation for exporters of Australian olive oil but it became apparent that not only did Australian oils fail to meet these standards but many countries from the Southern Hemisphere (Argentina, Australia, Chile and New Zealand) also failed.

Through Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) Australia has attempted to have these limitations in the standards amended so that the standards represent olive oil grown throughout the world. Over several years Australia has sent representatives to Codex meetings to discuss these issues. IOC have responded vigorously, defending the standards on the basis that changes will encourage fraud, despite the fact that genuine oils, such as those growing in countries in the Southern Hemisphere, fail these limits. Due to the lack of agreement Codex have failed to come to a conclusion and particularly, an accepted level for linolenic acid in virgin olive oil has not been agreed upon.
