Researchers at UC Davis find problems again

The food fight over the purity of extra virgin olive oil has boiled up again.

The UC Davis Olive Center and the Australian Oils Research Laboratory released on Wednesday a second research report that found nearly three-quarters of the samples they tested of top-selling imported olive oil brands failed international extra virgin standards.

The report follows a similar study the two research centers conducted last summer, which slammed imported olive oils and said that two-thirds of common brands of extra-virgin olive oil found in California grocery stores aren't what they claim to be. 

• Los Angeles Times April 13, 2011

Olive Oil: A Natural Painkiller?

Could a traditional food have pain- and inflammation-reducing effects similar to over the counter pain medicine like ibuprofen?

Scientists from Italy, Spain, the U.S. and Australia have discovered that extra virgin olive oil can provide significant health benefits, including the ability to help reduce pain and inflammation.

This robust, flavorful oil is an example of the food as medicine concept, that foods can have a powerful impact on health.  

• HuffPost Health: April 28, 2011- Is Olive Oil a Natural Pain Killer?

The Fight Over Olive Oil Quality

Any American olive oil consumer who has been paying attention to the news in recent months is probably reeling. The announcement last April that the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) was adopting standards for olive oil was the first eye-opener. This was the first time many consumers realized that there had been no definition in the U.S. for the term "extra virgin."

Then came the report on supermarket olive oils from The University of California Davis: 69 percent of imported olive oil samples and 10 percent of California olive oil samples labeled as extra virgin failed to meet the International Olive Council (IOC)/USDA sensory standards...  Read more ..........

• The Fight Over Olive Oil Quality

Deborah Rogers of The Olive Press Awarded “Producer of the Year”!!

The story of California olive oil cannot be told without the recognition of Deborah Rogers. A trailblazer in the California olive oil industry, her contributions are far-reaching. Impeccably attentive to detail and passionately driven to produce only the highest quality extra virgin olive oil, Deborah Rogers (appropriately well- known as the Olive Queen) has earned the respect and admiration of this industry that she has worked so tirelessly to lift to its current position.

Rogers’ influence touches every aspect of the industry from the mill and retail to consumer education and the olive oil community. She grabbed hold of a rising interest in olive oil in the early 90s, set up two five-gallon drums of oil in her dining room and singlehandedly blended, siphoned into bottles and sold it. “It was absolutely hysterical,” she laughs, yet so very characteristic, even then, of her independent spirit. She created a brand, took on a partner and grew the company into an industry leader.  









Rogers’ influence touches every aspect of the industry from the mill
and retail to consumer education and the olive oil community. She grabbed hold of a rising interest in olive oil in the early 90s, set up two five-gallon drums of oil in her dining room and singlehandedly blended, siphoned into bottles and sold it. “It was absolutely hysterical,” she laughs, yet so very characteristic, even then, of her independent spirit. She created a brand, took on a partner and grew the company into an industry leader.  

Z/CRogers’ influence touches every aspect of the industry from the mill
and retail to consumer education and the olive oil community. She grabbed hold of a rising interest in olive oil in the early 90s, set up two five-gallon drums of oil in her dining room and singlehandedly blended, siphoned into bottles and sold it. “It was absolutely hysterical,” she laughs, yet so very characteristic, even then, of her independent spirit. She created a brand, took on a partner and grew the company into an industry leader.

When she sold the company in 1998, she stayed on as production manager over six brands but left the next year when a push toward quick growth compromised the quality of the olive oil. “I couldn’t tolerate the continuing decline in quality standards of the olive oil going into the bottles,” explains Rogers. It’s this unrelenting integrity that today earns The Olive Press, her company with partner
Ed Stolman, recognition as the most award-winning olive oil in the United States,
and the recipient of prestigious awards in Spain and Italy.

“I’ve learned most everything the hard way,” Deborah says in reflection, “or at least on my own. I’ve really grown up with the industry and struggled through the growing pains of producing a quality brand and making sure consumers
understand what an incredible food olive oil is. I’ve been fighting the good fight
the whole way.” 

When she sold the company in 1998, she stayed on as production manager over six brands but left the next year when a push toward quick growth compromised the quality of the olive oil. “I couldn’t tolerate the continuing decline in quality standards of the olive oil going into the bottles,” explains Rogers. It’s this unrelenting integrity that today earns The Olive Press, her company with partner
Ed Stolman, recognition as the most award-winning olive oil in the United States,
and the recipient of prestigious awards in Spain and Italy.

“I’ve learned most everything the hard way,” Deborah says in reflection, “or at least on my own. I’ve really grown up with the industry and struggled through the growing pains of producing a quality brand and making sure consumers
understand what an incredible food olive oil is. I’ve been fighting the good fight
the whole way.” 

Rogers’ influence touches every aspect of the industry from the mill
and retail to consumer education and the olive oil community. She grabbed hold of a rising interest in olive oil in the early 90s, set up two five-gallon drums of oil in her dining room and singlehandedly blended, siphoned into bottles and sold it. “It was absolutely hysterical,” she laughs, yet so very characteristic, even then, of her independent spirit. She created a brand, took on a partner and grew the company into an industry leader.adfbonodnbosdknb

When she sold the company in 1998, she stayed on as production manager over six brands but left the next year when a push toward quick growth compromised the quality of the olive oil. “I couldn’t tolerate the continuing decline in quality standards of the olive oil going into the bottles,” explains Rogers. It’s this unrelenting integrity that today earns The Olive Press, her company with partner
Ed Stolman, recognition as the most award-winning olive oil in the United States,
and the recipient of prestigious awards in Spain and Italy.

“I’ve learned most everything the hard way,” Deborah says in reflection, “or at least on my own. I’ve really grown up with the industry and struggled through the growing pains of producing a quality brand and making sure consumers
understand what an incredible food olive oil is. I’ve been fighting the good fight
the whole way.” 

Rogers’ influence touches every aspect of the industry from the mill
and retail to consumer education and the olive oil community. She grabbed hold of a rising interest in olive oil in the early 90s, set up two five-gallon drums of oil in her dining room and singlehandedly blended, siphoned into bottles and sold it. “It was absolutely hysterical,” she laughs, yet so very characteristic, even then, of her independent spirit. She created a brand, took on a partner and grew the company into an industry leader.

When she sold the company in 1998, she stayed on as production manager over six brands but left the next year when a push toward quick growth compromised the quality of the olive oil. “I couldn’t tolerate the continuing decline in quality standards of the olive oil going into the bottles,” explains Rogers. It’s this unrelenting integrity that today earns The Olive Press, her company with partner
Ed Stolman, recognition as the most award-winning olive oil in the United States,
and the recipient of prestigious awards in Spain and Italy.

“I’ve learned most everything the hard way,” Deborah says in reflection, “or at least on my own. I’ve really grown up with the industry and struggled through the growing pains of producing a quality brand and making sure consumers
understand what an incredible food olive oil is. I’ve been fighting the good fight
the whole way.” 

Rogers’ influence touches every aspect of the industry from the mill
and retail to consumer education and the olive oil community. She grabbed hold of a rising interest in olive oil in the early 90s, set up two five-gallon drums of oil in her dining room and singlehandedly blended, siphoned into bottles and sold it. “It was absolutely hysterical,” she laughs, yet so very characteristic, even then, of her independent spirit. She created a brand, took on a partner and grew the company into an industry leader.

When she sold the company in 1998, she stayed on as production manager over six brands but left the next year when a push toward quick growth compromised the quality of the olive oil. “I couldn’t tolerate the continuing decline in quality standards of the olive oil going into the bottles,” explains Rogers. It’s this unrelenting integrity that today earns The Olive Press, her company with partner
Ed Stolman, recognition as the most award-winning olive oil in the United States,
and the recipient of prestigious awards in Spain and Italy.

“I’ve learned most everything the hard way,” Deborah says in reflection, “or at least on my own. I’ve really grown up with the industry and struggled through the growing pains of producing a quality brand and making sure consumers
understand what an incredible food olive oil is. I’ve been fighting the good fight
the whole way.” 

• Deborah Rogers, Trailblazer for California Olive Oil

At the Farmers Market:  The Olive Press

Nestled amid a small number of bakery booths at the Calabasas Farmers Market on Saturday was the Olive Press, an extra-virgin olive-oil maker. Quite fitting,  since the baguettes and the ciabattas sold by vendors go with the free tastings of the fruity and peppery olive oils.... 

• CalabasasPatch Business Section

California Olive Oil Gains Favor w/ Foodies

 California wines are known the world over for quality and excellence, and California olive oil is well on its way to gaining an equally stellar reputation....

• Article with Dan Flynn-Executive Director - Davis Olive Center