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A lecture and tasting session led by the Head of the Standardization and Research Unit
On Thursday, June 6, Dr. Mercedes Fernández gave a lecture on the international standardization of olive products, followed by a tasting session of some of this year’s winning extra virgin olive oils (EVOO) of the Mario Solinas Quality Awards, at the National Archaeological Museum in Madrid. The event was organized with the Fundación del Olivar, with whom the IOC has signed a collaboration agreement, and in the framework of the Museum’s temporary exhibition “Convivium: the archaeology of the Mediterranean Diet”.
Dr. Fernández, the Head of the IOC’s Standardization and Research Unit, gave a lecture open to the general public on the organization’s work and its role in the international standardization of olive products, with particular focus on the norms and standards related to the production and marketing of olive oils and the importance of quality of these products, as well as their benefits for consumer health. She also led an olive oil tasting session, explaining to participants the organoleptic assessment of virgin olive oils used to determine the quality of virgin olive oils, diving into the criteria and techniques used for tasting such oils, and explaining the positive attributes and defects that can be detected through sensory analysis. Around thirty attendees had the opportunity to enhance their knowledge about olive oil and the complex mechanisms behind their standardization while enjoying a tasting session.
The IOC’s Standardization and Research Unit and Javier Olmedo, Managing Director of Fundación del Olivar, also had the opportunity to visit the abovementioned temporary exhibition on the archaeology of the Mediterranean Diet and to hold a meeting with the exhibition’s director, Isabel Izquierdo, and the museum manager, Francisco Narváez Vila.
