Meeting of the two expert groups on table olives

On 8 November 2023, the Executive Secretariat of the International Olive Council (IOC) held a videoconference meeting with two of its expert groups: the group of experts on standards for table olives and the group of experts on the organoleptic assessment of table olives.

Both meetings were included in the 2023 programme of activities of the Executive Secretariat’s Standardisation and Research Unit, in response to a request made by the delegations of Türkiye and Iran (I.R.) at the 116^th session of the Council of Members, back in November of 2022.

In the absence of new proposals from members and experts, the Executive Secretariat put forward that the Codex standard on table olives had been harmonised correctly and that this effort was essential for the smooth running of international trade.

With regard to the organoleptic assessment of table olives, it was proposed that a guide for training tasting panels be drawn up. Moreover, the meeting participants also agreed to continue the work of the electronic working group for drafting the rules for tasting courses organised by the competent authorities with the IOC’s patronage.