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Madrid A group of ambassadors from a variety of African countries were invited to an event at IOC headquarters to promote the activities of the Organisation. The Standardisation and Research Unit gave a presentation on the IOC trade standards, including a brief description of the chemical and organoleptic aspects of olive oil, followed by a tasting session to illustrate the positive and negative attributes of olive oil. The ambassadors were served four virgin olive oils, which they compared with certain seed oils and mixtures of refined olive oil and virgin olive oil.
The group was then invited to a buffet prepared using prize-winning extra virgin olive oils across several categories of the Mario Solinas Quality Award. Typical dishes from a number of member countries were served and recipes were chosen to accentuate the different intensities of fruitiness.
The aim of the event was to showcase the nutritional characteristics and health benefits of olive oil while highlighting the importance of quality. It was also the perfect opportunity to give the group a taste of the Mediterranean diet and the many different uses of olive oil.
