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The International Olive Council (IOC), in collaboration with the International Centre for Advanced Mediterranean Agronomic Studies – Zaragoza Institute (CIHEAM Zaragoza), has launched a new international course for panel leaders on the sensory analysis of virgin olive oil.
Over a five-day period, from 13 to 17 October, 20 course participants from over twenty IOC Member Countries – including Algeria, Argentina, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Cyprus, France, Georgia, Germany, Greece, Egypt, Iran, Israel, Italy, Jordan, Lebanon, Libya, Morocco, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Tunisia and Türkiye – will be equipped with further necessary skills for tasting virgin olive oils in line with the IOC’s organoleptic assessment standards, enhancing their professional skills and ensuring a wider harmonisation among their tasks as panel leaders.
IOC-recognised sensory analysis laboratories play a key role in the quality control of olive oil, helping to prevent fraudulent practices and minimise the adulteration of virgin olive oils, with the overall aim of protecting consumers and ensuring fair international trade of these products. In the period from 1 December 2024 to 30 November 2025, 120 sensory analysis laboratories from 27 countries have been recognised by the IOC. The number of IOC-recognised panels has been growing exponentially since the onset of the standardisation of olive products. Therefore, panel leaders –who are central figures in sensory analysis laboratories, responsible for the appropriate running of the laboratories– play an increasingly essential role in the standardisation of olive oils and in the olive sector as a whole.
The course at hand will cover an array of topics, from understanding the IOC Trade Standard Applying to Olive Oils and Olive-Pomace Oils and the principles of sensory analysis of virgin olive oils to the use of the IOC-Panel software for harmonising panel results, useful statistical tools, the internal quality control guidelines for sensory analysis laboratories and the laboratory recognition process.
On the occasion of its official opening, which took place on Monday 13 October at CIHEAM’s campus in Zaragoza, IOC Deputy Executive Director Abderraouf Laajimi gave an inaugural lecture on the olive oil and table olive market, the IOC as the world’s only international organisation dedicated to these products, and the importance of standardisation. Also present at the inauguration were other key figures, including: Ramzi Belkhodja, Coordinator of Plant Production, Health and Breeding at CIHEAM Zaragoza; Plácido Pascual, course coordinator and recognised olive oil taster; Lhassane Sikaoui, IOC Head of the Olive Growing, Olive Oil Technology and Environment Unit; Catarina Bairrao, IOC Head of the Technical Cooperation and Training Department; and Ibtihel Khemakhen, IOC Head of the Laboratory and Panel Management Section.
The IOC wishes the course participants a successful journey into the sensory analysis of virgin olive oils and reaffirms its commitment with enhancing training and knowledge regarding theattributes of these products.
