EU project promotes olive oil consumption
Table olives and olive oil are well known for their beneficial effects on human health, and in particular on the cardiovascular system. The European Commission therefore wishes to promote olive oil and table olive consumption in non-Mediterranean European countries. The problem is, however, that the production and processing of olives has an environmental impact in the production regions due to the large amount of water required and the fact that the residues are difficult to dispose of or recycle. The Sixth Framework Programme (FP6) project TDC-OLIVE aims to increase the consumption of olive oil across Europe, while at the same time decreasing the environmental impact associated with its production and processing. 'The target of TDC-OLIVE,' explains the consortium working on the project, 'is to spread out the latest and environmentally friendly production methods through the creation of a physical and virtual network of Technology Dissemination Centres (TDC) as means of support to enterprises of this sector.' The majority of producing companies in Spain, Greece, Italy and Portugal are small and medium sized enterprises (SMEs), and therefore often need support. As the consortium explains, 'there is a high potential for modernisation and research and development (R&D) support to help them increase the food quality of their products.' TDC-OLIVE will seek to develop a modern SME with qualified staff that use new information technologies to implement technological innovation systems. The SME will also be committed to the optimisation of product quality and to the treatment, recycling and reuse of all the wastes generated. The network of TDCs will give free support to SMEs in the sector and act as a bridge, linking them with the academic and research community. TDCs will circulate information at local and international level on innovation, relevant research and access to funding and subsidies. The first action of the project was to investigate the situation of SMEs through surveys and direct contact with enterprises in order to obtain first-hand knowledge of the needs and training requirements of the sector. As a result, a training programme covering subjects and techniques such as environmental aspects, food quality, ICT, marketing techniques, quality product regulations, waste minimisation and recycling, hazard analysis and quality systems, has been devised to help SMEs to modernise and become more competitive. 'Simultaneously, TDCs will carry out a series of actions and promotion activities in order to achieve a certain change of mentality in central and northern European consumers, and thus an increase in the consumption of olive oil and table olives', states the consortium.