olive oil

Siurana hopes to double olive oil production, whilst Les Garrigues is expected to only manage half of its productive potential

The annual event in Borges Blanques takes place this weekend with this year's harvest expected to be smaller but of high quality

Event includes workshops, talks, demonstrations and tasting sessions, all devoted to the liquid gold of Mediterranean cuisine

5 million kilos of product produced under Siurana denomination instead of a possible 6 million due to late rains

From the 10^th to the 14^th of October, the German city of Cologne will host Anuga, the world’s most important Food and Agriculture Fair which gathered together, in its last edition, nearly 7,000 exhibitors from 100 countries. Catalonia’s food industry will be represented through two main sectors; olive oil and nuts on the one hand, and cold meats on the other. The Catalan Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Fishery and Food is aware of the importance of the EU market, as more than 50% of Catalonia’s food and beverage production is exported there. Moreover, the EU is the biggest consumer of food and beverages, ahead of the US and China.

The health benefits of the Mediterranean diet have been endorsed by two new research projects as part of the study group PREDIMED (Prevention with Mediterranean Diet). One of the projects concluded that a Mediterranean diet supplemented with olive oil reduces the risk of diabetic patients suffering from retinopathy, the leading cause of blindness amongst these patients, by 44%, as published in the journal ‘Diabetes Care’, coordinated by the Catalan University, Rovira i Virgili (URV). In the other study, published in the journal ‘JAMA Internal Medicine’, the Mediterranean diet was associated with a 68% relative reduction in risk of breast cancer. This study was coordinated by the University of Navarra and researchers from URV also participated.

More than 300 innovations from the agri-food industry are presented between the 31^st of March and the 3^rd of April in Alimentaria, one of the main trade fairs for this sector in Europe. The 20^th edition of this event, which takes place in the Catalan capital every two years, focuses on innovation and internationalisation. In fact, 40,000 visitors, 30% of the total 140,000 visitors, are foreigners. In addition, as explained by the Director General of Alimentaria, Antoni Valls, this year the organisers have managed to assemble 600 of the world's main international buyers, which is double the number at the previous fair in 2012. These top buyers have already arrived for 8,000 pre-scheduled business meetings with the 3,800 exhibiting companies at the fair, which occupies 94,500 square metres of Fira de Barcelona's Gran Via venue.

The harvest of the millenarian olive oil dropped to one fifth compared to the previous season due to drought. This olive oil coming from 1,000 years old trees is a delicatessen from the Ebre Delta, in Southern Catalonia. Locals are pushing for UNESCO to declare the 4,500 trees a World Heritage.

The family company Mallafré has captivated International attention and recognition with its gourmet olive oils, flavoured with thyme, rosemary, garlic, coffee or tangerine, among other ingredients. 70% of the production is exported, mainly to France, Germany and Italy, but also to Japan where Mallafré’s ginger flavoured olive oil is a major success.

According to the President of the Associació Territori del Sénia, the olive oil has a smooth and balanced flavour. 12,000 bottles of olive oil were produced this harvest. They will be sold in speciality stores.

An olive oil from the Cambrils Agricultural Cooperative has been recognised by France, the United States and Israel for its quality. The cooperative recently received three awards for their ‘Mestral’ olive oil, one of the most valued oils in the DO of Siurana. One of the awards was a result of an Israeli competition where around 189 varieties of olive oil from some 14 countries competed to win this mark of quality.