Since the end of January, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry has granted the Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences (DISAFA) of the University of Turin the recognition of professional tasting committee for the evaluation of the organoleptic characteristics of virgin olive oils.
This milestone comes just over three years afterEstablishment of the first course on physiological suitability for tasting virgin olive oilsThe research team led by prof. Vladimiro Cardenia (DISAFA), with the contribution of Consortium for the Protection of Extra Virgin Olive Oil of Piedmont and Chemical Laboratory Chamber of Commerce of Turin, collaborated to train a group of tasters for the purpose of registration in the national list of technicians and experts in virgin and extra virgin olive oils at the Turin Chamber of Commerce.
The Committee, now included in the national list of professional tasting committees recognized pursuant to the ministerial decree of 7 October 2021, will therefore be able to support Piedmontese producers in determining the quality and authenticity of the oil producedThis evaluation consists of the organoleptic examination “panel test”, introduced by EC Regulation 2568/91, which has legal value for the evaluation and control of the organoleptic characteristics of virgin and extra virgin olive oils, PGI and PDO.
Recent estimates indicate a presence of approximately 350 hectares of olive groves, for an annual production of approximately 250-300 hectolitres of extra virgin olive oil. Climate change is also an accomplice, olive growing in Piedmont is a sector destined to expand, it will therefore be necessary not to be caught unprepared and to acquire the necessary professionalism and specific skills to face these new challenges.
The recognition of the tasting committee of the Department of Agricultural, Forestry and Food Sciences provides the territory not only with a technical tool for product valorization but an example of how university research through cooperation with stakeholders can contribute to sustainable development and local economic growth, promoting innovation and the diffusion of best practices in the agri-food sector.
