The Spanish Main
Olive oils from Spain are selling better than ever — and grocers would be wise to let shoppers know just what they're buying.
Not all olive oil comes from Italy — Spain is actually the second-largest importer of the commodity to the United States, just after Italy, according to Department of Commerce data supplied by Foods From Spain, a campaign operated by the Trade Commission of Spain in New York.
“Last year, Spain had the best year,” notes Food From Spain marketing director Jeffrey Shaw, citing 25 percent growth over last year in a category that dipped 1.6 percent. In fact, Spain is the No. 1 producer of olive oil in the world, accounting for 52 percent of global production, he says, adding that many consumers are already enjoying Spanish olive oil and may not even know it.
Among the brands that import product from Spain are Bertolli, Pompeian, Star, Carapelli and Goya, in addition to a variety of gourmet brands.
To raise awareness of Spain as a source for quality olive oil, Foods From Spain engages in tastings, displays, special offers and cooking demos. In the past, the campaign has worked with such retailers as Whole Foods and Zingerman's to good effect, and expects a similarly positive response to a program scheduled at presstime to roll out in May at H-E-B's Central Market banner in Texas.
Trade Group Claims Imported Olive Oil Report Is Flawed
In the wake of research from the University of California at Davis Olive Center calling into question the quality of imported olive oil, the North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA) fired back that the report was based on “rejected chemical tests and subjective taste analyses organized and conducted by organizations aligned with Australian and California agricultural interests to try to discredit importers of products with proven track records of consistent quality.”
Further, according to Bob Bauer, president of the Neptune, N.J.-based NAOOA, the report was “funded by California olive oil producers and the California Olive Oil Council,” and he notes that the UC Davis Olive Center's “primary mission, per its website, is to enhance the economic viability of California olive oil. UC Davis Olive Center also markets its own olive oil; thus, it directly competes with the olive oil brands its ‘study’ attempts to discredit.”
All five of the imported brands featured in the report are marketed by members “in good standing of the NAOOA,” says Bauer, pointing out that membership in the group requires that members' products meet the olive oil standards developed by the International Olive Council (IOC), an organization formed by United Nations charter to oversee the world's olive oil sector.
The IOC characterizes the UC Davis research as containing” [an] evident undercurrent of aggressive, inexplicable criticism of imported olive oil quality.”
The current findings from the university follow its release last year of a similar report, which also received criticism from the IOC and other representatives of imported olive oils.
Established in 1989, the NAOOA represents marketers, packagers and importers of olive oil in the United States, Canada and their respective suppliers abroad.