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By Penelope Barker
Olive Oil Times Contributor | Reporting from Sydney
Modern Olives Laboratory Services, based in Lara, Victoria, is the largest specialist olive nursery and leading advisory company to the Australian olive industry, covering all aspects related to project development, technical advice and applied research. The company recently announced that it has successfully maintained its accreditation with the most prestigious and challenging certification programs in the world.
These programs include ISO 17025 certified by the National Association of Testing Authorities (NATA), International Olive Council (IOC) recognition, American Oil Chemists’ Society (AOCS) Proficiency Program for olive oil and the Australian Olive Association (AOA) approved laboratory for its Code of Practice.
Says Claudia Guillaume, Laboratory Manager, “The entire laboratory team was very excited to receive these accreditations for their compliance with their quality programs. This achievement not only provides international recognition to our laboratory but also confirms that it is perfectly possible to provide proficient and prompt results without compromising precision and accuracy. We are very proud our customer base has doubled every year since our establishment, confirming that our technical capabilities and customer service are highly regarded by the olive oil industry.”
“The establishment of our state-of-the-art olive oil laboratory in 2006 was an important step in our endeavour to offer the best possible technical advice,” adds Leandro Ravetti, Technical Director of Modern Olives. “Our objective is not only to provide complete and certified analytical results, but also to work together with growers and associations in applied research projects trying to solve their specific needs with an integrated approach.”
Among its many testing services, Modern Olives has developed a service to help Australian olive growers quickly and accurately determine when the optimal time to harvest is. Growers can send 250 grams of fruit to the laboratory and, using infra red technology, laboratory staff can instantly determine the percentage of oil and moisture in the olives and determine whether the fruit is ready to harvest for maximum yield.
Modern Olives Laboratory Services is currently conducting leading research in a number of areas of oil chemistry such as the phenolic profile of olive oil, new analytical methods to evaluate olive oil authenticity and quality, a sterol profile of olive oil and extensive supermarket studies.
For further information on Modern Olives and its laboratory services, visit modernolives.com.au.