Erratic Weather in Mediterranean & Increasing Demand in China: Olive Oil Prices Reach New High
In 2014, the muggy weather brought Mediterranean countries including Spain, Italy and France the fruit flies and bacteria that caused severe damages in olive oil production. A lot of manufacturers not only earn less but also had to loan money to produce next year stock. “Olive oil is expensive and very much in the hands of nature,” said Celebrity Chef Jamie Oliver in Bloomberg post. “The really good stuff is worth every penny. You pretty much charge the oil per tablespoon, like you would foie gras or caviar.” Unfortunately after a short recovery in 2015, bad weather hit them again. The continuous unstable weather in the past few years had already lowered the global olive oil production by 8% this season. “Consumers have every reason to worry the drop in Quantity equate to the drop in Quality.” Enjoi Ltd. The fact is the reduced harvest can only produce fewer extra virgin olive oil, in order to maintain the supply, manufacturers have to clear all their stored stock. If the stock still cannot keep up with the demand, prices will definitely rises but fraudulent oils are also more likely to be found. Read also: Olive Oil Prices Are Going Through the Roof – Bloomberg Olive oil prices spike, deepening ‘courgette crisis’ – POLITICO A Disappointing Olive Harvest in France – The Olive Oil Times Growing Demand of Olive Oil in China With the rapid growth of economy in past decades, Chinese are paying much more attention into the quality of food. Olive oil, known as the healthiest edible oil, its market is filled the fierce competition. Olive oil particularly the extra virgin olive oil has become the choice of gift amongst Chinese families, it is healthier than wine and it can also be used for cosmetics. The reduced price gap between tradition oils such as peanut oil make incorporating this healthiest oil into the diet more feasible. The gutter oil incident in 2010 and 2014 and the increasing import of olive oil from not only the Mediterranean countries but also Australia that has rather stable weather and produce premium quality olive oil encourage consumers to look for a reliable brand. Similarly, oil companies are building up their images through social network and e-commerce to meet up with information channel and purchasing habit of new generation. Read also: Find Real Extra Virgin Olive Oil in China – Enjoi Ltd. The OKOER Report Exposes 10 Extra Virgin Olive Oil Distributors are Selling Unsafe & Counterfeit Oils in China #ExtraVirginOliveOil #Oliveoil #China #Weather #Mediterranean #Italy #France #Spain #International
The Top Extra Virgin Olive Oil Exporter is Ashamed Again – Italy Arrests 33 Accused of Olive Oil Fra
“The profit margin (700%), can be three times better than cocaine.”journalist Tom Mueller said on the 60 minutes show of CBS News. Food Fraud is not just in Italy. It’s all around us in Hong Kong. What can you do about it? Tell the authorities or let social media reveals it! I prefer the social media to takeover by telling everyone Not to BUY. Every reader should tell 1,000 more readers to stop buying from the Supermarket Shelves (who are also at fault) all the oils from countries that are having the problem. This way the people of Italy, Greece, Spain, Turkey, Ukraine etc. – where the cost of living is tougher than it ever was – will stop working for the crooks and stop the not just the fake, not pure (adulterated) extra virgin olive oil, but soybean, rapeseed, sunflower oil products being made. Plus the customs authorities must recreate the regulations for importation of oils. For example they could stop the importation of the oils by poorly licensed purchasers looking for a share of this big profit. I have been writing about this issue for over 4 years. The fact is Macau, Hong Kong & China are getting the BULK of the product compared to what the USA or Australia gets. Sources: 1. Italy Arrests 33 Accused of Olive Oil Fraud – The Olive Oil Times #OliveOil #Fraud #Italy
What the Singapore Government is Saying is Largely Correct!
They may not have the experience working with oil or running tests of ALL the commercial oils available as Enjoi, the United States FDA, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) does. Hence there are many “Bad” & very few “Good” oils on the supermarket shelves, or sold to restaurants and 5-6 star hotels. Health Hub The website and the smartphone application contributed by the Health Promotion Board of Ministry of Health of Singapore Government. It contains wide range of health related information for general public. Nonetheless, the Singapore government is clearly sharing the views of the top 64 countries. These 64 countries are banning from the food services Non-monounsaturated fats (palm, sunflower, corn, soybean, peanut and any blend of these oils.) So if the oil is made up of major 3 fat groups: Saturated fats > 10% – are not healthy Poly-unsaturated fats (e.g. Omega-3 & -6) > 31% – are not healthy Mono-unsaturated fats < 60% (e.g. Omega-9) – are not healthy What is the Answer? Mono-unsaturated oils such as those made for Enjoi Ltd. of Hong Kong. Where the seed, crude oil, refinery, filling, distribution is totally traceable. Moreover there is a 6 years history of these oils being used in Hong Kong, Macau & Australia. If New York can reduce the amount of cardiac disease by 40% by banning trans fats, and China has reduced lung Cancer by at least 30% with the Stop Smoking sign, Singapore Why Not Go Trans Fat Free (during the working life of an oil) as the 64 countries has over the next 5 years? #Singapore #Transfatsfree #Monounsaturatedfats
Oil & Globalisation, Obesity and Sustainability
Globalisation increases the flow of money, people, knowledge and resources. The global food trade has been growing rapidly in last decades and made the same kind of food available everywhere. Oil is one of the most global traded commodity. Poor oil becomes one way to get cheap calories Vegetable oils, particularly palm and soybean oil are two of the most consumed oils. These oils are cheap because countries likes Malaysia, Indonesia and China export in large quantity and some are incentivised by their government policies. As a result, no matter what countries we are in, our diets have become more similar, which are heavy in calories and low in nutrients. Despite the “cheap calories” partly solve the famine problem in the less developed countries, increasing obesity concerns every the developing and developed countries. Adapting lifestyle: energy dense to nutrients rich Adapting our lifestyle to the changing supply of food has become the way to live healthy. Besides doing more exercise, we can also make changes in our diet. Instead of choosing energy dense food, choose nutrient rich food. It could also applied to the way we choose our oil, even though all oil provide similar amount of energy, fat likes saturated fat and trans fat will cause heart diseases, while monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are more beneficial to our health. A good oil should be protected by good packaging and handled carefully such as avoid temperature changes, sunlight and air, so that we can get the most nutrients out of it. From food security to food sustainability After secured the food supply and food safety problem, developed countries now are looking for more sustainable way to produce food. Palm oil has been related to the deforestation and labour exploitation problem for long time, even after the establishment of the Roundtable on Sustainable Palm Oil (RSPO). According to the RSPO 2016 Reports, they are still facing lots of challenge, and the lifting of the suspension of the IOI (Malaysia palm oil supplier) after just 4 months undermined the credibility of the RSPO panel. Sources: 1. BBC News – Obesity crisis: Is this the food that is making us all fat? 2. Food Navigator – Global food supply balance is becoming increasingly unstable as population grows 3. Food Navigator – Good year, bad year: 2016 was challenging for RSPPO; Will it fare better in 2017? #2017 #Globalization #Obesity #Sustainability #Palmoil #Soybeanoil #Vegetableoil
How to Dispel Myths of Cooking oil
Enjoi understands that foodies are drowning in information and starved for knowledge. Every one can look up for information with their smartphones, however they may not be able to distinguish the truth with the fads. This happens to cooking oil as well, for example, some may said the unsaturated fat is evil, while others said coconut oil is purely good. What we can do to sort things out is to look for the evidence. The Olive Oil Times had listed out some of the myths of olive oil, let’s take one as an example: Myth: Olive oil smoke point is too low for frying. Tips 1: The way to think is to break the myth down and to know the words in it. Tips 2: Try to look for information from the official, trustworthy site, such as US FDA, HK FEHD/CFS, EFSA, CFDA. e.g. What is smoke point? “The smoking point is the temperature at which a chemical change takes place resulting in undesirable smoke and flavor.” So that we know oil will turn bad beyond the smoke point. What is the smoke point of the olive oil(s), and the temperature used for frying? “The smoking point of extra virgin olive oil is somewhere between 380 and 410 degrees Fahrenheit” (193.3 and 210 degrees Celsius) “depending on the impurities and acid content of the olive oil: the better the quality, the higher the smoking point. The smoking point of olive oil is well above the temperature required for all but the highest-heat cooking.” We need to know that there are different classes of olive oil e.g. extra virgin, pure, pomace. And the quality of oil varies from batch to batch. Once you know the recommended frying temperature is about 180 degree celsius, you will know the claim is not completely truth. Though you need to know what olive oil you are buying and if it is good enough to cover for frying. Sources: 1. Butter or olive oil? Eggs or no? New nutritional review cuts through the myths. – The Washington Post 2. Dispelling the Myths of Frying with Olive Oil – The Olive Oil Times #Myths #OliveOil #ExtraVirginOliveOil #Olivepomaceoil