OLEUM Network: upcoming activities for the stakeholder network
In the past half year, around 55 stakeholders in the olive oil sector registered for the OLEUM Network. These stakeholders vary from small olive oil producers, lab technicians, companies producing analytical equipment, olive oil distributors to R&D centers and Universities. We recently interviewed several stakeholders to learn more about their reasons for joining the OLEUM Network. Common wishes for the network are:
- Getting to know other stakeholders in the olive oil sector
- Yearly OLEUM Network meetings
- Exchange of knowledge and news
- Participation in validation of new methods – ring tests, including sharing of samples
- Exchange information on analytical methods to learn from each other
- Solve problems together arising in the olive oil field
At present, we are organizing the first OLEUM Network meeting in Seville (Spain), right after the Euro Fed Lipid Conference 2019. First, there will be an informal get-together on Wednesday 23th of October in the afternoon, which will be open to anyone interested. On the early morning of the 24th of October, there will be time to discuss together on how to achieve the goals for the network and how to use the Basecamp platform.
The second training workshop, focused on the Quantitative Panel Test and the method to determine free and esterified sterols, will be held in Bologna on 11th December 2019”. Members of the OLEUM Network also have the opportunity to participate in the OLEUM International method validation studies which will be conducted between Autumn 2019 and Spring 2020.
To generate interaction with consumers and other people interested in olive oils, the OLEUM Network also has a LinkedIn page. Showing how to determine olive oil quality may help consumers to understand what they are buying and keep the olive oil quality standard high.
Please contact oleum@unibo.it and Dr. Tassos Koidis (t.koidis@qub.ac.uk) for joining this network or for more information about the upcoming events.