Introduction to the second OLEUM newsletter
The OLEUM run - welcome to the first destinations!
OLEUM has already delivered concrete results, thanks to the precious collaboration and efforts from all the involved partners. They are summarized in this newsletter and some public deliverables can also be found here.
After a wide sampling plan and the first year of sample “sharing” and collaborative analyses (Work Packages 3 and 4), OLEUM has made significant advancements towards the development and validation of innovative, new or revised, rapid, easy-to-use analytical methods for assuring quality and authenticity of olive oil. The set-up and testing of two sensory reference materials that will be useful to support the Panel Test is also in course. These two experimental reference materials were presented at the meeting of the organoleptic experts of the International Olive Council (IOC) on 20th March, to collect the comments of the experts, which were very encouraging.
The OLEUM Network was recently launched with the aim of establishing an information exchange community of institutions and other relevant stakeholders to provide the global community - both technicians and consumers - with accurate and accessible information.
We have successfully presented the results in several scientific congresses and a season of presentations in Europe and in the USA awaits us. To maximize the impact of this newsletter, it is available in six languages (French, Greek, German, English, Italian, Spanish), thanks to some of the partners’ collaboration.
The OLEUM Multi-Stakeholder Advisory Board is continuously providing its contribution and precious advice to the project.
Whether you are an institutional or a private quality control laboratory, an olive oil production or distribution company, or a company that wants to propose its instruments and analytical tools to be tested, I warmly invite you to follow the project website (http://www.oleumproject.eu) and to send any requests for information or to join the OLEUM Network by sending an e-mail to oleum@unibo.it.
OLEUM is testing and inventing analytics for the future!
Tullia Gallina Toschi (tullia.gallinatoschi@unibo.it), Department of Agricultural and Food Sciences (DISTAL) - Alma Mater Studiorum - University of Bologna, OLEUM Project Coordinator