The Executive Director of the Jordanian General Syndicate of Olive Mills and Olive Producers, engineer Jamal Al-Batsh, said Jordanian olive oil is distinguished by its high quality and exceptional chemical composition compared with olive oils produced worldwide. He added that it also has many desirable taste and sensory characteristics appreciated in various countries, according to expert tasting assessments.
اضافة اعلان
Speaking during a lecture organized Monday evening by the Jordanian Society for Scientific Research, Entrepreneurship and Innovation under the title “The State of the Olive Sector and Jordanian Olive Mills and Factors Affecting Olive Oil Quality,” Al-Batsh highlighted the economic, social and environmental importance of Jordan’s olive sector.
He pointed to the scale of investment in this vital sector, the industries built around it, its contribution to gross domestic product, and the number of Jordanian families that depend directly and indirectly on olive trees. The sector also provides employment opportunities, making it an important avenue for combating poverty and unemployment.
Al-Batsh said the olive tree is closely linked to the life, traditions and customs of Jordanian society and forms an integral part of the country’s history and culture. He noted that the sector contributes to achieving self-sufficiency in a strategic food product that is essential to the Jordanian food basket, as olives and olive oil are staples of the Jordanian table.
He added that the sector provides important inputs for producing animal feed, fertilizers and energy through the utilization of waste generated during olive pressing. It also contributes to reducing soil erosion and combating desertification.
Al-Batsh confirmed that all olive mills across the Kingdom are fully prepared and highly capable of processing olives and producing high-quality olive oil. He said there are currently 151 licensed and operational olive mills in Jordan, distributed across the various governorates and equipped with modern, advanced production lines that keep pace with the latest pressing technologies worldwide.
During the lecture, he outlined the main factors affecting olive oil quality, including olive varieties, good agricultural practices required to care for olive trees and produce healthy, fresh and high-quality fruit, and post-harvest handling. These include packing, transporting and storing olives under appropriate conditions until pressing, as well as applying proper manufacturing practices during the pressing process to ensure suitable quantities and high-quality oil.
He also emphasized the importance of optimal storage conditions in preserving the quality of the finished oil.
Al-Batsh praised the oversight role carried out by joint government committees comprising inspection and monitoring personnel from the Ministry of Agriculture, the Jordan Food and Drug Administration, the Royal Department for Environment Protection, the Cybercrime Unit, and the Syndicate of Olive Mill Owners, particularly the committee responsible for protecting Jordanian olive oil.
The committee works to monitor, pursue and combat various forms of fraud that Jordanian olive oil may be exposed to and to take deterrent legal action against those responsible.
As part of efforts to raise awareness and promote sensory evaluation of olive oil—considered a fundamental element in classifying virgin olive oil according to its distinctive characteristics through human senses, particularly smell and taste—Al-Batsh explained that the evaluation process is usually conducted by a panel of between eight and 12 tasters.
The tasters are selected, trained, qualified and accredited as members of a sensory evaluation panel.
During the lecture, he explained the main negative characteristics and other defects that tasting panels can detect in virgin olive oil. These defects are generally caused by improper agricultural practices, inadequate post-harvest handling, or conditions during the pressing and storage of the produced oil.
He also highlighted the desirable positive characteristics that can be detected by tasting panels, particularly fruity flavors and bitter and pungent tastes.
The lecture, moderated by the society’s Deputy President Dr. Samih Abu Bakr, included several demonstrations using reference samples of olive oil containing various defects, as well as samples free of defects.
The demonstrations aimed to help participants identify undesirable and desirable characteristics in practice and distinguish high-quality, defect-free extra virgin olive oil from other categories of virgin olive oil containing defects.
Al-Batsh expected Jordan’s olive oil production during the current season to reach around 30,000 tonnes, compared with estimated domestic consumption of approximately 25,000 tonnes.
He noted that Ministry of Agriculture estimates indicate that Jordan’s expected olive harvest will reach about 212,000 tonnes. Around 40,000 tonnes are expected to be processed into green and black table olives for pickling, while the remaining quantity will be pressed to produce olive oil.
Source: Petra
