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the words "London IOOC 2021 Europe's recognizable competition" with a photo of an olive grove behind some of the text, and a dark green border behnd some of it

At the 2021 edition of the London International Olive Oil Competitions (IOOCs), prizes were awarded for extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) quality, infused olive oil flavor, EVOOs’ health benefits, and package design. With 924 entries from 35 countries judged by an international jury of 28 tasters, Greek companies took home 233 awards, including 20 platinums.  

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A banner ad with the words "Canada IOOC 2021 Olive Oil Contest," next to olive oil pouring out of a bottle

In its inaugural year, the Canada International Olive Oil Competition (IOOC) attracted 411 extra virgin olive oils and flavored olive oils from 20 countries. Fourteen judges from nine different nations evaluated the oils, judging Greece worthy of 87 medals, more than any other country. This included six Platinum awards for oils produced by four companies.

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olive oils and other products on the shelves of a specialty store in Athens, with a small table for sampling products in front of the shelves

Greek Liquid Gold asked Greek olive oil experts about the best ways to select and preserve extra virgin olive oil to retain its optimal flavor and maximum health benefits. They shared useful advice about where to buy olive oil, what to look for as you shop, where to keep your olive oil at home, and how long its excellent flavor and health benefits can last.

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Boiled greens with olive oil and lemon on a white plate

How should I use olive oil? Greeks don’t need to ask, since they consume more of this liquid gold per capita than anyone else in the world. To help those outside the major olive growing regions, Greek Liquid Gold asked Greek olive oil producers and company representatives, plus two prominent European chefs, about their favorite ways to eat olive oil.

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Bottles and tins of olive oil on store shelves

This is the revised edition of a list that should grow very long but still has a great deal of room to grow—and additions are welcome. It focuses on where to buy bottled and branded 100% Greek extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs), since these are high quality, healthy olive oils that have their flavor sealed into bottles where oxygen cannot harm its quality.

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a handful of green olives after their harvest

The Liokareas Olive Oil Company’s High Phenolic Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO) won first place at the 2020/2021 World’s Best Healthy EVOO Contest in Spain, tied with an EVOO from Chile. Three other Greek companies, Eirini Plomariou, G Team, and Therianos Family, also ranked among the top ten healthy EVOOs at this unusual international olive oil competition.

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Part of a tin of Yanni's Finest extra virgin olive oil lying on its side, with some golden olive oil pouring out

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved a controversial drug that may slow cognitive decline in patients in the early stages of Alzheimer’s. Uncertainty about the drug’s efficacy and cost and concern about the possibility of serious side effects led three FDA advisory committee members to resign. Could extra virgin olive oil do better?

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olive tree plain below Achladokambos, with mountains in the distance

Many scientific studies have provided evidence of olive oil’s health benefits. Registered dietitian and nutritionist Elena Paravantes is a strong advocate of this healthy oil and the Greek Mediterranean diet where it plays a major role. She believes this oil and diet contributed to her progenitors’ longevity. For example, her grandfather lived 104 years.

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two whole fish on a plate of olive oil, with the sea in the background

We know we should eat nutritious foods to stay well, especially during the coronavirus pandemic. Many also realize extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) offers numerous health benefits, so it can play a vital role in a healthy diet. While no food has been proven to prevent or treat COVID-19, some evidence suggests EVOO could help us combat the novel coronavirus.

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Small bowls of olive oil and olives

Olive oil is good for us--so good that it is considered both a healthy food and a delicious medicine! There are so many articles about the scientific evidence for the health benefits of extra virgin olive oil that it’s hard to keep track of them. Here is an overview, followed by links to the best, clearest, most useful recent articles I’ve read.

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Olive trees behind the amphitheater at Ancient Aptera in Crete

Archaeologist Anaya Sarpaki explains in On the Olive Routes that olive trees have existed longer than modern humans. For example, wild olive leaf fossils from the Greek island of Evia date back 23 million years. At Santorini, 37,000 to 50,000 year old leaf fossils from the olive species Olea europaea have been discovered in the volcanic crater.

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Whole baked fish on plate with olive oil at a restaurant, sea and old buildings in the background

When he led the famous Seven Countries Study that inspired worldwide interest in the Mediterranean diet, Ancel Keys was astonished to see Cretans’ food swimming in olive oil. He decided that was a good idea, and eventually much of the rest of the world caught on, although most countries still lag behind Greece in their olive oil consumption. 

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a bottle of Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms' Oleastron flavored olive oil on a table

Greek extra virgin olive oils earned 66 quality awards at the 9th edition of the Japan Olive Oil Prize in Tokyo: 1 Best of Greece, 12 Best in Class, 32 Golds, and 21 Silvers. In a competition with 467 entries from 20 countries, Greece also took home 24 awards for flavored olive oils, including the Best of Flavored prize, plus the Best of Polyphenols award.

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Olive Temple workers sorting harvested olives in the grove

At the 2021 Athena International Olive Oil Competition (Athena IOOC), Greece earned an impressive 179 awards: 18 Special awards, 9 Double Golds, 49 Golds, 52 Silvers, and 51 Bronze medals. A newcomer to international competitions, A.M.G. Karabelas, won the Best of Greece award for Laurel & Flame Fresh extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) from near Ancient Olympia.

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a bottle of Terra Creta Grand Cru extra virgin olive oil lying on its side next to a glass of olive oil, with a white plate full of colorful vegetables to the left

For the first time in thirteen years, a Greek olive oil company won first prize at the Mario Solinas Quality Award, which many consider the world’s most prestigious olive oil contest. Terra Creta’s Grand Cru extra virgin olive oil captured First Prize in the “mild green fruitiness” category. Another Greek company, Agriston, was one of just ten finalists.

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a bottle of Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms' Flavored Gourmet Enigma olive oil on a table

At the sixth edition of the EVO International Olive Oil Competition (EVO IOOC) in Italy, 112 Greek olive oils were awarded for their excellent flavors and aromas. Terra Creta’s Grand Cru Koroneiki Extra Virgin Olive Oil was ranked Best of Greece, while Sakellaropoulos Organic Farms’ Enigma Gourmet was judged the contest’s Best International Flavored Oil.

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Washing olives at a mechanized olive mill in Astrikas village, Crete

Olives enter the olive receiving area on conveyor belts for separation from leaves and branches and then enter the mill. They may be washed either outside or inside the mill. In both traditional and modern mills, olives are ground or crushed into a paste which is pressed or churned to release oil that must then be separated from other liquids and solids.

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A couple harvesting olives on a steep hillside

Harvest time, method, and duration vary according to a number of factors, but harvesting tends to be labor intensive in Greece due to the country’s rocky, hilly, and mountainous terrain. Since ripening time varies according to the olive variety and location (including elevation), the harvest does not occur at the same time in all parts of Greece.

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A bottle of Mediterre Alea olive oil on the right, and the words "Best of Greece" and "Olive Japan" to the left of it, with the competition logo

Competing with 811 olive oils from 27 countries, Greek companies took home 77 medals from Olive Japan 2021: 19 Gold awards and 58 Silvers. In its tenth year, this international olive oil competition attracted more contestants than ever before. The top Greek winner was Mediterre Eurofood SA, with the Best of Greece award, six Gold medals, and two Silvers.

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Antonia Trichopolou speaking at the Food Expo in Athens

A world-famous expert on the Mediterranean diet, Dr. Antonia Trichopoulou, spoke to a Greek audience about “Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The Secrets We All Know” at the Food Expo in Athens this spring. “We all know olive oil,” she said; “it’s in our DNA. Olive oil is not only health … it is culture, it is tradition, it is the economy, it is the environment.”

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a closeup photo of Pamako founder Eftychis Androulakis

For the first time, says Pamako’s Eftychis Androulakis, an extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) has been officially approved as a food supplement. While EVOO is also a healthy natural food, this early harvest Greek olive oil is so rich in antioxidants, and is produced, stored, and bottled with such care, that it can be prescribed by Belgian and Luxembourg doctors.

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cuttlefish on a cutting board

In this elegant gourmet recipe by chef Vassilis Alexiou, a spicy, full-bodied Manaki extra virgin olive oil from the Peloponnese in Greece gives a boost to the mild flavors of lentils, cuttlefish, and caviar. The recipe exemplifies this Greek chef’s interest in “waking up” or enlivening a recipe that starts out mild, by adding a bold extra virgin olive oil.

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Kyklopas Ages extra virgin olive oil being poured from a black bottle into a clear glass dish, with its special box to the left

Greek companies captured 10 Extra Gold medals and 13 Golds at the BIOL International Prize in Italy. Many consider BIOL the world’s most important international competition for organic extra virgin olive oils. Prize-winning organic oils from several olive varieties and various parts of Greece demonstrated Greeks’ commitment to both quality and our planet.

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the very wide, bulging, textured trunk of an ancient olive tree, with a small wooden sign that says "Arnold Schwarzenegger" tied around it

Arnold Schwarzenegger, a celebrity chef, and several German actors are sponsoring ancient olive trees on the island of Crete in Greece. Their donations and the resulting publicity help preserve these impressive Greek natural monuments, which are in danger of destruction due to financial pressures and inadequate awareness of their multi-faceted value.

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a branch with young olives growing on a tree, with blue sky behind them

The only wide-ranging English-language website devoted to Greek olive oil news is again providing up-to-date information about the Greek olive oil world. With 225 original articles, the Greek Liquid Gold: Authentic Extra Virgin Olive Oil website (greekliquidgold.com) has reached consumers in more than 200 countries, especially attracting readers in the USA. 

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bottles of Greek olive oil on shelves in a shop

All certified companies that produce, bottle, and/or export bottled and branded 100% Greek extra virgin olive oil are welcome to take advantage of all the advertising and sponsorship options on www.greekliquidgold.com. Other relevant businesses and organizations are invited to become sponsors or major supporters, purchase banner ads, and take advantage of writing and editing services.

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