ORGANIC Olive Oil/Greece [Organic] Vita Verde

A rarity among olive oils. Optimum ripeness, gentle processing and raw food quality are the culinary characteristics of this olive oil made from fully ripe Koroneiki olives from the Peloponnese. In recent years, a small group of olive growers in the Peloponnese have become convinced of the high cultivation and quality criteria. They now grow exclusively to Vita Verde's strict quality standards. All these groves are close together at an altitude of over 500 metres. This altitude means that the fruit ripens more slowly, receives more hours of sunlight and is firmer and tastier.

The Koroneiki olive is a small, firm olive known for its fruitiness, which is the basis for this tasty, fruity but not bitter olive oil. The olives are picked by hand when fully ripe, transported in baskets and taken directly to the mill by the farmers. There they are sorted. Only the best olives are used in our olive oil. Our high quality extra virgin olive oil, with its fine, fruity and mild taste, is then produced within a few hours using the first cold pressing method! Unique.

All Vita Verde olives are organically grown in accordance with the EU Organic Regulation (EC) No. 848/2018. This means they are free from fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides. Regular analyses of the olive oil confirm its high purity and quality. Any contact with plastic is strictly avoided. As a result, the olive oil is completely free of plasticisers (phthalates).

Olive harvest with the safe-bird method

At Ölmühle Solling we can assure you that all the olive oils in our range are made from olives harvested using the Safe Bird method.

Why does a particular harvesting method pose a risk to songbirds? Farmers in the Mediterranean start harvesting their olives in October. In intensive farming on large plantations, certain harvesting machines are sometimes used to harvest the olives to save on the cost of harvesters. The olives are shaken from the trees at night, and instead of being collected by hand with nets, they are sucked up by large machines. By harvesting at night, the farmers also hope to improve the shelf life of the olives. This is because olives harvested during the day are heated by sunlight and need to be processed more quickly after harvesting. The problem is that night harvesting takes place in the dark. At this time, many songbirds are resting in the trees. Due to the loud noise of the harvesters in the dark, most of the birds remain disoriented in the trees in search of shelter. This leads to the birds being sucked in and killed. This would be different if the machines were used during the day, when the birds are not disoriented and can leave the trees. Fortunately, this method of harvesting is being used less and less as large international olive oil companies are being petitioned to ban the harvesting method of sucking olives from the trees at night.

We assure you that the olives for our olive oils are only harvested during the day, without the use of suction cups and with absolute respect for the animals and the environment.

Olive oil is obtained from the flesh of the olive by cold pressing and contains unsaturated fatty acids (approximately 78% oleic acid) and valuable minerals.

The relationship between dietary fats and high blood pressure is not yet fully understood. However, it has been proven that the Mediterranean diet, with its various properties, high content of monounsaturated fatty acids (MUFAs), carbohydrates, fibre and micronutrients, is beneficial for a healthy lifestyle.