It is said that success is not a requirement, but effort is a must… and QvExtra! is putting all its efforts into it.
Yesterday, the extra virgin olive oil sector met in Cordoba to hear from QvExtra! about the status of the technical dossier submitted to EFSA to obtain, for the first time, a health claim for virgin olive oils regarding the risk of disease, as part of the 2 ND CONFERENCE ON NUTRICIONAL AND HEALTH LABELLING OF VIRGIN OLIVE OILS IN THE EU.
The event was a success, with more than 100 people in attendance, including the 33 companies that are members of the Association, honorary members of the Association, the main associations of the sector, such as Interprofesional, Patrimonio Comunal Olivarero, infaoliva, acora, Federation of Olive Oil Mills, Sectoral Denominations of Origin, sponsoring companies such as Vetreria Etrusca and Arola, etc., and many other companies interested in this milestone initiated and worked on by QvExtra! since 2022.
The day began with the presentation table, moderated by Mr. Rafael Muela (Partner of QvExtra! Mueloliva and President of DO Priego de Córdoba) and chaired by Mr. Félix Romero, 3rd Vice-President of the Cordoba Provincial Council, Mrs. Soledad Serrano, President of QvExtra! and Mr. Jaime Lillo, Executive Director of the IOC. This was followed by a presentation by Isabel Pérez, Head of Health and Nutrition of the Danone Group and Head of Danacol in Spain, who highlighted the importance for Danone of investing in R&D and directing this investment towards achieving health claims, as one of the main reasons for being able to communicate the value of its products to the consumer. Following the presentation, participants received intensive training on EFSA’s guidelines and procedures from Álvaro Lancharro, Deputy Director of Food Safety Management at AESAN.
The day’s round table, moderated by Herminia Millán, QvExtra! manager, was made up of Dr. Miguel Ángel Martínez, professor of Preventive Medicine and Public Health at the University of Navarre and honorary member of QvExtra!, and Dr. María del Carmen Millán, senior scientist at the CSIC (Instituto de la Grasa) and head of the scientific committee of the virgin olive oil health claim project. They were joined at the table by Mrs. Dulce Miranda, partner at Deloitte, expert in industrial and intellectual property in the food sector, who supported the association during the project, and Mr. Álvaro Lancharro.
During the round table, the application process initiated and the milestones achieved so far were explained in detail. The project is currently in phase 3 of administrative validation by EFSA and is expected to be submitted to a technical panel in a few weeks for evaluation of the submitted dossier. The documentation provided includes more than 350 complete certified analyses of the characterisation of SIQEV EVOOs from QvExtra!, 60 certifications of analyses audited by SGS within the SIQEV self-checking system and more than 100 articles describing the mechanisms linking EVOO to the reduction of cardiovascular disease.
The conference was closed by Mr. Jose Miguel Herrero, Director General of Food of MAPA. Jose Miguel conveyed the gratitude of the Ministry of Agriculture to QvExtra! for its efforts and generosity towards the rest of the olive sector, whose 33 companies have ceded the future intellectual property rights of the claim presented. He also expressed his commitment to seek support for this project.
After the conference, everyone enjoyed a cocktail in the courtyard of the Cordoba Provincial Council, a privileged setting in which to breathe hope and enthusiasm for this new opportunity for the growth of the international extra virgin olive oil market.
