Good practice:

Alternative use of Extra Virgin olive Oil (EVO) Spreadable oil

The practice of alternative usage of olive oil takes origin from the need of valorisation EVO production in a different way from the traditional ones, both in case of surplus and in case of diversification.
The main purpose is to solve the problem of olive growers who often fail to provide fair income for their excellent production, This practice works through a University of Calabria spin-off which organized the transformation in solid shape of EVO, Spreadable oil.
This product in made of 100% of olive oil, treated with a biochemical process, in order to extract a pure and organic food.
The whole process has been patented to protect it with the start of its commercial diffusion, after many years of research and many researchers applied to in the Faculty of Engineering – Chair of Agro-food engineering. The main efforts were dedicated to obtain the right density, respecting the pureness of row material.The benefits of the initiative are broad, both for agricultural enterprises, which manage to store their products in an alternative way, and for final consumers who use products on the market which are often considered to be harmful to health.

In the first part of the research the university spin off was granted by National Research Funds. The current financial needs could be ensured by the Misure n. 3 , intervention number 3.2.1 of 2014/2020 Rural Development Program.

This Spin-off experience represents a connection point between research and productive world, the quickest way to transfer results from research laboratories to profit companies.
It provides solutions to a problem particularly acute in the agricultural sector, expecially for sector of oliveculture and oil production, interestin even for consumers.
Spreadable oil is considered an innovative and massive production.

We can highlight the following difficulties: cultural difficulties for the consumers, who generally use EVO in liquid form, expecially in Mediterranean countries.
New technologies for equipment to be used in the transformation of the necessary technological means

The issue of surplus production and the need of diversification the use of fats in the olive-growing sector is being addressed not only in Calabria but also in other countries such as Spain and Greece and Portugal, which have large areas of olive oil, can draw benefic and innovative practices like this.
Spin-off profile represents an important way to put into action what research world produces in terms of commercial goods, using directly the same actors who intervene in the research process. This model is replicable all over the world, in any country which is able to put in connection universities and research centers to markets