Olive oil

Giorgos runs the coffee shop on the main square but his greatest passion is Greek olive oil, especially that from Laconia in the southeastern Peloponnese - he takes any perceived slight against the local product very personally.

From January 1, 2018 it is going to be forbidden to use bulk olive oil in the Greek restaurants. Offenders will receive an administrative fine of up to 500 euros. Four years ago, the European Commission tried to ban bulk oil and olive oil in restaurants because of huge frauds, BNT reported.

Olive oil will have to be presented at the table in sealed bottles to customers at restaurants and tavernas across Greece as of January 1.

The new regulation is aimed at limiting the use of olive oil produced in bulk and presented in unsealed dispensers at the table as a salad dressing, for example.

The Independent Authority for Public Revenue is launching targeted inspections at olive oil production units in central and southern Greece after data pointed to income hiding and tax evasion in this sector.

Checks will focus on the areas where these phenomena are most common, such as Crete, the Peloponnese (Messinia, Argolida and Laconia) and Fthiotida in central Greece.

Greek police have arrested seven people allegedly involved in fraudulently selling large quantities of adulterated sunflower oil as olive oil in Greece and abroad.

A family of four and three of their relatives were found operating a workshop were they added a dye to turn the yellow sunflower seed oil into a green hue resembling olive oil.

It is my last day here in Ikaria, a beautiful Greek island in the northern Aegean, named after Icarus from mythology, who fell into the surrounding sea when his wax wings melted in the sun. Ikaria is a nature lover’s paradise with its crystal blue waters, and lush hiking trails that lead to quaint, mountainous villages nestled on the coast.

Composer and multi-instrumentalist Theodore, whose music strikes a balance between classical and electronic sounds, is performing at the Aeschylia Festival in Elefsina on Friday, September 29. The concert at the Old Olive Oil Mill (Palaio Elaiourgeio) starts at 8.30 p.m. and admission costs 5 euros.

Nine years after its first stab at selling off its olive oil activities in Greece, Unilever is making a second attempt. To counterbalance its departure, the Dutch-British giant is planning to start manufacturing cleaning products in Greece which to date have only been produced in other countries.

Turkey should be able to sell its olive oil to European Union markets in a customs-free manner, just like it can do for olives, rather than on inward-processing model, to give a boost to its exports, a leading sector player has said.

Greece exported 50.38 tons of olive oil in the first half of the year for 214.9 million euros. This means it sold olive oil to other countries at 4.2 euros per kilo, while the cheapest brand of olive oil at local supermarkets costs at least 8-8.5 euros per liter (with a liter of olive oil weighing 915 grams).