Australian olive industry sensory training

The Australian olive industry, while small on a global scale, produces consistently high-quality extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and table olives. To maintain this consistent and superior quality in domestic and international markets, rigorous sensory evaluation and ongoing training was conducted to ensure that our domestic product aligns with global standards and accreditations.

This project which ran in 2019 and early 2020 implemented a range of training programs to inform and strengthen olive growers and processors knowledge on the sensory quality attributes of EVOO and table olives. This was achieved through:

Three online and eight face-to-face TasteBook® sessions brought together industry stakeholders such as sensory panelists, olive oil show judges, growers and producers to assess and evaluate EVOO and table olive samples. The sessions provided valuable insight into the EVOO and table olive quality and improved the participants understanding of how to appreciate and judge these products in line with global standards.
Seven masterclass workshops were held for consumers in various locations of Australia to improve understanding and awareness of the positive and negative sensory attributes of EVOO and table olives. Activities included consumer tasting, a young judges training program and a consumer survey which explored consumer understanding and awareness of olive oil and table olive sensory attributes.
A review of the Australian Olive Oil Sensory Panel (AOOSP) members was undertaken to understand how the panel is performing. In addition, training for new entrants was conducted in March-2020 over 12 sessions to ensure the AOOSP maintains a detailed understanding of key sensory attributes of olive products.
Extension of evidence-based findings to olive growers and industry stakeholders was achieved through regular updates in the Australian Olive Association (AOA) quarterly magazine Australian and New Zealand Olive grower and Processor.