Understanding More About the OOCC

by Rich Marchini, Chairman, OOCC Outreach Committee

Harvest of the 2016/17 California olive oil crop is now underway. It’s a busy time for olive oil farmers and we’re all crossing our fingers for good weather as we finish out the harvest season. We wish everyone the best and want you to know the Olive Oil Commission of California continues to assist California olive oil farmers by:

• conducting research to help farmers successfully grow a healthy, sustainable crop;
• developing and enforcing standards for the purity and quality of California olive oil;
• verifying California olive oil quality through mandatory government sampling and third-party analysis;
• promoting simple, clear, accurate labels for California olive oil.

As the chairman of the OOCC’s Outreach Committee, I want to assure you we will be making a greater effort this year to communicate with the industry about the OOCC and its programs. The OOCC Outreach Committee is made up of volunteers who are charged with making sure activities and policies approved by the OOCC Board are communicated to the industry and that the OOCC’s goals are well understood. I’m pleased to serve on this Outreach Committee with Josh Barton, Albert Katz, Larry Maben, Samantha Dorsey, Vincent Ricchiuti, Jon Sciabica and Liz Tagami. As members of this committee, we’re very interested in hearing input about the OOCC’s communication efforts. Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have ideas on how information about the OOCC could be presented more effectively.

As part of our new communications efforts, the OOCC has developed a poster designed to help OOCC members explain to various audiences what it means to be a part of this organization. The poster was created for OOCC members to display in their sales offices, lobbies or tasting rooms as a reminder of the OOCC’s primary goal to ensure that all California olive oil is trusted and valued. This poster and additional resources for talking about the OOCC are available on our website here. If you’re a member and would like copies of the poster, you may request them by calling or emailing OOCC offices in Sacramento.

Throughout the year we will be communicating regularly with OOCC members providing them with information on OOCC-funded research. The OOCC is funding a number of exciting new projects that you can learn about here. In January, the UC Davis Olive Center is holding a symposium and the OOCC will be participating in this informational session. You can learn more about the event here. Whether or not you attend, the OOCC will make sure that all our members receive information on any OOCC funded reports provided during this symposium.

We also encourage you—or anyone interested in the OOCC—to sign up to receive our e-newsletter. This newsletter is distributed each month to provide updates on the OOCC and is a great way to stay informed. You can sign up for the newsletter here.

The OOCC website offers a host of other helpful information including details about the OOCC grade standards and the mandatory sampling and testing program. Under the For Our Members section, you will find much more information including a Checklist and Timeline for the OOCC’s 2016/17 sampling program, assessment forms and details on the use of the new OOCC Service Mark logo. All OOCC meeting minutes and notices are posted on the website and we encourage members to attend.

All of us at the OOCC are hoping for a good olive oil season and that the information we’re providing is useful in helping people throughout the California olive oil industry to learn more about the OOCC.