Olive Oil Supply Research Articles

What Gets Measured Gets Managed-Circular Economy Indicators for the Valorization of By-Products in the Olive Oil Supply Chain: A Systematic Review

The olive oil supply chain generates a substantial number of by-products, presenting significant environmental, economic, and social challenges. However, these by-products, such as pomace, wastewater, and biomass, also offer valuable opportunities for implementing a circular economy (CE) model that enhances sustainability. Despite increasing attention to the valorization of these by-products, understanding of the indicators used to measure circularity in this context remains limited. This systematic review examined the existing literature on circular economy indicators employed to assess the use of by-products in the olive oil supply chain. The aim was to provide a comprehensive overview of the most suitable indicators in this sector, while identifying best practices for quantifying and monitoring progress towards a more circular system. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, and bibliometric analysis was conducted using CiteSpace 6.4 R1 software. The results highlighted a key indicator, the Material Circularity Indicator (MCI). Additionally, methodologies such as Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and water footprint (WF) were evaluated, while challenges were identified, including the need for standardized metrics and improved data collection across the supply chain. This review provides valuable insights for both future research and policy decisions aimed at promoting sustainability and circularity in the olive oil industry.

Olive growing in the Sorrento Peninsula: Operative, economic, and environmental evaluation trough LCA of mechanical harvesting

Optimizing high-productivity farming techniques trough mechanization and lower workforce input in terraced olive groves is helpful to preserve local olive oil production, reducing costs and preserving ecosystem functionality. However, efficient work organisation should be provided. Moreover, mechanization can affect environmental sustainability. In this paper operative, economic and environmental performances of four olive harvesting techniques are reported; experimentations were performed in an olive grove in the Sorrento Peninsula (NA) during 2022–2023 productive seasons. Mechanized techniques (Harvesting technique 1 and Harvesting technique 4) performed highest working capacities (159.01 kg h−1 and 200.51 kg h−1) and the lowest unitary costs (630.00 € ha−1 for Harvesting technique 2 and 840.00 € ha−1 for harvesting technique 4), whereas environmental performances were the worst (266.30 kg CO2 eq and 252.59 kg CO2 eq) due to diesel intakes. Thus, their applications are helpful, but morphological or agronomic boundaries may affect their effectiveness in other areas. Among aided methods, Harvesting technique 1 overcame Harvesting technique 3 in any aspect (91.01 kg h−1 vs 76.13 kg h−1: 1822.09 € ha−1 vs 2793.80 € ha−1; 33.01 kg CO2 eq vs 127.21 kg CO2 eq); the absence of diesel inputs in harvesting technique 1 and its superior work capacity explain the environmental impact differences. Thus, the former may be adopted in farms where slope and irregular shape hinder mechanized harvest. Life Cycle Assessment dataset may be helpful to perform similar analysis in other Italian olive oil supply chains.

2G-lactic acid from olive oil supply chain waste: olive leaves upcycling via Lactobacillus casei fermentation

The transition towards a sustainable model, particularly the circular economy, emphasizes the importance of redefining waste as a valuable resource, paving the way for innovative upcycling strategies. The olive oil industry, with its significant output of agricultural waste, offers a promising avenue for high-value biomass conversion into useful products through microbial processes. This study focuses on exploring new, high-value applications for olive leaves waste, utilizing a biotechnological approach with Lactobacillus casei for the production of second-generation lactic acid. Contrary to initial expectations, the inherent high polyphenol content and low fermentable glucose levels in olive leaves posed challenges for fermentation. Addressing this, an enzymatic hydrolysis step, following a preliminary extraction process, was implemented to increase glucose availability. Subsequent small-scale fermentation tests were conducted with and without nutrient supplements, identifying the medium that yielded the highest lactic acid production for scale-up. The scaled-up batch fermentation process achieved an enhanced conversion rate (83.58%) and specific productivity (0.26 g/L·h). This research confirms the feasibility of repurposing olive waste leaves for the production of lactic acid, contributing to the advancement of a greener economy through the valorization of agricultural waste.Key points• Olive leaves slurry as it did not allow L. casei to ferment.• High concentrations of polyphenols inhibit fermentation of L. casei.• Enzymatic hydrolysis combined to organosolv extraction is the best pretreatment for lactic acid production starting from leaves and olive pruning waste.Graphical

Optimization of an integrated harvest, and process planning model in the agri-food industry

In this paper, an integrated harvest and production planning problem in the olive oil industry is addressed. The aim of the paper is to develop and optimize a mathematical model that integrates both olive harvest and olive oil production process. The objective is to maximize the total profit while determining quantity of olives harvested from several olive groves, quantity of olives purchased from external farmers, quantity of olive oil produced, and by-product management to handle hazardous effects of olive oil production. The problem is formulated as a mixed integer linear programming model (MILP). Maximization of profit consists of two components; total sales revenue and total cost including harvesting, purchasing, fixed and variable processing costs. Constraints on the system include harvest planning, harvest capacity, production planning, and processing constraints. The proposed MILP model incorporates several distinguishing characteristics of the problem such as ripeness of olives, olive oil quality, organic and conventional farming, and by-product management. A numerical experiment based on a real-world case study was presented to verify the effectiveness of the developed model. The results show that simultaneously considering harvesting and production processes can significantly assist the profitability of the olive oil supply chain. A scenario analysis is conducted by extending the base model to explore olive loss in the olive groves which can occur due to the severe climatic conditions.

Toward the circular economy into the olive oil supply chain: A case study analysis of a vertically integrated firm

While the paradigm of circular economy (CE) and the processes of socio-technical transition have been broadly investigated at the theoretical level, understanding how the transition toward circular models can be implemented in practice is still limited. This contribution aims to provide in-depth and evidence-based insights on an emerging pathway for the operability of CE into the olive oil supply chain. A case study from the Apulia region (the leading olive oil producing area in Italy) is presented to show how an existing business model can be transformed into a circular one, and to what extent it can be replicated. The study focuses on a vertically integrated firm, in which a new industrial process has been introduced to manage olive pomace, which is one of the most important by-products obtained from olive oil extraction. The empirical analysis is built on the Circular Business Model Canvas (CBMC), which is conceived as a suitable theoretical and methodological tool to speed up the transition process toward CE at a micro-economic level. This analytical framework allows us to identify the interplaying elements that the firm combines to capture, create, and deliver value, as well as the relationships with the broader economic system. Particular attention is paid to two distinctive components of CBMC: material loops and adoption factors. Also, internal and external factors affecting the adoption of the new circular business model have been discussed by separating drivers and barriers of the transition process.

The Olive-Oil Chain of Salerno Province (Southern Italy): A Life Cycle Sustainability Framework

Agriculture, and the related food systems, represents one of the sectors that use most of the available water resources and is responsible for a large part of the greenhouse gases increase in Earth’s atmosphere. The aim of the present research was to estimate the three dimensions of sustainability—identified by the 2030 Agenda—of the olive oil supply chain in a typical production area within Campania Region (South Italy), through the analysis of seven different olive oil systems: four certified as organic, two of which irrigated (BIO1, BIO2, BIO-IRR1, BIO-IRR2); two integrated (INT1, INT2); and one hobbyist (HOBB). The novelty of the research was the broad-spectrum sustainability evaluation of these systems, through the estimation of their water and carbon footprints, and some economic and social aspects, to classify them in sustainability classes. So, the Life Cycle Thinking approach was used to quantify the environmental impacts and the social issues, as well as the costs of production of 1 litre of packed oil produced. Environmental impacts were assessed thought the life cycle assessment methodology, with a focus on the global warming and the water footprint, using the SimaPro 9.0 software and Hoekstra methodology, respectively. The cost production evaluation was performed by the life cycle costing methodology, while a primordial approach of social sustainability estimation was built identifying the stakeholders involved and suitable impact categories. Results showed that, per litre of oil, HOBB and BIO2 were the systems that emitted less CO2 eq (0.73 and 1.50 kg, respectively); BIO-IRR1 and BIO1 were the systems with the smallest water footprint (2.97 and 3.65 m3, respectively); HOBB and BIO1 were the systems with the lowest production costs (3.11 and 3.87 €, respectively). From a social point of view, INT1 and INT2 were the most pro-social systems. Overall, BIO1 was in absolute the most sustainable system under the various aspects considered. Hence the need to spread more and more (a) organic production methods, characterized by the use of self-produced fertilizers (on-farm compost); (b) more efficient machines use, for saving fuel; (c) balanced nitrogen fertilization to lower the water footprint.

Agricultural Lightweight Embedded Blockchain System: A Case Study in Olive Oil

In Tunisia, one of the major problems of the olive oil industry is marketing. Several factors have an impact, such as quality, originality, lobbying, subsidies and the certification of extra virgin olive oil. The major problem remains the traceability of the production process to guarantee the origin of the food at all times. This fine-grained traceability can be achieved by applying Blockchain technologies. Blockchain can be used as a solution that could bring visibility to the oil supply chain. It is proposed in order to guarantee the veracity of the product information at different stages. In this paper, a multi-Blockchain, multi-sensor traceability system using IoT will be presented. Two Blockchains that can be programmed via Smart Contract will be used. The first one is Quorum, which is a private Blockchain used by the actors of our system, and the second one is Ethereum, which is public and connects the different actors who have access to our system. This smart contract allows us to conta our system to track the olive oil manufacturing process from the farmer, through the oil mill, the transporter and the quality controller to the customer. A general approach for managing the olive oil supply chain is presented. This approach offers the possibility for the system to be configurable. It is based on smart contracts and applications that interact with the same smart contracts. The IoT is used to configure sensors. These sensors are the source of data for the supply chain process. These sensors are connected to the embedded platforms that host Quorum.

Bibliometric Mapping of Research on Life Cycle Assessment of Olive Oil Supply Chain

The olive oil supply chain and even its individual stages have been extensively investigated through life cycle assessment (LCA) in recent decades. Most practices of the olive oil supply chain have been associated with negative environmental effects, such as soil degradation, carbon dioxide emissions, air and ground pollution, and depletion of groundwater. The current work aimed to perform a bibliometric analysis, through a science mapping approach, coupled with a review on the life cycle assessment (LCA) studies of the olive oil sector, with relevance to the environmental impacts of agricultural and industrial practices of this food sector. A total of 110 documents published in 2008–2021 were analyzed and discussed. More than 78% of documents were released from 2015. The main Scopus categories relating to the topic analyzed were environmental sciences (25%), energy (18%), and engineering (17%). The most productive countries were Italy, Spain, and Greece. The cluster analysis identified three main research topics related to the “agricultural phase”, “oil extraction”, and “waste management and by-product valorization”. Most of the recent publications focused on the application of LCA to evaluate the environmental impact of innovative agricultural practices, sustainable control of parasites and weeds, wastes, and by-products valorization within a circular economy.

Olive oil supply chain design with organic and conventional market segments and consumers’ preference to local products

Recent market studies showed that the demand for organic and local agrifood products is increasing despite their higher prices. The agribusiness actors should therefore rethink the supply chain configuration to cope with new market trends characterized by the rise of the organic segment and the increase of consumers' preference to more local products. This study focuses on the olive oil sector and proposes a mixed-integer non-linear optimization model for the design of olive oil supply chains while incorporating organic and conventional market segments and considering, for each segment, a supply chain proximity- and price-sensitive demand. The model is developed with the collaboration of olive oil producers in the Mediterranean area. Thanks to this industrial collaboration, we account for real-world practices and constraints and apply the model to a realistic case study. We first linearize the model and show that it can be efficiently solved with commercial optimization softwares. Based on numerical experiments, we derive a series of managerial insights that are applicable to the considered case study, some of them are not intuitive. For instance, we show that an increase in consumers’ preference to more local products may lead the producer to offer products with a more global supply chain. The conventional product variety may be produced with a more local supply chain than the organic (premium) variety. Finally, offering a mix of organic and conventional varieties instead of only one variety would lead to implementing a more local supply chain.

Assessment of the Cholesterol-Lowering Effect of MOMAST®: Biochemical and Cellular Studies.

MOMAST® is a patented phenolic complex derived from the olive oil vegetation water, a by-product of the olive oil supply chain, in which hydroxytyrosol (OH-Tyr) and tyrosol (Tyr) and verbascoside are the main compounds. This study was aimed at investigating its hypocholesterolemic effect by assessing the ability to modulate the low-density lipoprotein (LDL) receptor (LDLR)/sterol regulatory element-binding protein 2 (SREBP-2), and proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) pathways. MOMAST® inhibits the in vitro activity of 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl coenzyme A reductase (HMGCOAR) with a dose-response trend. After the treatment of HepG2 cells, MOMAST® increases the SREBP-2, LDLR, and HMGCoAR protein levels leading, from a functional point of view to an improved ability of hepatic cells to up-take LDL from the extracellular environment with a final cholesterol-lowering effect. Furthermore, MOMAST® decreased the PCSK9 protein levels and its secretion in the extracellular environment, presumably via the reduction of the hepatic nuclear factor 1-α (HNF1-α). The experiments were performed in parallel, using pravastatin as a reference compound. Results demonstrated that MOMAST® may be exploited as a new ingredient for the development of functional foods and/or nutraceuticals for cardiovascular disease prevention.

Development of a sustainability technical guide for the Italian olive oil supply chain

Italian olive growing must aim at the transition to economically and environmentally sustainable management systems, linked to premium quality production and to a recognized and remunerated context of biodiversity conservation in compliance with the provisions of the European Union New Green Deal and United Nations Agenda 2030. To assist and facilitate companies in this step, a sustainability technical guide for the Italian olive oil supply chain has been developed, with reference to the four pillars of sustainability. The guide, consisting of 42 requirements, was submitted to 18 olive farms from 8 different Italian regions participating in this pilot study, to assess their level of total sustainability and to receive feedbacks throughout the drafting process. Taken as a whole, the companies have proved to be virtuous in meeting the requirements provided, with percentages of compliance ranging from 86 to 96% according to pillar and from 70 to 100% according to company and showed a remarkable spirit of collaboration and involvement in the construction of the guide. In this regard, the text is aimed to represent a participatory standard for Italian institutions and for other olive countries.

A Review on Life Cycle Assessment of the Olive Oil Production

Olive oil is one of the most globally recognized high-value products, with 4 million hectares cultivated in the Mediterranean area. The production process involves many stages: farming, extraction, packing, and waste treatment. Each one of these stages should present critical points for the environmental impacts, and for this reason, the entire sector is adopting mitigation strategies to begin to be more sustainable. The mitigation actions’ efficiency should be evaluated through environmental indicators or environmental impact assessment by Life Cycle Assessment (LCA). This review aimed to carry out an overview of recent papers (2011–2021) involving an LCA study in the olive oil supply chain by giving a framework of what is included in LCA studies and highlighting the main contributors to environmental impacts. The main scholarly literature databases have been exploited, highlighting a great increase in publications, especially from the producer countries. The review results reflect the heterogeneity of the production process. However, the use of pesticides, fertilizers, water, and fuel for machinery heavily weigh on the farming stage’s environmental impact. Finally, special focus was given to key elements of LCA studies in the olive oil supply chain, such as functional unit, system boundaries, impact categories, calculation method, and software widely used.

Enhancing the competitive advantage via Blockchain: an olive oil case study

In the Olive Oil Supply Chain (OOSC), olive oil is priced according to its origin and quality, yet it periodically suffers from scandals concerning quality or fraud issues. Blockchain Technology (BT) has been put forward as a solution that should bring visibility to the food supply chain. BT is proposed to guarantee the veracity of the product’s information at the different stages of its production. Despite BT’s extraordinary interest in operations and supply chain management, no research supports how its use will generate visibility and avoid fraud in the olive oil quality. We present here how BT combined with Internet of Things (IoT) devices and smart contracts will improve visibility and avoid fraud in the olive oil quality so providing a competitive advantage. A theoretical use case based on real costs of the financial gain from using BT in a typical OOSC is presented. We propose that all food supply chains where quality, origin, and production process have to be verified should deploy BT to maximize visibility and competitive advantage for the operators in the chain.

Available Pathways for Operationalizing Circular Economy into the Olive Oil Supply Chain: Mapping Evidence from a Scoping Literature Review

Circular economy (CE) is increasingly seen as a promising paradigm for transitioning agri-food systems towards more sustainable models of production and consumption, enabling virtuous and regenerative biological metabolisms based on strategies of eco-efficiency and eco-effectiveness. This contribution seeks to provide a theoretical and empirical framework for operationalizing the CE principles into the olive oil supply chain, that plays a central role in the agroecological systems of the Mediterranean region. A scoping literature review has been conducted in order to identify the available pathways so far explored by scholars for reshaping the olive oil supply chain from a circular perspective. The analyzed literature has been charted on the base of the circular pathway examined, and according to the supply chain subsystem(s) to which it refers. Results are discussed highlighting the main issues, the technology readiness level of the available pathways, the prevailing approaches and knowledge gaps. A synthetic evidence map is provided, framing visually the scrutinized pathways into the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s CE ‘butterfly’ graph. The work is intended to be a valuable baseline for inquiring how circularity can be advanced in the specific supply chain of olive oil, and which are the strategic opportunities, as well as the barriers to overcome, in order to foster the transition.

Consumer Preferences for Origin and Organic Attributes of Extra Virgin Olive Oil: A Choice Experiment in the Italian Market.

The paper investigates Italian consumers’ behavior towards characteristics of extra virgin olive oil, in particular organic production methods and geographical origin. On the basis of the existing literature, the concepts of sustainability of food systems, diets, and the olive oil supply chain are analyzed. A choice experiment (CE), using a face-to-face questionnaire with over 1000 participants, was conducted to quantify the willingness to pay (WTP) for these two attributes. Findings show positive preference for origin attributes, while the organic attribute is not highly valued. The article also offers some perspectives on future research to improve the competitiveness and sustainability of the Italian olive oil supply chain.

The economic and environmental sustainability of extra virgin olive oil supply chains: An analysis based on food miles and value chains

Following the growing trend towards globalisation of the agrifood system over the last few years, a number of scientific publications with different aims and methodological approaches have addressed the issue of the progressive link loss between the place of consumption and production of food. In part, thescientific debate has focused on the various agri-food production commercial outlets, highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of both the dominant models like mass market retail, as well as emerging models like solidarity purchasing groups The present study can be classified as concerning the sustainability of agri-food supply chains. It compares five different extra virgin olive oil (evoo) supply chains in terms of the distance between the agricultural producer and end consumer, from both an economic perspective (the number of intermediaries) and a geographical one (production and consumption places). The examined aspects are 1) all the supply chain segments in which value is added to what will be the final food product purchased by the consumer, with a focus on trade and the transport cost estimated in relation to food miles; 2) the environmental impact of transport along the entire supply chain up to the distribution of evoo to the final consumer; and 3) the trade-offs between the environmental impact and economic results.The results obtained confirm some existing general evidence in the literature, such as the greater enhancement of agricultural products through short supply chains, and they emphasize as combining the value chain results with the environmental impact based on FMs, no real trade-offs, but rather trends, emerge.

Forecasting Global Developments and Challenges in Olive Oil Supply and Demand: A Delphi Survey from Spain

Forecasting future supply and demand is a topical subject in the olive oil sector due to its relevance for decision making and the lack of comprehensive and consensual estimates at the global level. This study aims at overcoming this gap in research by providing a foresight of global supply and demand for olive oil for the years to come. We use the Delphi technique to estimate the expected annual growth rates in the olive oil production and consumption worldwide as well as their likely impact on Spanish exports by 2025. Another key objective of the study is to elicit expert judgements on the factors that are likely to shape the predicted changes as well as the international challenges ahead. Results suggest substantial future increases in production in new-producing countries, in parallel with a slower growth in the European traditional suppliers whose focus will increasingly be placed on quality and sustainability rather than quantity. In addition, a significant growth in the world’s demand for olive oil is expected in non-traditional markets, which will be driven by greater awareness of the positive health and sustainability attributes of this product, jointly with the changes in lifestyles and rising incomes of several consumer segments. These emerging markets offer promising prospects for the international expansion of olive oil companies. Future international challenges facing the olive oil industry include new market entry, worldwide product promotion, quality standards’ harmonization, enacting trade facilitation schemes, and dealing with the COVID-19 impacts. Findings improve market predictability and transparency, and ultimately support decision-making and strategic planning in the olive oil sector.

Sustainability Certification, a New Path of Value Creation in the Olive Oil Sector: The ITALIAN Case Study.

The Italian extra virgin olive oil supply chain has considerable potential for embarking on a path of sustainable development and evolution. In Italy, the great variety heritage and the different pedo-climatic characteristics result in local olive growing systems with different management techniques, producing extra virgin olive oils that are strictly entwined to the territory, with peculiar qualitative properties. Nevertheless, numerous criticalities have been traditionally eroding the competitiveness of Italian olive growing that could find in sustainability certifications, a lasting driver of value creation. Shared standardizations and certifications that include the three pillars of sustainability are therefore necessary for the development of the process.

Sustainable Configuration of the Tunisian Olive Oil Supply Chain Using a Fuzzy TOPSIS-Based Approach

Agricultural production of olive oil is a sector with high significance. The olive sector is a very important sector for several countries in the world, in particular, for Tunisia. In addition, the impacts of olive oil production and extraction on economic, environmental, and social issues are considerable. The main objective of this work is to propose a better configuration of the Tunisian olive oil supply chain (OOSC) from a sustainable development (SD) perspective. The proposed approach consists of applying a fuzzy technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) method as a multi-criteria approach. The proposed approach is applied twice. In the first application, the objective is to compare five possible scenarios for the olive agricultural phase. In the second application, the objective is to compare three possible scenarios for the olive oil transformation phase. The major findings of this research include the following: (1) The best scenario for the agricultural phase is the intensified organic system, which is based on biodynamic olive growing. (2) The best scenario for the transformation phase (oil extraction) is the continuous two-phase extraction system. Consequently, the efficient way for the by-products processing phase is the use of wet pomace for the preparation of biodynamic compost.

A framework for food traceability: case study – Italian extra-virgin olive oil supply chain

A framework for food traceability: case study – Italian extra-virgin olive oil supply chain