Venue: Olio Bello, 36 Armstrong Rd Cowaramup 6284 Western Australia

Dates: 16-17 April 2025

Register below. Registrations close 8 April.

This highly-acclaimed and comprehensive program will be delivered by Pablo Canamasas, international olive oil consultant, processing expert and EVOO judge. The course covers every aspect of processing quality olive oil, from grove management for optimal fruit quality to best-practice processing and storage. Along the way you’ll learn a lot about olive oil chemistry, and the practical aspects of oil extraction.

Program

Day 1, 16 April (updated 25.03.25):

• 08.30am – 09.00am – Registrations
• 09.00am – 10.30am – Understanding Olive Oil Chemistry – oil chemistry basics to understand shelf life.
• 10.30am – 10.45am – Morning tea.
• 10.45am – 11.30am – Agronomical aspects impacting on oil quality. Irrigation, pests and diseases, harvest, transport and harvest-processing delay: Impact on quality and extraction efficiency. Determining optimal harvesting times.
• 11.30am – 12.45pm – Crushing & Malaxing: Different types of crushers. Crushing degree, principles. Impact on quality. Visual inspection of crusher. Emulsions. Different types of malaxers. Malaxing time: impact on paste extractability and oil quality. Malaxing temperature: Impact on paste extractability and oil quality. New pre-heating technologies.
• 12.45pm – 01.30pm – Lunch
• 01.30pm – 02.30pm – Use of processing aids: Microtalc powder, Kaolinitic clays & enzymes. Ultrasound & Pulse electric field. Combination of processing aids. Impact on paste extractability and oil quality.
• 02.30pm – 03.30pm – Horizontal centrifugation: Differences between 2 & 3 phases. Decanter: Centrifugation principles. Working capacity and extraction efficiency: parameters affecting them. Pumping speed: impact on paste extractability. Decanter adjustments. Differential speed.
• 03.30pm – 03.45pm – Afternoon tea
• 03.45pm – 4.45pm – Vertical centrifugation: centrifugation principles. Regulations: water ring. Oil losses at separator step: acceptable limits. Impact on oil quality (temperature of water of addition and poor centrifugation performance). Settling tanks: holding capacity, set up & drainage frequency. Extraction efficiency: Benchmarks. Different methodologies of calculation.
• 04.45pm – 05.30pm – Oil storage and filtration.
• 05.30pm – 07.00pm – Networking dinner.

Day 2:

• 8.30am – 12.30pm. Processing demonstration – Processing of fruit using different paste preparation approaches to evaluate oil extraction efficiency and quality. Discussion of aspects learned the day before.

• 12.30pm – 1.00pm. Tasting of the oils obtained during the trials at the plant. Closing of the course.

1.00pm – 2.00pm Lunch

Cost (includes all meals, including networking dinner on day 1): Members & levy payers: $285 inc GST, Others: $385 inc GST

Accommodation: there are many options in the region but book early as it is the school holiday period in WA during this time when demand for accommodation is traditionally high. Some options to consider:

• Caves House Hotel and Apartments, Yallingup
• Tasman Holiday Parks, Yallingup
• Olio Bello Lakeside Glamping, Cowaramup
• Margrets in Town Apartments, Margret River
• Margret River Motel, Margaret River
• Margret River Resort, Margaret River

This is part of the Olive levy project Australian olive industry communications and extension program (OL22000), funded by Hort Innovation, using the Hort Innovation olive research and development levy, co-investment from the Australian Olive Association and contributions from the Australian Government.

AOA WA Back to Basics Field Day

This will be held at Olio Bello on the 15th of April (the day prior to the Processing Workshop). Maximise your learning opportunity by attending both events. Click here for more details and to register for this event.