For years, the Olive Japan International Olive Oil Competition has been the largest olive oil contest in Asia and Oceania. Now, for its 2025-26 edition, Olive Japan is introducing Asia’s first international table olive contest, plus new early bird discounts. Of course, Olive Japan is continuing its extra virgin olive oil and flavored olive oil competitions.
The health benefits of the Mediterranean diet have earned it widespread fame, from social media and TV to cookbooks and conferences. For eight years, U.S. News & World Report’s panel of nutrition scientists and public health experts have ranked it the Best Diet Overall. Read on to learn what’s in it, who cares, why it matters, and what it can do for your health.
A Mediterranean diet conference drew globally acclaimed researchers to Kalamata, Greece October 13-14. They joined a multi-disciplinary group of professionals to discuss that traditional diet’s potential benefits for human and planetary health. Speakers called for the widespread adoption of plant-rich diets like the Mediterranean or Planetary Health Diet.
Cretan extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is now listed in the European Union’s official Geographical Indications Register of high-quality agricultural products and foods. The PGI Κρήτη / Kriti, or Protected Geographical Indication of Crete, serves to both highlight and protect Cretan EVOO’s unique characteristics and its close connection to the land of Crete.
Traditional Cretan food comes directly from farm to table for an authentic slow food experience at Dounias Taverna. Dounias offers a perfect marriage of agrotourism (or agritourism) and food tourism in a scenic, rustic setting. At this traditional Greek taverna, dishes from the Cretan diet revive the flavors of a time when Greeks lived closer to the land.
Laconiko is a family-owned Greek olive oil company built from generations of farming tradition. From the olive groves of Laconia, Peloponnese, Greece to kitchens in North America and Asia, the Pierrakos family blends heritage, sustainability, knowledge, love, and care to deliver extra virgin olive oil that nourishes families and preserves a precious legacy.
The North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA) announced the results of its 2024 Olive Oil Testing Program, the largest initiative of its kind ever conducted in the United States. The study found no adulteration in 190 samples of olive oil representing the top 15 brands (85% of the market) and 37 private label “store brands” bought in the U.S. and Canada.
Between the ancient olive groves of Olympia and the valleys of the Peloponnese, a new ecosystem was born. Not just a company or another brand. Rather, a movement with a mission to redefine what extra virgin olive oil means in the modern world. The Master Miller is where tradition meets science, nature meets transparency, and the producer meets the consumer.
In 2003, a wildfire propelled by strong, hot winds from Africa destroyed thousands of ancient olive trees in Crete. Destructive wildfires are tragically common in the dry Greek summers, but the response of one family who lost all their trees is inspiring. On their burnt land, they created the Botanical Park of Crete, a fruitful celebration of nature.
Discover the tastes, scents, and secrets of Greek olive oil at Laconiko’s olive oil tasting room and educational venue in Virginia. The public is welcome to visit, sample, and learn about the award-winning, healthy Greek extra virgin olive oil and flavored olive oil this family business brings to their temperature-controlled warehouse in the USA every year.
The 10th Olympia Health & Nutrition Awards ceremony for very healthy extra virgin olive oil took place in Athens on June 26. With this event, the non-profit World Olive Center for Health continued its efforts to promote high phenolic olive oil and its health benefits in 2025. Scientific advances were discussed, and award winners and donors were honored.
At the 6th International Yale Symposium on Olive Oil and Health, Professor Vasilis Vasiliou of Yale School of Public Health updated the audience on recent research on olive oil’s health benefits. Mentioning that he has seen interest in these benefits from South Carolina to Dubai, he encouraged discussions of olive oil in terms of both gastronomy and health.
Corfu has a deep-rooted olive oil tradition, but in 2010 its oil had the worst reputation in Greece, and olive oil production was about to stop. Alarmed, Spyros and George Dafnis took action. The brothers inspired a revolution in Corfu’s olive oil sector, bringing it back to life and offering hope to young farmers who would have abandoned their groves.
In the village of Sigri on the island of Lesvos in Greece, Sigri Olive Mill stands as a testament to a harmonious blend of tradition, innovation, and environmental stewardship. After restoring biodiversity to once-barren land by the sea, the Sigri Olive Mill team produces award-winning extra virgin olive oil that showcases the fruit of a revived ecosystem.
Princeton University’s Summer Research and Learning Village recently hosted an event focused on exploring olive oil. Students gathered for a hands-on, tasty exploration of a key component of the famously healthy Mediterranean diet. They ate olive oil cake, tasted extra virgin olive oil, learned about it, and made a Greek salad with an olive oil vinaigrette.
At the largest olive oil contest in Asia and Oceania, the Olive Japan International Olive Oil Competition, Greek olive oils earned 12 Gold Medals and 36 Silvers. This year, 19 judges from 11 countries evaluated 803 olive oil samples from 29 nations. Prizes honored the excellence of olive oils made from several olive varieties in different regions in Greece.
At the 10th anniversary edition of the ATHENA International Olive Oil Competition in Chania, Crete, Greece in May, 175 Greek olive oils earned awards. This year, a record-breaking 640 olive oil samples from 25 countries on four continents were evaluated by 30 judges from 14 countries. Those judges honored Laconiko as the competition’s Best Greek Olive Oil.
In the USA for two months, Greek Liquid Gold has been introducing olive oil to North Americans in various settings. While most Americans know little about Greek olive oil, many are interested in tasting it, and in learning more about this key component of the healthy Mediterranean diet. From the olive oil sector to universities, collaboration flourishes.
Olive oil’s health benefits have been studied so much that they are now widely recognized. In fact, it is hard to keep up with all the articles about scientific evidence for extra virgin olive oil’s ability to help prevent and cure diseases. Followed by links to some of the clearest, most useful recent articles, this summary of the main benefits can help.
Greek olive oil is consumed in large quantities in Greece today. Still, the small population leaves plenty of oil for export. Much of it goes to Italy in bulk, but growing numbers of Greek producers are striving for excellent quality, bottling their olive oil under their own brands, and winning awards at international olive oil competitions each year.
