For ten years, a Catalan yogurt brand has used the slogan "It all starts within" to highlight the nutritional benefits of consuming their products. And it's true, yogurts are fermented foods, and eating them improves your gut microbiota, making it strong and thriving, like a dense, green forest. The denser the microbiota, the better, because viruses won't be able to penetrate it and, therefore, won't harm your gut. The good news is that we could have carried out the same campaign with olives from our olive groves. Olives, like yogurts, kefirs, cheeses, gherkins, pickled foods, and pickles in general, are fermented foods and, therefore, provide billions of active bacteria to our bodies.

These are exceptional cases, when they exist at all, because extra virgin olive oil is one of the foods that undergoes the most analytical controls and is subject to European legislation. However, Frauds are becoming increasingly sophisticated. And some cases can go undetected in controls, as confirmed by scientist Alba Tres Oliver, professor in the Department of Nutrition, Food Science and Gastronomy at the University of Barcelona (UB). That's precisely why they have developed an advanced analytical tool to detect it. The news is that this validated and tested tool, created at the UB's Torribera Campus, has been agreed to be shared with the Department of Agriculture, Livestock, Fisheries and Food of the Government of Catalonia. Until now, they worked separately; next year they will join forces.

Fluorescent green extra virgin olive oil is the most sought-after on the market for its color, which is eye-catching, its powerful taste, and also because it's the first of the harvest that will begin this week. Technically, it's known as early oil, and has broken all the mental schemes among oil producers. In our country, in Catalonia, and also in Andalusia, which has Jaén as the world's leading producer of oil, the young people remember the first time they decided to harvest the green olives in October. "The older people said everything to us; the gentlest words were crazy people"says Fernando López, from the Thuelma oil mill, located in the Sierra Mágina.

The harvest forecast was good, very good, in spring, but in summer everything changed. High temperatures from June to September and the lack of rainfall have caused olives to rot in the olive groves, both in Catalonia and Andalusia. That's why oil prices could rise again this season, because there will be a gap between supply, which will be limited, and demand, which is high. However, It could be that a liter of olive oil will not reach 10 euros, as happened in the 2023-2024 campaign., and the final price for the consumer remains at 6 euros. One of the reasons is that the oil mills have stocks of produced oil, from the previous campaign, 2024-2025, which was a year of a splendid harvestSpecifically, the starting oil stock is 280,000 tons, which is an additional 100,000 tons compared to last year's campaign. In any case, the retail price of olive oil throughout Spain will be set, as always, by Andalusia, which produces 60% of the country's olive oil, while Catalonia accounts for only 5%.

Despite the temporary lifting of the measures, US President Donald Trump's recent decision to impose 20% tariffs on products imported from the European Union has a direct impact on Catalan agricultural and food exports. Olive oil, along with products such as wine and cava, and, to a lesser extent, processed meats, are among the most affected.

At the first presentation gala of the Guide to the Best Extra Virgin Olive OilsThe restaurants Disfrutar in Barcelona, ​​El Sindicato in Tarrés (Garrigues), and Castell de Peralada (Alt Empordà); the Oli y Sal store in Barcelona; the sommelier Ferran Vila; and the oil consultant Anita Zachou received awards for their work in promoting the properties and qualities of extra virgin olive oil. All six emphasized the importance of promoting a product that is produced with such high quality in Catalonia.

The excessive increase in the price of olive oil, which already began to skyrocket last year and earned the nicknameliquid gold, has placed this product among the most stolen in Spanish supermarkets, and, in fact, it is the favorite of thieves in twelve communities, including Catalonia. In this way, the oil makes the overtaking and overthrows alcoholic beverages and liquors, which topped the list of thefts since the first study in 2022.

Olive oil production will suffer a sharp drop this year in Catalonia. The causes of the reduction are the successive heat waves that have affected the country since April and the drought accumulated over the past two years.

Ivan Caeles comes from a saga of oil producers. Some time ago he set himself the goal of recovering part of the family's hundred-year-old olive trees that had been abandoned and are located in the Barcedana valley, in the Pallars Jussà region. He did it with the help of the Institut de Recerca i Tecnologia Agroalimentàries (IRTA) (Agri-food Research and Technology Institute). Three years ago, it produced its first oil: Erm Oli d'Oliva de Muntanya (Erm Mountain Olive Oil). It was a success and this encouraged him to go one step further, delve into the sector and try to unite two of his passions, olives and beers, to produce the first drink of its kind in the world. "The native varieties of olives from Pallars Jussà are still largely unknown, but they have a high and rich organoleptic value", explains Caelles, who is also an agricultural engineer.