In addition to the purchase of specialized equipment for the analysis of compounds, the project includes the implementation of an online platform for organoleptic evaluations -tastings- of olive oils, which will reduce the interpretation and evaluation times of these products.

With university authorities, academics, olive growers from the Coquimbo Region and special guests, the launch of the University of La Serena project called “Functional prospecting of regional olive oil” was carried out, an initiative financed by the Regional Government through the Innovation Fund for Regional Competitiveness FIC-R and which seeks to highlight the value of olive oil and enhance consumption at the national level.

Academics from the Chemistry and Agronomy departments of the ULS carried out studies and explorations of the components of olive oil produced by different olive growers in the region, highlighting its nutritional quality and highlighting its health properties.

One of the objectives of the FIC project was precisely to carry out an analytical chemical analysis of regional oil production and thus position the quality of the product in the country. This was stated by the director of the project and academic from the Department of Chemistry, Fabiola Jamett, who was emphatic in pointing out that “what we are looking for is to find these minority components that olive oil has, which give it its power as a nutraceutical food, that is say for health, and once we find them, see how we can protect them and make a variation, so that they can be sold in another way and also that they can go to other markets, such as the cosmetic area that requires the highest quality oils. ”.

For the Vice-Rector for Economic and Administrative Affairs, Dr. Armando Mansilla, this project “will allow a technological approach and specialized training in the production processes of olive oil, nutritional and metabolic components present, impacts on alternative markets, sustainable practices and management in agriculture, the formation of innovation networks between them or other relevant actors. Without a doubt, it will sow great interest and could form the basis of a new portfolio of proposals aimed at obtaining the full regional potential of the crop.”

The initiative was carried out through the tasting panel of the chemical laboratory and the phytochemistry laboratory, and this has main relevance for the olive growers in the area, since this way they know with demonstrable analyzes the quality of their products.

For the Production Manager of the agroindustrial company Valle Arriba SPA, Jorge Astudillo Gálvez, “the ability they have had to identify the needs of the sector regarding analysis, quality, marketing and the projection they have with respect to nutritional and health terms of our oils has been fundamental, since these projects stimulate the dissemination of the wealth that these olive oils have and help us even more to position ourselves, not only as a brand registry, but in an integral way, in our region, the country and at an international level.”

“For all of us this is a great achievement and it encourages us even more to move forward. We thank all the actors who are involved in this initiative and we call on more olive growers to be part of this challenge that, as an institution, we have full confidence will continue to give. fruits,” indicated the Director of the Department of Agronomy, Dr. Adriana Benavides.

Written by Patricia Castro, DirCom