This unique extra virgin olive oil is produced by a co-operative of small farmers living on the coast of the Aegean and Mediterranean Seas. In this area of the world the climate and soil offer perfect growing conditions for Aegean olives. It is these are distinctive Turkish olives that are used to create Wilderness Family Naturals' extra virgin olive oil. Once the olives are collected from the trees, only the best young olives are selected. This assures only the highest quality extra virgin oil. (Young olives produce a particularly low acid oil, while older olives will produce oil with higher acidity.) Rejected olives are used in either a lower grade olive paste or for composting. Any leaves with the harvested olives are then removed and the fruits washed in cold water. Next, the olives are cold pressed using 80.6F degree water and gently centrifuged. This centrifugal process is not commonly used by commercial olive oil producers because of its expense and technology. However, when olive oil is produced by centrifuge, the resulting oil is a far superior product. This oil is never exposed to heat and no chemical additives adulterate it's purity. This high quality, raw olive oil is then packaged for our customers in dark-green glass containers and stored under organic sanitary conditions. Each production run is carefully tested to ensure all quality control standards are met. It has a maximum acidity of 0.8% and contains a full-bodied olive flavor. Because it is produced under cold conditions and remains raw, there is also maximum nutrient retention.
