Current situation

The continuous increase in competition in the globalized food market combined with consumer demand for high-quality products have led to the need to develop new tools and methodologies to control food quality and authenticity. Despite the fact that today there are different chemical methods for checking the composition or possible adulteration of agricultural products, they provide only limited information regarding their geographical origin. Thus it is common for counterfeit or counterfeit products to be on the market and unfairly compete with genuine products. It is therefore clear that the development of special analytical techniques that will allow more effective control of the geographical origin of products is imperative.

Addressing the problem

The objective of OliveID is to use the stable isotope ratio determination methodology to verify and certify the geographical origin of quality table olives grown in the area of ​​Polygyros, Halkidiki. This method is based on the fact that the isotopic composition of the products of a specific geographical area is considered stable and characteristic of their origin, constituting their ‘isotopic fingerprint’. The application of the above methodology is expected to contribute to the effective protection of the products in question from unfair competition, to the improvement of the extroversion and competitiveness of agricultural production and ultimately to the increase in the income of producers and businesses in the region.