Interview - Cesar Cólliga Martínez, IOOC Tasting Panel Chief

The panel of olive tasters is an integral part in the process of designating the extra virgin grade to a sample of olive oil. Aside from the fundamental requirement that it contain less than 0.8% oleic acid, among other restrictions on its chemical makeup, olive oil must pass through the noses and mouths of an officially approved panel to assure that it meets the sensory standards befitting a product of the highest quality. So who better to talk to about the art of olive oil tasting than a man bearing the official Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and International Olive Oil Council title of ‘tasting panel chief’, entitling him to set up panels throughout the E.U. and the member countries of the I.O.O.C., and who makes his living as a consultant assisting European denominations of origin and government bodies in establishing and receiving approval of their own.

Our interview today is with César Cólliga Martínez, a Madrid native holding a degree in agricultural and food chemistry from Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, who at 35 years of age has become one of the country's acknowledged experts in this field. Through his consulting firm, Arco Agroalimentaria, Mr. Cólliga has successfully guided the agriculture ministries of the autonomous communities of Murcia, Madrid and Castilla-La Mancha and Extremadura (ed. note: these political subdivisions can be considered the equivalent of individual states in the U.S.) and the Centre for Investigation and Quality Control of the Spanish Ministry of Health through the process of receiving official accreditation from the Spanish Ministry of Agriculture and the International Olive Oil Council. He is currently working with the Portuguese Protected Denomination of Origin, Tras Os Montes, to bring the skills of its tasting panel in line with what is required of a European P.D.O. The feather in Mr. Cólliga's cap is that no panel he has trained has ever failed to pass the rigorous certification test required for accreditation.... continue reading.