posted by PHILEOS EVOO on February 17, 2023
Phileos of Sparta Extra Virgin Olive Oil is rich in polyphenols. What are polyphenols you ask? Polyphenols are micronutrients that naturally occur in plants. Polyphenols are obtained by consuming fruits and vegetables. "These compounds give a plant its colour and can help to protect it from various dangers. When you eat plants with polyphenols, you reap the health benefits as well." Many of you may not know that olives are actually classified as fruits.
Phileos packs on average an outstanding 800-1200mg/kg of polyphenols in our oil which is well above 99% of all EVOOs sold on the market. It's not easy to find a high quality oil such as Phileos that has very low acidity, high levels of polyphenols with a delightfully smooth fruity flavour.
Studies show that polyphenols are powerful antioxidants. In this role, they prevent or reverse damage in your cells caused by aging, the environment, and your lifestyle. Over time, this damage is linked to an increased risk of many chronic diseases." This is what makes an EVOO so unique when compared to other oils on the market.
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is one of the most comprehensively studied food products in the world today because the health benefits of its consumption are evidence based. Phileos contains a very high amount of polyphenols which is a key benefit of including EVOO in your daily diet. "Studies show that people who have polyphenol-rich diets have lower death risks than those who do not." Polyphenols have many health attributes that help protect your body. They help with heart health, lower your diabetes risk, raise immunity and also have anti-cancer properties.
The secret to our premium high polyphenol extra virgin olive oil is the production process we incorporate at our company. Production is one of the most important factors that contribute to the quality of the oil. This is because it can ensure that the highest possible levels of polyphenol count is preserved in the process. The olives we collect during our harvests are hand picked and placed in baskets by Phileos artisan farmers in order to minimize damage to the olive fruit. Once collected, our EVOO is first cold pressed using mechanical methods which means no heat or chemicals are added in this process like other oils which degrades its quality and polyphenol count. The oil is then placed in stainless steel climate controlled vats and nitrogen is pumped in to protect the freshness of the oil.
The main destructive enemy of olive oil is oxygen. The less the oil comes into contact with oxygen the longer it will maintain its good quality status. This is why it is very important to keep and store the olive oil away from oxygen (O2) throughout its entire life. In order to preserve the freshness and quality of Phileos of Sparta oil we use nitrogen to create the absence of O2. Nitrogen (N2) is an odourless, tasteless and mainly inert gas, which under pressure fills the space between the olive oil and tank. This prevents its oxidation and helps maintain its freshness and preservation of all its organoleptic components. The quality of our handling of Phileos oil post harvesting separates us from 99% of the oils produced.
In many of the markets we sell in, there are a number of brands that boast they ship, bottle and package their olive oil when they receive the product from overseas where they sourced it. This should be an automatic red flag to consumers that the olive is surely lacking in quality, has lost many of its organoleptic attributes and that the seller of the oil is not well versed in the skilled art of olive oil manufacturing. Why? How many times has the oil come into contact with light and oxygen? The answer is much too much in order to preserve its quality, freshness and polyphenol count. Moreover, a number of these same brands were packing the oil they brought over in clear glass bottles, rather than dark tinted glass until recently. Someone eventually must have pointed this out to them that this is a no no when it comes the preservation of oil quality. This is another red flag that the seller is not experienced in the art of storing, bottling and handling oil. Aside from oxygen, light is the other major degrading factor of olive oil.
Phileos always bottles its Extra Virgin Olive at source which protects the quality and healthy components of the oil. We only bottle our olive oil when orders are received from our customers. Therefore, customers are always guaranteed a fresh high quality oil at all times. This is because Phileos has full custody of the production process from the time the olives are first picked until the arrival on our retailers shelves. We have been recognised for our quality production process internationally and have been distinguished as an Olive Oil Company that has had a major impact on the market.
The high polyphenol count of Phileos Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oil is also dependent on three very important factors. The first is the variety of the olive (we use Koroneiki and Athinolia), secondly the climate and terroir of the growing region and thirdly the growing season. Our olive orchards are blessed to be located in one of the best growing regions not only in Greece but the entire Mediterranean.
All of this culminates in a truly exceptional premium EVOO with a low acidity and a very high polyphenol count. This contributes greatly to the taste and flavour of our olive oil.
Should wish to learn more about our production process check out "Our Process" found in the Learn More section of our website.
