https://feeds.thelocal.com/ Read the latest news and views from Italy in English en-us news@thelocal.com (TheLocal) webmaster@thelocal.com (TheLocal) TheLocal RSS Feed Working in an arid Italian field of crumbly soil, agronomists are battling a rampant bacterium that has already infected millions of olive trees and could threaten the entire Mediterranean basin. https://www.thelocal.it/20190731/xylella-italy-puglia-olive-trees-research Wed, 31 Jul 2019 11:14:11 +0200 xylella-italy-puglia-olive-trees-research There is still no known cure for the olive-tree-killing Xylella bacteria, the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) said on Wednesday, warning that it poses a risk to plants and crops throughout Europe. https://www.thelocal.it/20190516/no-cure-for-deadly-olive-tree-disease-ravaging-italy Thu, 16 May 2019 13:50:22 +0200 no-cure-for-deadly-olive-tree-disease-ravaging-italy Like nonna, American FDA medical advice now tells us to drink two spoonfuls of fresh, extra-virgin olive oil per day. https://www.thelocal.it/20181207/its-official-extra-virgin-olive-oil-has-medical-benefits Fri, 07 Dec 2018 12:09:20 +0100 its-official-extra-virgin-olive-oil-has-medical-benefits John Werich moved from chilly Sweden to Tuscany, originally to pursue interior design studies at Florence. A decade later, he's still there and running a successful olive oil farm in the Italian countryside. https://www.thelocal.it/20170321/life-on-a-tuscan-olive-oil-farm-once-id-been-here-a-couple-of-years-my-parents-realized-i-wasnt-coming-back Tue, 21 Mar 2017 11:02:03 +0100 life-on-a-tuscan-olive-oil-farm-once-id-been-here-a-couple-of-years-my-parents-realized-i-wasnt-coming-back 'Made in Italy' olive oil is often anything but - despite laws aimed at protecting the quality of the product, warns a report from Italian farmers' organization Coldiretti. https://www.thelocal.it/20160930/made-in-italy-olive-oil-under-threat-coldiretti Fri, 30 Sep 2016 19:35:17 +0200 made-in-italy-olive-oil-under-threat-coldiretti The first of the recently increased sanctions against 'deceitful' olive oil have been handed out, with discount supermarket Lidl and Deoleo - the owners of the popular Bertolli brand - hit hard. https://www.thelocal.it/20160629/lidl-and-bertolli-face-huge-fines-for-false-extra-virgin-olive-oil Wed, 29 Jun 2016 14:41:20 +0200 lidl-and-bertolli-face-huge-fines-for-false-extra-virgin-olive-oil In the latest move to protect one of its most famous exports, Italy has increased fines for misleading packaging on olive oil to up to €18,000. https://www.thelocal.it/20160621/italy-hikes-up-fines-for-deceptive-olive-oil-labels Tue, 21 Jun 2016 12:07:43 +0200 italy-hikes-up-fines-for-deceptive-olive-oil-labels Olive oil has been a staple part of the Italian diet since time immemorial. But how do you tell the real deal apart from the cheap copies flooding the market? https://www.thelocal.it/20151112/how-to-spot-fake-italian-extra-virgin-olive-oil Thu, 12 Nov 2015 18:55:28 +0100 how-to-spot-fake-italian-extra-virgin-olive-oil A tray of these delicious and fragrant biscuits, known as ciambelline, can easily help you while away the long evenings, especially if you have a good bottle of sweet wine or mug of herbal tea to dunk them in. https://www.thelocal.it/20151111/how-to-make-olive-oil-and-wine-ciambelline Wed, 11 Nov 2015 09:01:08 +0100 how-to-make-olive-oil-and-wine-ciambelline Italy's oil producers are urging consumers to give olive oil as Christmas gifts and help the industry hard hit by this year's disastrous harvest. https://www.thelocal.it/20141222/buy-olive-oil-for-christmas-to-help-italy Mon, 22 Dec 2014 11:52:00 +0100 buy-olive-oil-for-christmas-to-help-italy New research from Harvard University suggests it could put years on your life. But a Mediterranean diet rich in pungent olive oil does not come cheap, and it is just about to get a lot more expensive. https://www.thelocal.it/20141208/disastrous-olive-oil-harvests-sends-prices-shooting-up Mon, 08 Dec 2014 10:47:44 +0100 disastrous-olive-oil-harvests-sends-prices-shooting-up Upmarket British department store Harrods was forced to take a line of olive oil off its shelves after it was revealed that it was falsely labelled as Tuscan. https://www.thelocal.it/20140225/fake-tuscan-olive-oil-discovered-in-harrods Tue, 25 Feb 2014 18:45:00 +0100 fake-tuscan-olive-oil-discovered-in-harrods Italian MP Colomba Mongiello called the US a country of "junk food" where the "importance of quality food is not understood" after a story in the New York Times claimed the majority of olive oil sold in the US is fake. https://www.thelocal.it/20140130/mp-speaks-out-against-attacks-on-italys-olive-oil Thu, 30 Jan 2014 10:00:00 +0100 mp-speaks-out-against-attacks-on-italys-olive-oil Extra-virgin olive oil has long been known for its potential health benefits, but now researchers in Italy say it could also fend off Alzheimers and other neurological disorders. https://www.thelocal.it/20130826/olive-oil-may-avert-memory-loss-study Mon, 26 Aug 2013 16:10:00 +0200 olive-oil-may-avert-memory-loss-study