What's In Your Extra Virgin Olive Oil?

Dr. Selina Wang of the UC Davis Olive Center will present her research into olive oil quality standards as well as new developments at the Olive Center.

Date: Thursday, September 19, 2013
Time: No-host bar opens 5:30 p.m. Presentation begins 6 p.m.

Since its establishment in 2008 by the Robert Mondavi Institute, the UC Davis Olive Center has emerged as an international leader in olive research and education. In 2010 and 2011, the Olive Center exposed the poor quality of olive oil available to US consumers, with a large research project showing that 65 percent of imported olive oil failed extra virgin standards. In addition to the media attention and consumers’ reactions, this has spurred stronger quality standards and investigation by the government. In this lecture, Dr. Wang will talk about how the Olive Center is pursuing innovation during a difficult economic climate and pushing the tipping point for olive oil quality. Guests will have the opportunity to taste some olive oils and learn about their natural flavor attributes.

Dr. Wang is the research director of the UC Davis Olive Center where she develops and manages a wide range of projects in olive oil quality and authenticity. She oversaw the Olive Center’s 2010 and 2011 studies evaluating the quality of extra virgin olive oil in supermarkets, which received worldwide attention. She is pursuing innovative research that seeks to deliver faster, better and cheaper methods for analyzing olive oil quality and authenticity. She has a PhD in Organic Chemistry from UC Davis.

For more information, contact Heather Segale, education and outreach director, (775) 881-7562 or hmsegale@ucdavis.edu.