RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT
INN.OLEO.LAT
Inn.oleo.lat is our integrated R&D project in the agri-food sector, specifically for the olive oil and dairy industries.
OUR COMMITMENT
Innovative projects for the agri-food industry
Inn.oleo.lat is at the core of the Investment Plan approved by Puglia Sviluppo. n particular, the project concept falls within the “Sustainable Manufacturing” area – Smart Factory – Advanced Production Technologies, and within the “Human and Environmental Health” area of the call for “Aid to integrated programs promoted by Small Enterprises – PIA” of the Puglia Region. Inn.oleo.lat has outlined a significant investment plan for the development of two innovative projects: one, currently ongoing, for the pasteurization, heat treatment, and processing of dairy products; the other, completed, for the extraction of extra virgin olive oil.
As a result of the Research & Development activities carried out, two Industrial Patent applications have been filed.
MADE IN PUGLIA
Puglia, with 60% of Italy’s extra virgin olive oil production, its more than one thousand active mills, and its 21 cultivars — among which the Coratina stands out as one of the best in Italy for its high polyphenol content and intense flavor — has represented the ideal setting for the development, testing, and implementation of the innovative plant.
THE PLANT
The new method of olive oil extraction is based on a plant that combines a heat exchanger — further optimized and with benefits already widely recognized in recent years — with a microwave system that ensures uniform heating of the olive paste and, together with the mechanical action generated by the agitation of water molecules, enables an extraction process with numerous advantages over traditional methods.
ADVANTAGES
Studies on the extracted extra virgin olive oil, conducted by the Department of Agro-Environmental and Territorial Sciences at the University of Bari Aldo Moro, have shown clear advantages in terms of yield and organoleptic quality. It has been shown that, compared to traditional methods, the innovative plant allows faster and safer heating control during the extraction process, a 50% reduction in the conditioning phase, a shortening of the extraction process, as well as reduced energy consumption and operating costs, while achieving a significant increase of up to 30% in hydrophilic phenolic compounds. In particular, the total phenols showed a concentration of about 1 g/kg, significantly enhancing the health properties of the product, which can be classified among high-phenolic-content oils. In addition to these advantages, the system also allows for high throughput even for mills that do not have large spaces available.
