The influence of growing region and cultivar on olives and olive oil characteristics and on their functional constituents

This chapter reviews the current situation of olive orchard characteristics in some world olive crop areas (the Mediterranean Basin, North and South America, as well as Australia) and analyzes the influence of the growing regions and cultivars on EVOO's characteristics and functional constituents. The characteristics of some distinguished olive orchards of six Mediterranean countries (Spain, Italy, Greece, Portugal, Tunisia, and Morocco), two South American countries (Argentina and Chile), and two more countries (Australia and the United States) were used for the analysis of variability of EVOO. A comparative study of global cultivars, growing in both the Northern and Southern Hemispheres, reveals significant differences in olive oil characteristics. The olive oil composition of some Mediterranean cultivars is better in some Chilean, Australian, and Mediterranean growing areas and worst in the arid valleys of northwest Argentina, Maghreb countries, and some states of Australia (NSW and Qld).