A meeting of the North American Olive Oil Association was held January 15, 2010 at the Grand Hyatt, San Francisco, Calif. Steve Mandia, chairman, presided at the meeting.

A list of the attendees is included as Attachment 1 and can be downloaded from the NAOOA web site at the following address:

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_attendees.pdf

Before beginning business, Mr. Bauer read a statement of the antitrust policy of the association.

Adoption of the Agenda

A motion was made, seconded, and on vote carried to adopt the Agenda. It is included as Attachment 2 and can be downloaded from the NAOOA web site at the following address:

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_agenda.pdf

Approval of Minutes of Annual Meeting

A motion was made, seconded, and on vote carried to approve the minutes of the June 26, 2009 Annual Meeting.

Chairman’s Report on the Retail Olive Oil Market

Mr. Mandia and Eryn Balch of Sovena USA showed slides with information on U.S. imports and sales of olive oil.

When speaking about extra virgin’s percentage of the market, Mr. Mandia asked for input about extra virgin’s share in other countries. It was noted that in Spain extra virgin accounts for about 65 percent of the market; in Italy, extra virgin accounts for about 80 percent of the market.

A copy of the presentation is included as Attachment 3 and can be downloaded from the NAOOA web site at the following address:

► Adobe Portable Document Format (.PDF), 764kb

► Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 (.PPT), 1,011kb

Report on Status of Various Proposals for Olive Oil Standards

Mr. Bauer reminded members of the states that have adopted olive oil standards thus far: Connecticut, New York, California and Oregon. He said the standards are in effect in Connecticut and California and he will be contacting state officials about enforcement.

The standards from all four states are included as Attachments 4,5,6 and 7 and can be downloaded from the following addresses:

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_standard_california.pdf

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_standard_connecticut.pdf

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_standard_ny.pdf

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_standard_oregon.pdf

Mr. Bauer thanked the members who were able to submit names of people in Massachusetts who would favor creating an olive oil standard in that state. He apologized for the very limited amount of time to submit those names but said time was and will be a factor in this effort because the staffer for the legislator interested in helping us is leaving her job by the end of February. She’s very much in favor or helping the NAOOA. Her boss is retiring, so his seat will be up for grabs in November. She’s planning to run for that seat but she’s a democrat and he’s a republican, meaning he’s going to support someone else to run for his seat. Mr. Bauer said the scenario may work well for the NAOOA because the aide wants to show voters she can get something done and the republican candidate could see this issue as something to support as well.

Mr. Bauer, Lou Sclafani and Oreste Speciale spoke briefly about how meetings with state officials. They said the officials typically are genuinely concerned about helping constituents and seem offended that unsavory activity may be taking place in their state. They said the best approach to take is to begin with a description of one’s company, followed by a description of the problem and then the offering of the proposed solution – the IOC standard. It’s usually best to have the NAOOA member from the state do most or all of the talking early on to develop a strong connection and then have Mr. Bauer work his way into the conversation as needed. Mr. Bauer said he is available to travel to meetings in members’ states to help with this process.

Mr. Bauer said a bill is expected to be introduced in New Jersey shortly and a legislator in Maryland is expected to re-introduce a bill that was introduced very late in that state’s legislative calendar last year, too late for action to have taken place.

Mr. Bauer said the NAOOA recently wrote letters to the attorneys general in every state but Alaska and Hawaii regarding the standard issue. He said he’s received several responses already and will begin follow-up shortly.

Mr. Mueller asked Mr. Bauer to look into whether the legislation being passed regarding the standard in the various states allows private action to be taken and/or whether other statutes in those states allow private action. Mr. Bauer will report back on that at the next meeting. It was also suggested that future requests for standards include the right for private action.

Quality Control Committee Report

The lists of brands collected for testing are included as Attachments 8a, 8b and Attachments 9a and 9b and can be downloaded from the NAOOA website at the following address:

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_ioc_foodsvcsamples.pdf

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_ioc_retailsamples.pdf

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_naooa_foodsvcsamples.pdf

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_naooa_retailsamples.pdf

Mr. Bauer said members are welcome to suggest oils to be collected.

Following some questions related to notification of results, Mr. Bauer outlined the collection and notification processes for both the IOC program and the NAOOA program. He said the IOC program was developed by associations that have signed the IOC quality control monitoring agreement.

The collections are handled in essentially the same manner. Mr. Bauer collects samples throughout the year, with an eye toward collecting a representative sample of the market as well as low-priced product and unfamiliar brands. Highly-suspect brands are collected as part of the NAOOA’s program. In the IOC program, the samples are sent to the IOC, which distributes them in coded containers to IOC-accredited labs. The IOC then reviews the results. If the company is a member of a signatory association in a producing country, that association receives the information about the sample and follows up with the company. If the company is not a member of a producing country signatory association, the result is sent to the NAOOA, which follows up with the company. Mr. Bauer said as of a few years ago the signatory associations agreed to allow the NAOOA to receive all results so it can better determine its sampling needs. However, the NAOOA still does not contact companies that are members of other signatory associations.

The NAOOA follow-up consists of a letter sent to the company whose product was tested, whether or not the results were positive or negative. The letter includes a copy of the label and states whether or not there are any labeling issues. In instances of unsatisfactory results, the company is asked to explain how the problem could have arisen and is also given the chance to pay for an appeal test. Generic versions of letters for satisfactory and unsatisfactory results from the IOC program are included as Attachments 10 and 11. The wording of the letters for the NAOOA program is almost identical.

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_lettersample_ok.pdf

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_lettersample_irregular.pdf

In the NAOOA program, the NAOOA typically notifies state officials and the FDA district and national offices of the results.

Mr. Mueller suggested Mr. Bauer ask the IOC signatory associations to modify the monitoring agreement to allow the results in the IOC program to be given to state and federal officials as well. He also said he and other members would be willing to provide guidance to state officials who might have questions regarding the creation and implementation of state standards.

Mr. Patton suggested the NAOOA look into offering a testing service for supermarkets looking to test their olive oils. In the discussion that followed, there was unanimous support of the idea. It was also suggested the NAOOA might be able to get a discounted rate that it could pass on to members. It was agreed that any such service would allow disclosure only to the company requesting the testing. Mr. Bauer was asked to investigate the feasibility of offering such a service and report back at the next meeting.

Public Relations Committee Report

Mr. Bauer said Kelly Crouse, public relations chairman, was traveling overseas and unable to attend the meeting. He said Mr. Course intends to have a committee meeting/conference call shortly.

Bernice Neumann and Katie Mileusnic of Exponent presented information on the 2009 promotion program and presented a proposal for a program for 2010.

The information on the 2008 work and the 2009 plan is included as Attachment 12 and can be downloaded from the NAOOA website at the following address:

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_prreport.pdf

Ms. Neumann asked members to let the agency know of chefs they work with so the agency can refer media representatives to those chefs for stories about olive oil.

She noted a new component in the proposed plan includes the use of some social media, in particular, bloggers. It was suggested the association make available to bloggers as much educational information about olive oil as possible. Ms. Neumann said she would look into the possibility of getting one or more bloggers to speak at the next meeting.

A motion was made, seconded and on vote carried to approve a minimum of $143,000 for public relations work in 2010. Mr. Bauer will provide an update on the availability of other funds at or before the next meeting.

Review of New Fee Structure and Discussion of Status of NAOOA Seal Program

Mr. Bauer said the licensing agreement for the NAOOA Seal has been updated to reflect the new fee structure. He reminded members they may not use the Seal until they pay their dues, sign a licensing agreement and receive the results of the NAOOA’s testing of their product. He said he will work in earnest to collect samples as quickly as possible.

A document outlining the new fee structure is included as Attachment 13 and can be downloaded at the following address:

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_sealfeestructure.pdf

The revised Seal Program Licensing Agreement is included as Attachment 14 and can be downloaded at the following address:

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_seallicensingagreement.pdf

Country of Origin Testing Developments for Olive Oil

Helen Darling of Oritain gave a presentation about the work her company is doing regarding testing for country of origin in olive oil and other products.

The company collects samples of products, conducts tests and then creates a database with information that helps pinpoint the country or area within a country of origin.

A copy of the presentation is included as Attachment 15 and can be downloaded at the following address:

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_countryoforigin.pdf

Members said the information presented addressed an ongoing area of concern within the industry and warranted consideration by individual companies and the industry as a whole.

Report on the Work of the International Olive Council

Mr. Bauer said he attended a meeting of the signatory associations to the IOC Quality Control Agreement in November. He said he was told at that meeting that the IOC intends to have funds for a promotion program in the U.S. and possibly Canada in 2010. He said he was told the IOC was conducting a feasibility study for U.S. promotion and will follow that up shortly with a request for proposals from public relations agencies.

He said that at the IOC meeting, he again asked the IOC to improve on the turn-around time in providing testing results.

The IOC provided some statistical information for the NAOOA to distribute at this meeting. The report is included as Attachment 16 and can be downloaded from the following address:

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_iocreport.pdf

Producing Country Reports

Copies of the producing country reports can be downloaded from the NAOOA web site at the following addresses:

► Spain: http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_pcr_spain.pdf

► Greece: http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_pcr_greece.pdf

► Portugal: http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_pcr_portugal.pdf

► Italy: http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_pcr_italy.pdf

These reports were prepared by representatives of the associations in the producing countries. They include estimates which are subject to change. Members will be notified as more reports become available.

Financial Report

Mr. Bauer presented the financial report for the year ending December 31, 2009. A copy is included with these minutes as Attachment 17 and can be downloaded from the NAOOA website at the following address:

► http://www.naooa.org/midyr09_financials.pdf

Membership

Mr. Bauer said the following companies applied for membership:

California Olive Ranch, Oroville, CA – olive oil producer

International Bazaar, Inc., Dayton, OH – importer of olive oil

SOSCuetara USA, Inc., Houston, TX – manufacturer of olive oil, rice, olives

Site and Date of Annual Meeting

Mr. Bauer said the Fancy Food Show begins June 27 in New York. Under the typical schedule, the next meeting would be held Friday, June 25, with the dinner held June 24.

There was a brief discussion about holding the meeting either during the Fancy Food Show or Saturday but the consensus was to keep the current schedule.

A motion was made, seconded and on vote carried to hold the 2010 Annual Meeting on June 25 in New York.

Open Forum

Mr. Bauer gave a quick rundown of the efforts in Congress to pass food safety legislation. He said the House of Representatives has passed a food safety bill that would be problematic for many segments of the food industry. The committee within the Senate that deals with such legislation has passed a food safety bill as well. There’s no timetable as to when that legislation will come before the full Senate. The Senate bill, he said, is much more industry friendly. It, like the House bill, would require all companies involved in the food industry to have a food safety plan that includes steps taken to verify the plan is effective. He said the legislation likely will not specify HACCP but that’s what legislators and regulators have in mind. He said any plan members and/or their suppliers and customers implement should be something that can be proven to be equal to or better than HACCP.

Mr. Bauer said if and when the Senate passes its version of a food safety bill, there will be something called a conference in which a small group of members from the House and Senate negotiate a compromise bill. He said it’s believed any final bill will be much closer to the existing Senate version.

Mr. Bauer said he had copies of a new membership marketing brochure and that any member who wanted some to distribute to potential members should take some with them. A suggestion was made that a membership committee, chaired by Bill Monroe, be formed. Mr. Monroe has been working on membership recruitment for the past two years. Wajih Rekik, John Sessler, Richard Armanino and Juan Carlos Rubio volunteered to serve on the committee. Mr. Bauer said he would send out a notice shortly giving others the opportunity to join this committee and/or the public relations and quality control committees.

Mr. Bauer reminded members that through AFI, they can receive discounts on Fedex shipments. He said he knows of a few members who saved more than $2,000 in 2009. Information on the program is included as Attachment 18 and can be downloaded at:

► http://afi.mytradeassociation.org/about/1_3/afi-members-save-on-fedex-2.shtml

Mr. Bauer said a member inquired about the use of “first-cold pressed” on labels. He said the IOC has indicated it does not want that wording used. After much discussion it was agreed to follow the IOC’s recommendation but also to recognize the significance of the term in the marketplace.

AdjournmentThere being no further business to discuss, the meeting was adjourned.