- Cretan olive oil has officially secured PGI recognition
- Expert Nikos Bounakis says producers must meet strict standards
- Traditional methods must give way to knowledge and compliance
- Info session on October 7 for olive growers, millers, bottlers, and traders
Cretan olive oil has now been officially recognized with PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) status. But the celebration comes with new obligations.
Consultant Nikos Bounakis, whose office prepared the PGI dossier, told Radio 98.4 that the process is “scholastic and strict” from cultivation to bottling. Producers, he warned, will need to move beyond purely traditional ways of harvesting, pressing, and packaging. “These things only change with knowledge,” he said, adding that the Ministry of Rural Development and its agencies will carry out strict inspections.
Preparing Producers for Change
The Region of Crete is calling all stakeholders to an information session on Tuesday, October 7, at 11:00 a.m. Olive growers, mill operators, bottlers, and traders are invited to hear what PGI compliance now means in practice.
Speakers will include senior officials from the Ministry of Rural Development and Food, as well as the Hellenic Agricultural Organization Dimitra. They are expected to analyze the technical standards, the inspection framework, and the opportunities PGI offers in global markets.
For Bounakis, PGI is not simply a label:
“It is a strong tool to showcase the quality of Cretan olive oil. The challenge is ensuring producers can adapt quickly enough to take full advantage.”
Cretan olive oil’s PGI status raises its market value, but it also raises the bar for compliance. Knowledge, adaptation, and cooperation will determine how much this “liquid gold” can truly shine in the years ahead.
Yet, while Crete prepares to market its olive oil under PGI standards abroad, the story at home is more complicated. Most Cretan households still keep their own oil, pressed from family groves, stored in plastic bottles under the kitchen counter or in dark storerooms. This homemade oil, unbranded and untouched by EU inspectors, is considered the real treasure — the oil that never makes it to export but seasons the food that defines Cretan life.
It is a telling contrast: PGI olive oil dressed in official seals for international markets, and the everyday olive oil Cretans share in plastic jugs with neighbors and relatives. Both are “liquid gold” — one for the economy, the other for the soul.
