The 2027 Judging Panel

Emmanuel Salivaras, owner and founder of the laboratory group Multichrom.lab, is one of the most experienced and skilled analysts in the industry of quality control and sensory evaluation of olive oil.

He studied Food Technology at the Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki and later at the Agricultural Faculty of the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, where he also earned a Master of Science (M.Sc.) degree in Food Science and Applied Microbiology.

Dieter Oberg is scientifically involved in the history and quality of olive oil and continues to train intensively, especially in the field of sensory evaluation. In 1998, he co-founded the German Olive Oil Panel (DOP), which he now leads. He is therefore responsible for compliance with quality standards.

He is also a lecturer for olive oil sensory evaluation at the University of Applied Sciences in Zurich and a jury member in various international olive oil competitions such as PremioBIOL (Italy), the International Olive Oil Award (Switzerland) and the tests by the Hamburg magazine Feinschmecker. The now retired olive oil expert has been running the Olive Oil Information Community on a voluntary basis since 2002.

Dr. Agustí J. Romero, PhD in Food Science and Technology. Thirty years of experience as researcher at the IRTA Plant Science Program. His work focuses on virgin olive oil quality improvement and cultivar evaluation. He is co-author of one book about olive cultivars in Catalonia, the chapter about olive oils from Spain in “Olive Oil Sensory Science Book” (Ed. Willey, 2014) and several parts of technical books on olive oil, food sensorial analysis, etc.

Co-author of more than 60 scientific reports and more than 80 articles of divulgation. In addition, he is an expert assistant for the International Olive Council (IOC) regarding olive germplasm repository banks and professor in several master courses: “experto en cata de aceites” University of Jaen; “gestión e innovación de la industria alimentaria” University of Lleida.

Researcher and national panel leader for organoleptic assessment since 2005; project development and writing, manager of an accredited laboratory.

BSc. Milena Bučar-Miklavčič is the Head of laboratory. Since 1998 she has divided her time between research work and project-oriented work at the Science and Research Center of Koper as a researcher and project manager in the field of olive oils and Mediterranean agriculture. Her main research fields are antioxidant substances in olive oils and olive drupes (secoiridoids and tocols), chemometric assessment of extra virgin olive oils from Slovene Istria, sensorial and chemistry related studies of autochthonous olive cultivars from Slovene Istria, and monitoring of relevant chemical and sensorial data in Slovene olive oils since 1995.

Alissa Mattei is an organic chemist who started her professional life in 1974 in the Carapelli company as quality control assistant. In 1995 she became R&D, QC and QA manager, developing new analytical methods and many studies especially on nutritional aspects of EVOO (polyphenols), creating the Carapelli Nutritional Foundation.

In 1992 she became professional taster and panel leader for the Carapelli panel recognized by the IOOC. She has published several scientific papers and patents and participated in many workshops and congresses in Italy and abroad.

Since 2006 she works as consultant for many companies and associations of producers, organizing tasting and scientific courses in Italy and in different other countries (Russia, Hungary, Chile, Argentina, China).

Today she is President of the Knoil Association for dissemination of the culture of olive oil and AIFO (Italian millers Association) panel leader in Florence, secretary of SISSG (Società Italiana per lo Studio delle Sostanze Grasse) and member of UNI-ISO. She has been a judge in many national and international olive oil competitions.

Ana Carrilho graduated in Agro-Industrial Engineering at Instituto Superior de Agronomia in Lisbon, and initially developed her interest in the production of olive oils during the completion of her thesis, entitled “Definition of the optimal period of harvest of olives and characterization of the oils of two cultivars in the DOP – Norte Alentejano”.

In 2005 she completed a Master's in Oliviculture and Oliotechnology at the University of Cordoba, Spain, having the opportunity to work in the Almazara Experimental – Instituto de la Grasa on topics such as the influence of inertization in the process of virgin olive oil extraction and quality of the oils obtained. She is also post-graduated in Management by Nova School of Business and Economics in Lisbon.

In 2003 she developed a professional internship in Italy, in Product Quality Control at Carapelli. The following year she returned to Lisbon, where she obtained a research scholarship and followed projects in the olives and olive oil area until 2008. At Olivais do Sul she was Technical Director, responsible for Quality and Environment, Production and Laboratory. In 2013 she joined the Esporão team, assuming responsibility for the company's olive oil business area.

Born in Germany and living with her family in Lausanne. Since 2015 professional olive oil taster of the Swiss Olive Oil Panel (SOP) at the University of Applied Sciences in Zurich, and jury member at the International Olive Oil Award (Switzerland).

She continues the family heritage of a small olive oil production, growing olives on Lesvos island, Greece, producing an own extra virgin olive oil label and exporting and marketing it in Switzerland.

She organizes and carries out olive oil workshops with tastings for consumers, La Semaine du Goût and Slow Food in the Lausanne and Geneva area. From 2016 to 2022 she was member and vice president of Slow Food Canton Vaud.

I started working in the oil business in 1999 as a lab technician at Gustav Heess GmbH, a producer and wholesale trader of vegetable oils located in Stuttgart, Germany. I established the laboratory accreditation (DIN EN ISO/IEC 17025) in 2004 and became head of laboratory in 2008.

I attended several trainings for the sensory evaluation of olive oil and other vegetable oils hosted by DGF (Deutsche Gesellschaft für Fettwissenschaft), SOP (Swiss Olive Oil Panel), DOP (German Olive Oil Panel) and DLG (Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft). In 2013 I formed a sensory working group for extra virgin olive oil at Gustav Heess GmbH and in 2015 became a member of the DGF working group for the quality of cold pressed oils and extra virgin olive oil.

In 2017 I joined the DOP (German Olive Oil Panel) as a taster and since 2019 I'm a quality manager there. At Gustav Heess GmbH I am responsible for the quality control laboratory including the sensory evaluation of incoming products and new developments and the realization of product training.

I have worked during the last 20 years in the olive oil field as an entrepreneur and as consultant and lecturer for private clients and companies in Italy and abroad. I have also had experiences in olive oil and olives quality assurance and evaluation in Italian and international companies.

Consultant for “The quality improvement project” as EVOO taster for raw materials and blending and trainer for new professional tasters for the internal tasting panel of Deoleo/Carapelli in Tavarnelle Val di Pesa (FI) from 2016 to 2017. Consultant as professional EVOO taster for olive oil and table olives and temporary export manager for Cipressa Sapori SRL (IM) in 2016.

Aggeliki Efstratia Kouzoumi is currently head of the Olive Oil Laboratory of Mytilene, an organization which belongs to the Hellenic Agricultural Organization “DIMITRA”, under the supervision of the Greek Ministry of Rural Development and Food.

Efstratia is highly experienced in quality control and sensory evaluation and has participated in numerous scientific conferences and international quality olive oil competitions. She is the panel leader of the Lesvos accredited organoleptic evaluation team.

Other notable professional activities include her involvement in environmental projects, waste management, plant protection and olive oil cultivation research projects. She holds a degree in Environmental Science and a master's degree in Environmental Policy and Management.

Passionate olive oil taster since 2015. Hobby cook of Mediterranean cuisine, exclusively with various olive oils, studying many sides of olive cultivation and production.

Since 2019 professional olive oil taster of the German Olive Oil Panel e.V. (DOP), accredited by the EU and recognized by the IOC. Tasting between 300 and 350 different olive oils a year from all over the world as part of the panel and, due to Z-scores, with very good results and homogeneity with the DOP panel.

Since 2019 member of the Turkish Olive Oil Panel (Zeytindostu Derneği in Izmir). In 2022 study tour to Turkey with the DOP panel, exchanging know-how with the Turkish olive oil panels of Izmir and Aydin, both IOC recognized. For a company specialized in autochthonous varieties of the Mediterranean, I regularly carry out olive oil workshops with tastings in North Rhine-Westphalia for consumers.

ONAOO professional taster and trainer. Olive grower and premium extra virgin olive oil importer. For more than 15 years she has been a passionate olive grower on the family farm in Abruzzo, Italy.

She developed a deep knowledge in EVOO from farming to milling, consulting, training and marketing, and is an expert of Italian and other main European and North African olive oil producing countries. She is a premium EVOO importer to the Dutch market and consults retailers and restaurants on shelf space, knowledge and the use of EVOO (food pairing).

Health Coach graduated in 2018 from IIN – Institute for Integrative Nutrition, New York. Graduated in Psychology from University G. D'Annunzio. Prior to working in the food and health industry she worked for 15 years for the world's leading sport company in costing, sourcing and development.

I started tasting olive oil on the panel of the Slow Food “Extravergini” Guide in 2005 in Italy, where I have lived since 1982. Since then I have talked about olive oil for the BBC (TV and radio) and about bitterness in olive oil at the First International New York Olive Oil Competition in 2013. In 2008 I started olive oil education for tourists, chefs and producers from all over the world on the Johnny Madge Olive Oil Tour.

Since 2014 I have judged olive oil in international competitions including Olive Japan, The London Olive Oil Competition and Athena. In 2017 I was awarded the Lekythos award at the Ercole Olivario Competition for the non-Italian person who distinguished himself for spreading the good word of quality Italian olive oil in Italy and abroad.

She is a Food Engineer and PhD-level researcher specializing in the analysis and quality control of olive oil and edible fats. With extensive experience in both national and international research projects, she has played a significant role in advancing scientific research in the fields of olive oil, edible oils and fats.

She has served at the Ministry of Food, Feed and Livestock and has been actively involved in the Central Research Institute for the Control of Food and Feed, contributing to the development and implementation of food safety standards, laboratory methodologies and analytical procedures.

Prof. Imène Trabelsi-Trigui is a Full Professor of Marketing at the University of Sfax (Tunisia), specializing in agri-food and olive oil marketing. She holds a PhD in Management Sciences from the University of Clermont-Ferrand I (France) and is a certified Olive Oil Sommelier from the Escuela Superior del Aceite de Oliva (ESAO, Spain).

She currently serves as Head of the Promotion Department at the International Olive Council (IOC) in Madrid, the intergovernmental organization responsible for the global development and promotion of olive oil and table olives. In this role, she contributes to international promotion strategies, consumer education, and initiatives aimed at strengthening the global recognition and consumption of high-quality olive oils.

Since 2003, Prof. Trabelsi-Trigui has been actively involved in European and international research projects. She began her scientific career in France at the National School of Agricultural Engineering (ENITAC), within the research unit dedicated to food product typicity and quality. She made a significant contribution to the European research project TYPIC (Typicity of Food Products), coordinated by ENITAC and bringing together research teams from Belgium, Spain and Germany.

Eletheria Kasfiki was born in Athens, Greece in 1987. After graduating in 2009 from the National and Kapodistrian University of Athens with a degree in Political Science, she completed a Master’s in International Marketing at AUEB University of Athens in 2011.

Since the age of 18 she has worked in her family business, OLICO S.A., established by her father in 1981 and one of the leaders in trading and exporting Greek olive oil in all its qualities. She has gained deep knowledge of olive oil attributes, trading transactions and, most importantly, learned to appreciate the Greek ‘treasure’. She is a member of Mr. Salivaras’s olive oil panel since 2015, where she has enriched her skills and experience in sensory analysis.

Robert Harris, Dip.A&D, MA (CSU Australia), is a member of the Australian Olive Oil Sensory Panel (IOC accredited).

He has judged at the Australian National EVOO shows in Sydney, Canberra, Melbourne and Wagga Wagga, the Royal Melbourne Fine Food Awards, Australian regional and state EVOO shows, and internationally at ‘Oleo’ Munich, ‘Der Feinschmecker’ Hamburg, Monocultivar OO Master Milan, Flos Olei Rome, Oil China Milan and the NYIOOC in New York. Rob is a past academic in Australian and international education with special research areas in Art Education and Child Development through art.

Dimitrios Salivaras, co-owner of Multichrom.lab, holds a degree in Food Science & Human Nutrition from the Aegean University of Greece.

He has been trained in sensory evaluation of olive oil in technical and theoretical courses in Greece, Italy and Spain, and in 2016 completed the four-month advanced course ‘Titulo De Experto En Cata De Aceites De Oliva Virgenes’ at the University of Jaén in Spain on an IOC grant. He has also completed the ‘International Master for EVOO Taster and Olive Expert’ by O’live Italy and the ‘Technical Course for Aspiring Olive Oil Tasters’ by O.N.A.O.O. Imperia, Italy.

The quality assurance manager of Multichrom and deputy panel leader of its accredited panel, he has served on the panel of the London International Olive Oil Competition from 2016 to 2019.

Aida Lazzez is a PhD professor and permanent researcher at the Genetic Resource of the Olive Tree laboratory at the Olive Tree Institute in Sfax, Tunisia, since 2005. Her research aims to improve the quality of olive oil through the study of factors such as maturation, olive varieties, extraction systems and procedures, geographical sites and pedo-climatic conditions. In recent years she has focused on developing olive oil authentication techniques through biomarkers and olive oil ‘fingerprints’. She is the principal author and co-author of many scientific papers and has participated in several national and international conferences.

She is an expert in olive oil tasting since 2009 through the University of Jaén and the Olive Oil Council in Spain, and serves as a jury member in international competitions in Greece, Japan, Italy and Turkey. She is a founder and permanent member of the Scientific Days of the Med Mag Oliva Salon in Tunisia, responsible for developing several programmes including courses on olive oil sensory analysis.

Markos Xanthakis holds a degree in Food and Nutrition Technology from the University of West Attica. During his studies he developed a keen interest in olive oil, which led him to pursue specialized training in the field.

In 2016 he attended seminars on the organoleptic evaluation and marketing of extra virgin olive oil, and during his internship at Multichrom Lab he conducted comprehensive chemical analyses for quality control of olive oils and other fatty substances. He also trained in organoleptic evaluation under Manolis and Dimitris Salivaras.

In 2018–2019 he completed the Olive Oil Tasters Training Programme recognized by the Italian National Organization of Olive Oil Tasters (ONAOO). Since 2019 he has been associated with the quality control division of olive oils and fatty substances at MultichromLab, accredited by the International Olive Council (IOOC) and certified ISO 17025. He has been a Berlin Olive Oil Competition judge since 2021.

Dilsen Oktay was born in Türkiye and lives in Izmir. She manages the family business and olive orchards, producing olive oil in Gömç, Balıkesir since 1998.

She owns the brand ‘Ethem Bey Zeytinyağları’ and the company DOKTAY, focused on food, agriculture, tourism, consultancy and trade. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Food Engineering from Celal Bayar University, a Master of Science in Economic Sciences, Marketing, Finance and Management from MAICh (Mediterranean Agronomic Institute of Chania, Greece), and a PhD in Agricultural Economics from Ege University, Izmir.