The Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Apokoronas and Sfakia
Based at one of the most charismatic places on the island and founded in 1949, the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Apokoronas and Sfakia consists of 41 cooperations and has about 8000 olive oil producers as members.
The Union controls and organizes all stages of production and processing of the olive oil in the region. It owns five pressings plants from which the olive oil progresses to the Union’s modern processing plants at Stylos, Apokoronas. After the necessary detailed chemical analysis, the olive oil is categorized accordingly and stored in stainless steel indoor storage tanks.
Because the olive trees of the region belong to thousands of small producers, each tree enjoys special care and attention from its owner - from initial planting of the tree to eventual harvest of the fruit and production of the olive oil.
This special care and attention is passed on from family to family, from generation to generation, in tandem with many centuries of experience and tradition. This personal attention and knowledge, which varies according to the specialities of the cultivator and the individual requirements of each tree, is what makes the Union’s olive oil a perfect product.
When the correct time for harvest has been carefully decided upon, the fruit is collected manually. It is then transferred to the pressing plants within a minimal amount of time so that no alteration of the fruit’s taste, aroma, colour and therefore general oil quality, occurs.
Consequently, the the Union of Agricultural Cooperatives of Apokoronas and Sfakia is considered a standard for the cultivation, care, processing and production of olive oil. This is why it produces the genuine Cretan olive oil, the quality of which is further assured by the ISO 9002 and HACCP standards.
