Master Olive Miller

In Apulia, this professional role was established by Regional Law No. 9 of 24 March 2014. Today, the role is recognised throughout Italy. At Oleificio Cericola, this responsibility is entrusted to Pietro Leone, the company’s founder and technical lead, whose objective is to produce “the finest possible olive oil” by enhancing local heritage and tradition through cutting-edge methods.

Article 2

Master Olive Miller

1. The Master Olive Miller is responsible for the technical management of the olive mill and, as a general rule, coincides with the owner of the business. Where this person differs from the business owner, they shall comply with the owner’s directives and operate within the limits of the delegated authority conferred upon them.

2. The Master Olive Miller coordinates:

a) warehouse and record management;
b) the milling process;
c) the packaging process;
d) the management, use, and disposal of processing by-products, including vegetation water and pomace.

3. The Regional Register of Master Olive Millers is hereby established and maintained by the Regional Department for Agri-food Resources.

From tradition to the “Moliden-Leone” machine

To reconcile sensory identity with process efficiency, Oleificio Cericola developed and patented the partial Moliden-Leone de-stoner: a solution designed to separate a variable proportion of the stones while retaining part of the stone fragments within the paste, thereby preserving extraction efficiency and enabling the energy recovery of the nocciolino. The machine is protected by an industrial invention patent entitled “Integrated system for olive crushing, de-stoning and malaxation” no. 1416964.

What changes in practice

• Efficiency: the machine does not reduce extraction efficiency compared with traditional crushing systems (hammer or disc crushers).
  
• Recovery of stone fragments: approximately 60–65% of the stones are recovered, exceeding the recovery rate typically achieved from pomace (≈58%).
  
• Sensory profile: the oils produced display pronounced green fruity notes together with more intense aromas and flavour. The viscosity of the paste is also reduced, providing rheological advantages (improved consistency and process versatility) as well as operational benefits.
  
• Environment and energy: the recovered nocciolino contains lower levels of residual oil, fine particles, and nitrogen, improving combustion performance and reducing emissions. On a broader scale, it represents an important renewable energy resource for Italy and the wider Mediterranean region.
  

Patent abstract

1) Development of a new model of olives de-stoner machine (Biomass & Bioenergy, 2015)

«In this study, the quantitative and qualitative performance of three different de-stoners used in an industrial olive mill was evaluated. The bioenergy potential of olive stone fragments in Italy was also assessed. The results confirm that the best performance is achieved with the innovative partial de-stoner ‘Moliden’, as it does not reduce oil extraction efficiency (unlike the total de-stoner) and enables the recovery of approximately 65% of the total stone content of the olives — a higher proportion than that achieved with pomace de-stoning systems (58%). Furthermore, the stone fragments obtained through the partial de-stoning process contain lower levels of residual oil and nitrogen compared with those recovered from pomace, offering advantages in terms of combustion efficiency and environmental impact. Considering olive production volumes in Italy and throughout the Mediterranean region, olive stone fragments may represent an important renewable resource for energy production.»

2) Specification of a new de-stoner machine (J. Sci. Food Agric., 2017)

Context – An industrial prototype of a partial de-stoner was designed, constructed, and integrated into the processing line, then compared with a traditional mechanical crusher in order to evaluate its quantitative and qualitative performance. Extraction efficiency, oil quality, sensory characteristics, and rheological behaviour were investigated.
Results – The system equipped with the de-stoner machine enabled the recovery of approximately 60% of the stones and produced oils with more pronounced green fruity notes, flavour, and aroma compared with traditional systems.
Conclusions – The de-stoner machine overcomes the limitations of total de-stoning, opening new opportunities for the recovery of olive stones as biomass while enabling a significant reduction in olive paste viscosity. © 2016 Society of Chemical Industry

Why it matters to those who choose us

The Master Olive Miller oversees every decision: from managing the olive groves and calibrating the machinery through to the packaging of the oils.
Applied research carried out in collaboration with universities and technology partners, together with the adoption of the “Moliden-Leone” machine, enables us to produce extra virgin olive oils with a distinctive identity, deeply connected to the territory, consistent in quality, and produced with careful attention to environmental sustainability.

Would you like to learn more about our production method? Visit our olive mill and discover the journey from tree to bottle, complete with a guided tasting experience.