Our Process

The process of olive oil production involves several stages, from cultivation to extraction.

100% Hand picked

The manual harvesting of Tunisian indigenous olives offers several advantages that contribute to the exceptional quality of the produced olive oil. It preserves the integrity of the olives by avoiding any damage caused by mechanized machinery

Manual harvesting also promotes a more environmentally friendly approach, reducing the impact on soils and preserving local biodiversity. Furthermore, this traditional practice maintains artisanal skills passed down through generations, thereby strengthening cultural ties to ancestral farming techniques.

Milling

After harvesting, olives are transported to the oil mill for processing. Quick transportation is essential to prevent spoilage and maintain the quality of the olives.

Analyses: NICHEN conducts quality tests and analyses at each individual stage of the oil production process. The company has a cutting edge laboratory where all physical and chemical and sensorial analyses are carried out.

Storage

The extracted olive oil is stored in stainless steel to protect it from light and oxygen, which can degrade its quality over time
Our olive oil is stored under nitrogen and controlled atmosphere
SOTAM’S storage capacity is around 1000 tones

Bottling

Our packaging unit is certified ISO 9001, FSSC 22000 BRC GS, IFS Food, and ECOCERT. We have almost reached the end of the process, filling the result of a laborious process into different types of packaging and meetin the specific requirements of our customers around the world. We also keep a few bottles from each production batch for analysis throughout the life of the product.

Analyses: In each step in the production process olives and olive oil are controlled in our laboratory and tasted by SOTAM’s IOC recognised panel of tasters.