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<pre>I have brought back small amounts of olive oil from my grandfather's
oil harvest from his village in the Elia region of Peloponesos for
years. All my friends and family that have tasted it think that it is
fantastic; so I have contemplated the idea of importing it
professionally and begin to try selling it at my restaurant in the
Poconos of Pennsylvania.

I have many questions unanswered to see how risky this project would
be and if it is feasible. My concerns begin with after I acquire
olive oil from my grandfather and other villagers how do I go about
finding a bottling company and doing the job right. I also need to
figure out the details of documenting and certifying Extra Virgin
Olive Oil, freight costs to the port, shipping costs, and U.S. Customs
regulations and tariffs, and the possibilities for potential United
States buyers.

Any information that will lead me to more research, more contacts, or
any leads would be of great help to me. Thank you to anyone that can
assist me.

Spyros Ladeas
spyros@diplomats.com
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<pre>Spyros

I wish you well in your efforts. The first place to start is found at
http://vm.cfsan.fda.gov/label.html This address will fix up all labelling
requirements (it's a "must do" chore) but it will be labourious. Join the
club.

Shipping etc you simply contact your most local international transport
company. In Australia we use DHL which has international links. It is a
most responsible company.

Certification of oils usually emanates from the originating country.
Samples are always advisable however and you should seek your local
qualified agency to verify claimed attributes. See our website (below) for
the current standards regarding evoo. Go to the Oil Analysis page.

US Customs detail must surely be found out quite readily by contacting the
Federal Agency.

As to the potential for US customers; that remains your province.

If you want some really top quality, environmentally "green" oil from the
Land Down Under contact me. This season we expect to have approximately 40
tonnes. All evoo, all with a polyphenol count > 150 and FFA of <0.3%.
Organoleptically it will be faultless.

Good luck.

Regards
Peter Caird
www.victorianolivegroves.com
0418 392 157



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<pre>Spyros,

Here's what I've experienced in my small importing business....

>details of documenting and certifying Extra Virgin

The words 'extra virgin' don't appear in the FDA regulations, and in fact
the only regulations you need to worry about are the ones about labeling
(mentioned in another posting). Rules for products labeled organic go into
effect in October2002.


>freight costs to the port, shipping costs, and U.S. Customs
>regulations and tariffs

Use the services of a customs broker for all of this. Mine arranges for the
oil to be transferred to the shipping point in Italy, packing and loading
into airfreight containers, shipping fees, and customs and FDA inspections.
When the oil is ready to be picked up, I pay him. It may not be the
cheapest way, but it frees me from doing each of these things separately.


>and the possibilities for potential United
>States buyers.


Consumers need information about your oil, and they also need to taste it.
I try to hold tastings as often as I can, and I put as much information on
the label as I can about where the oil comes from and why it's different
from the 25 other olive oils on the shelf. One of the oils I import is
already bottled and labeled, so I developed a neck-hanger (sort of
mini-brochure to hang from the bottle neck) with more information.

Good luck

Jim



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