Rules

The Carthage IOOC Tunisia is a contest organized with the following objectives :

• To reward the best extra virgin olive oils from around the world participating in the contest.
• To promote the benefits of extra virgin olive oil for healthy eating among consumers.
• To encourage the use of this staple food in international cuisine, highlighting the exceptional qualities of extra virgin olive oil produced in different countries.
• To showcase the various qualities produced in producing countries and emphasize the authenticity of each country.
• To promote winning producers to buyers, consumers, international markets, and various media outlets.
• To increase international consumption of high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
• To highlight the best producers of extra virgin olive oil and the production territory.
• To raise consumer awareness about the health, pharmacological, and nutritional properties (nutraceuticals) of extra virgin olive oil (EVOO).

• April 22, 2024 : Official opening of registrations for Carthage-IOOC Tunisia. From this moment until June 15, 2024, it is possible to submit samples for the contest and send them to the contest headquarters.

• June 30, 2024: Deadline for registration. All samples must be received at the contest site in Tunisia before this date.

• July 3-4, 2024: In-person evaluation in Tunis by a panel composed of the most competent judges worldwide, with strict adherence to impartiality and confidentiality.
• July 4, 2024: Announcement of results.

• July 5, 2024: Awards ceremony and trophy presentation to the winners.

• July 2024: Publication of results on the official contest website.

1. Conventional and organic extra virgin olive oil :

Tasting Category:
1. Robust (fruity >5)
2. Medium (3< fruity <5)
3. Delicate (fruity <3)

• All producers, packagers, or traders may participate provided that the participating oil comes from a homogeneous batch of at least one ton. Oils in their commercial bottles conforming to the labeling standards of the country of origin or oils sold in bulk in glass bottles are accepted.
• For each entry, the participant must send 4 bottles of 500 ml or the equivalent of 2 liters in the container of their choice (2 bottles of 1 liter, 8 of 250 ml, etc.).

• Participation in the contest implies acceptance of the regulations and decisions of the jury, which are final, and the evaluation cannot be redone under any circumstances.

• Extra virgin olive oils presented at the contest must be accompanied by the following documents:

• A chemical analysis certificate issued by an accredited testing laboratory (in accordance with ISO 17025), indicating the content of free fatty acids, peroxide index, and absorbance in UV (K 232, K 270, and ΔK), etc.
• An organic oil certificate for organic oils.

The Carthage IOOC contest is open to all individual producers (olive oil producers: farmers or millers), producer cooperatives and cooperative associations, packagers, export companies, and any type of company that produces, bottles, and markets extra virgin olive oil.

The samples of extra virgin olive oil presented at the Carthage IOOC contest must :

• Come from a single homogeneous batch of at least 1000 liters;
• be packaged in appropriate bottles/containers with a capacity of one liter or less;
• be accompanied by a quality criteria analysis report issued by an accredited laboratory.

To participate in Carthage IOOC, please fill out the registration form before June 15, 2024 (deadline for registration and receipt of oils) by registering on the website www.carthage-iooc.com.

Entry fees will be waived for this edition.

Shipping costs, including any customs fees, to the destination, are entirely the responsibility of the participating companies.

IMPORTANT : It is recommended to correctly fill out all fields and carefully verify the accuracy of the data. The entered information will be used for the publication of results on the Carthage-iooc.com website.

Free for this edition

Samples must arrive at the address in Tunisia by June 15, 2024.

For each sample, please include 4 (four) bottles or other appropriate containers. Oils marketed in bottles must arrive with a valid label in accordance with the laws of the country of origin. Additionally, please affix the QR code obtained from the organizer after registration to each sample.

The documents that must accompany the samples are as follows:

An organic oil certificate for organic oils

A certificate of chemical analysis (FFA, peroxide, UV, etc.) issued by an accredited testing laboratory.

An invoice with a nominal value of 1 DT per bottle (mandatory for shipments outside Tunisian territory).

Labeling on the outer packaging of the sample indicating “SAMPLE WITHOUT COMMERCIAL VALUE – NOT FOR SALE” (the price must always be indicated).

The participating company declares through a sworn statement that the samples entered in the contest are part of the batch declared in the registration form.

Sample delivery address :

ITNC expo

16 Rue Elatrache Ariana SUP

Tunisia

Mobile: +216 21 21 29 85

IMPORTANT : Samples must be shipped “door to door” by air only. The contest organizers cannot be held responsible for the total or partial loss of samples during transportation, nor for any chemical/physical or organoleptic alteration of samples due to thermal excursions, breakage, or other anomalies occurring during transportation.

It is advisable to strictly follow the information provided on the application form. In case of doubt, please contact the Technical Manager of the contest (add email address and phone number).

The organizers will be responsible for properly and appropriately storing the samples from their receipt to their presentation to the jury, ensuring their integrity.

Incoterms : DDP (Delivered Duty Paid). In the term “Duty Free Return,” the seller fulfills the delivery obligation by making the goods available to the buyer at the agreed place in the importing country.

Deadline for receipt of samples:

The deadline for receiving samples will be June 10, 2024.

The committee for receiving olive oil samples is responsible for receiving the submitted samples, examining all associated documents, verifying the legal compliance of product labels, recording, classifying, and coding the samples. Upon receipt of your sample(s), the technical committee will carefully review all documents and attachments and inform you of their compliance.

Jury

The president, who will be the head of the panel, and the general manager of Carthage IOOC Tunisia will assume the presidency of the contest.

The jury will consist of renowned personalities in the field of EVOO, universally recognized as leaders in the sensory evaluation of extra virgin olive oil. Their extensive knowledge of the olive oil industry and expertise will contribute to the success of the contest and ensure a proper evaluation of your oils.

To ensure maximum transparency, judges of the international olive oil competition Carthage IOOC evaluate olive oil samples anonymously (all oils presented for evaluation will be coded).

Evaluation Process

Samples will be evaluated using identified solely by a code. Each judge clearly records on the evaluation sheet the organoleptic qualities of the olive oils, as well as any potential negative characteristics. After the awards ceremony (on the third day of the competition), all participants gradually receive electronically, the reactions and comments from the jury regarding their olive oil(s).

All winners will be informed of the competition results via the official Carthage IOOC website (www.carthage-iooc.com) and will receive notification via email.

Once the results are announced, winners can find their prize certificate (diploma) in the reserved section of the website.

The publication of results on the competition website will constitute the only official notice certifying the awarding of the prize to the company and acknowledging the high quality of the product, as evaluated by the official jury of the Carthage IOOC Tunisia competition.

Any other form of advertising the competition results will be considered “temporary” pending the final publication of results on the official competition website (www.carthage-iooc.com).

Upon written request from the concerned companies, it will be possible to provide a brief description of the extra virgin olive oil submitted to the competition, as well as information on its classification in the prize category (scores, aromatic profile, sensory description, etc.).

The Carthage IOOC prize will be awarded based on the scores obtained from evaluation by the judges :

• Between 70-80: Silver Award
• Between 80 and 90: Gold Award
• Between 90 and 100: Premium

The awards offer various benefits, ranging from trophies and stickers to certification of excellence, depending on the prize category.

Special Awards :

Carthage IOOC Tunisia Best of the Country: This special prize is awarded to the best extra virgin olive oil from a single country at the Carthage IOOC Tunisia competition (minimum of 5 samples required per country).

The Carthage IOOC awards ceremony is an important event as part of the promotional activities of the competition,

On July 5, 2024, the awards ceremony will be held at a location to be determined. The ceremony will begin at [time] and will be followed by a reception. Starting from 12 pm, all award-winning olive oils will be displayed and can be tasted free of charge by olive oil industry professionals, hospitality professionals, and renowned chefs.

Participation in the awards ceremony and reception is free for all award-winning olive oil producers.