Purely Bio
The flavour of authenticity
The passion that has been put into the processing of excellent raw materials for generations remains the same, but our ties to nature are even stronger: the land offers up its fruits, and it is our job to select and combine them wisely, respecting the environment and human wellbeing. This attention is reflected in respect of those who choose our products and in the decision to produce certified, organic extra-virgin olive oil. This is a responsibility we are happy to undertake to offer our quality products to those seeking a unique dining experience consisting in the savouring of authentic foods such as our olive oil.
Certificates:
FO-SPA Via Bruno Buozzi, 10 - 06030 Giano dell'Umbria (PG). Stabilimento di Via Madonna del Puglia, 1 - 06035 Gualdo Cattaneo (PG) ITLIA.
The story of many generations and a careful vision
1780
We are writing a new chapter in a long love story: between us and the land.
A dream of generations
Umbria is the place where we chose to put down roots and to realise our dream. Cereals, olives, and grapes have been at the heart of our food production and work since the company was first set up. Thanks to the invaluable raw materials that this land offers, we have created products famous for their quality, while fully respecting the surrounding environment.
Our passion has been passed down from one generation to the next. A sturdy plant cultivated over time, with Lanfranco and Domenico as its roots, their respective sons, Pompeo and Roberto, its trunk, and the grandchildren, Giampaolo, Marco, and Cecilia, its younger boughs.
If we can dream it, we can do it
From Umbria to Italy, and from Italy to the rest of the world, we have come a long way without ever forgetting our identity: a family united by its taste for genuine things, in love with the land, and capable of combining natural products to create unforgettable flavours.
We dream of an increasingly green, unpolluted world for future generations, and we do everything we can to make this dream a reality, by farming organically without chemical fertilisers, pesticides, or weed-killers. A seed that we hope can germinate for an increasing number of farms and, in time, produce its fine fruits.
Certificates:
FO-SPA Via Bruno Buozzi, 10 - 06030 Giano dell'Umbria (PG). Stabilimento di Via Madonna del Puglia, 1 - 06035 Gualdo Cattaneo (PG) ITLIA.
Organic Production
In the production of extra-virgin olive oil, the finest raw materials meet the experience and ingenuity of the Farchioni family, resulting in shared pleasures, certified organic, and quality-controlled all the way from the land to the table.
The Organic Chain
Cultivation
Our olive groves are managed organically, and are naturally covered with grass: this is an agricultural practice that helps reduce soil erosion, improve the structure of the soil, and attract insects that aid plant defences. During the year, the covering grass and vegetation is cut a number of times to contain it and limit competition for nutrients and water. Organic fertilisation is performed in the winter months in order to produce the mineralisation of the nutrients required for flowering and the development of the olives. The trees are pruned annually in keeping with the natural vegetative and productive behaviour of the species, and the minimum quantity of vegetation necessary is removed so as to facilitate correct solar irradiation inside the crown of the olive trees, and above all to curb the alternation of production, and thus to avoid excessive differences between one year and the next in terms of production. Our olive trees are situated in cool, hilly locations, the ideal environment for growing olives without having to worry about crop protection.
Harvest
The olives are harvested at just the right time for all of their organoleptic qualities to be preserved, together with the greatest possible concentration of antioxidants. The harvest is carried out rapidly and the picked olives transported in well-aerated containers to the mill, where the olives are milled within twenty-four hours of being harvested. This enables the preservation of the freshness, fragrance, and flavour of the newly picked olives.
Pressing
Our solid craft traditions, together with the technological advances achieved over the years, enable us to extract our organic olive oil with methods that meet the strict quality, safety, and environmental sustainability standards established by the law governing organic production. Traceable raw materials and controlled, certified productive processes at all stages of production are our guarantee of authenticity.
Packaging
The care we take in packaging our organic olive oil reflects the thought that goes into its production. Our plants are at the cutting edge when it comes to both packaging and production systems and processes. The plant at Gualdo Cattaneo has been granted numerous certificates over the years, guaranteeing total food safety and control of the plant’s productive processes. Packaging materials are selected on the basis of even stricter criteria than those required by law; numerous migration tests are carried out in order to ensure that none of the materials that come in contact with the food are dangerous to human health. The presentation of a quality product in attractive packaging that highlights its characteristics means rendering it both appealing to consumers and easy to use.
The traceability and certification
of organic products
Traceability consists in a series of procedures enabling products to be followed right through the production and distribution chain, and permitting the gathering of the information to be printed on the labels, including the use of specific product codes. The controls conducted throughout the chain are designed to ensure that each phase of production complies with best practices, the provisions of law, and certification requirements.
ICEA certificate
Our organic extra-virgin olive oil is certified by the ICEA (Italian Ethical and Environmental Certifying Body), a non-profit consortium operating in the field of businesses connected with lasting, ethical, environmentally-friendly development. The ICEA certificates attest to the compliance of our productive processes with EC legal requirements and with Italian provisions applicable with regard to products obtained through organic farming methods.
The ICEA’s technical appraisal is based on the principles of independence, transparency, impartiality, and competence. Its controls comprise:
- verification of company documents and records (contracts, accounting records, annual production plans, and logbooks)
- inspection of production sites
- gathering samples and analysing them in the laboratory.
When all of these stages have been successfully completed, a compliance certificate is issued, and this must be renewed every 18 months.
QAS® protocol
Farchioni is a family-run food company selling its own produce in the olive oil, flour, wine, and beer sectors, and guaranteeing the quality and safety of its foods while respecting both people and the natural environment. Our ethical values have led us to formulate a strict protocol entitled QAS® which is controlled by an independent certifying body.
Certificates:
FO-SPA Via Bruno Buozzi, 10 - 06030 Giano dell'Umbria (PG). Stabilimento di Via Madonna del Puglia, 1 - 06035 Gualdo Cattaneo (PG) ITLIA.
OUR OLIVE MILL
The family firm stands a few hundred metres from the historical headquarters in Giano dell’Umbria, where soft-wheat flour is still produced. This is where technological innovation meets Umbrian oil-producing traditions.
The mill has a low environmental impact, and is part of the local social and economic fabric. A floor area of some 50,000 m2 houses the plant, which itself extends over an area of 30,000 m2; inside, it has the capacity to store 15,000 tons of extra-virgin olive oil. It houses six bottling lines with a maximum annual capacity of 70 million bottles, and it produces 40 different types of extra-virgin olive oil and standard olive oil.
Certificates:
FO-SPA Via Bruno Buozzi, 10 - 06030 Giano dell'Umbria (PG). Stabilimento di Via Madonna del Puglia, 1 - 06035 Gualdo Cattaneo (PG) ITLIA.
Organic Products
Tradition is renewed. The Farchioni family’s century-old experience in selecting the best extra-virgin olive oils is combined with the Certified Quality of organic produce to provide you with the best of mother nature.
A healthy diet also involves knowledge of the products we bring to our table. The following headings examine organic extra-virgin olive oil in greater depth.
THE CULTURE OF OLIVE OIL
The culture of Olive Oil: olive Oil and health
A good olive oil does not only have positive effects in the kitchen. Numerous studies have shown that it also contributes positively to people’s health and well-being.
Cardiovascular benefits
The cardiovascular benefits of high-quality extra virgin olive oil are well known. It is no coincidence that Mediterranean peoples suffer a lower level of heart disease than those of Northern Europe or North America where pro-capita consumption of olive oil is lower. Cholesterol levels significantly diminish when animal fats are replaced by vegetable fats, particularly those contained in olive oil that do not generate “bad” cholesterol (LDL) but facilitate the formation of “good” cholesterol (HDL). Thus, extra virgin olive oil actively contributes to reducing excessive cholesterol.
Antioxidant and anti-ageing effects
The beneficial health effects of extra virgin olive oil are mainly due to the antioxidant action of some of the oil’s constituents, such as monounsaturated fatty acids (particularly oleic acid present in high concentrations), tocopherol (vitamin E), and polyphenol compounds.
High vitamin content
The vitamin content of olives changes depending on the olive variety and the degree of maturity of the olives. Regardless of the quantity, olive oil naturally contains vitamins A and E.
Contribution to the healthy diet of children
The abundance of vegetable fats guarantees a more balanced growth in children by helping cell tissues to assimilate those substances that are indispensible to growth.
Regularising of the functioning of the intestine
The substances contained in extra virgin olive oil facilitate the functioning of the liver and regulate that of the intestine. Furthermore, the consumption of olive oil reduces the risk of peptic ulcers and protects against the formation of gallstones.
We may briefly conclude that these beneficial health effects are further enhanced by the use of Organic Extra Virgin olive oils, in that organic olives contain higher concentrations of antioxidants, lower concentrations of cadmium, and a lower incidence of pesticide residue than do non-organic oils.
Certificates:
FO-SPA Via Bruno Buozzi, 10 - 06030 Giano dell'Umbria (PG). Stabilimento di Via Madonna del Puglia, 1 - 06035 Gualdo Cattaneo (PG) ITLIA.
The culture of Olive Oil: Organic Olive Oil
Organic production consists in an overall system of management of our agricultural enterprises based on a combination of best environmental practices, a high degree of biodiversity, the safeguarding of the environment, the application of strict principles governing the wellbeing of animals, and thus a production obtained with natural materials and processes.
Fonte Cupa is the Farchioni family’s organic farm business, and it focuses on the cultivation and processing of olives and Umbrian PDO organic extra-virgin olive oil. All of the farm’s 60 hectares of olive groves are managed on organic lines, and are situated in the Umbrian Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) area, far from cities and pollution.
To complete our range of 100% organic extra-virgin olive oils from Italy and abroad, we have selected and certified a number of other agricultural enterprises which, over time, we have come to trust to the point where we use their organic olive oil to make some of our best CasolareBIO products.
Certificates:
FO-SPA Via Bruno Buozzi, 10 - 06030 Giano dell'Umbria (PG). Stabilimento di Via Madonna del Puglia, 1 - 06035 Gualdo Cattaneo (PG) ITLIA.
The culture of Olive Oil: Unfiltered Olive Olio
Certain consumers prefer foods that fall into the “wholefood” category, including unfiltered olive oil with its natural turbid appearance. The olive oil production process ends with a product containing tiny particles of olive that give raw, unfiltered oil its classical turbid appearance. In the case of certain of our products, we have chosen not to filter the freshly-milled oil. The presence of these particles should not be considered a defect, indeed, in a certain sense they are the proof of the oil’s authenticity.
Some clarifications should be made. As regards commercial and purity standards, in relation to the filtration process, no significant effects are discernible. Unfiltered olive oils, and thus the “turbid” or “hazy” varieties, when compared to oils from the same batch that have subsequently been filtered, on average contain a higher concentration of polyphenols, and the quantity of phenolic compounds removed during the filtration process varies, depending mainly on their initial content in the product. On the other hand, it should be pointed out that the phenolic substances that remain in the solution after filtration are more stable. Other compounds of interest from the health point of view, such as phytosterols, squalene, and tocopherols, are not affected by filtration, and from the point of view of the volatile compounds responsible for the oil’s aroma, filtration does not have any direct effect.
Certificates:
FO-SPA Via Bruno Buozzi, 10 - 06030 Giano dell'Umbria (PG). Stabilimento di Via Madonna del Puglia, 1 - 06035 Gualdo Cattaneo (PG) ITLIA.
The culture of Olive Oil: Cold-pressed Olive Oil
The best way of producing extra-virgin olive oil is by mechanically pressing the olive paste using an extraction system operating at temperatures below 27°C.
This excellent working method results in a product that is rich in fragrance and polyphenols, and authorises the labelling of the products as “Cold-pressed”.
The containment of the temperature when extracting the oil from the olives limits any changes in the oil’s organoleptic characteristics, enhancing the product’s fragrance and avoiding any decay of its chemical-physical characteristics.
Certificates:
FO-SPA Via Bruno Buozzi, 10 - 06030 Giano dell'Umbria (PG). Stabilimento di Via Madonna del Puglia, 1 - 06035 Gualdo Cattaneo (PG) ITLIA.
Certificates:
FO-SPA Via Bruno Buozzi, 10 - 06030 Giano dell'Umbria (PG). Stabilimento di Via Madonna del Puglia, 1 - 06035 Gualdo Cattaneo (PG) ITLIA.