Our company
Since the early 1800s,our family’s traditions have been closely linked with olive cultivation in privately-owned olive groves on the eastern slopes of Mt.Taygetos. In 1905 the family expanded into oil production, establishing the Ioannis Klonis and Co. olive oil mill.
Melitini Ltd. was established in 2006 as a Model Plant for the production, packaging and sale of high quality agricultural products, with production centered in the area of Aegies in Laconia, formerly belonging to the historic Melitini municipality and today a part of the EasternManiMunicipality, just 35 km from Sparta.
This decision of ours was inspired by:
- Our love for our land’s traditional crops and our dedication to the idea of sustainable development as a way of life and a duty to generations both future and past.
- The superior quality of Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Laconia, which is recognized as a Protected Geographical Indication (PGI).
- Year-round sunshine, a dry climate, mild weather conditions, an ideal altitude (270m to 320m) and the beneficial local breezes.
- The particular terrain with the sloping loamy soil that ensures excellent drainage, and the pristine aquifer of Mt.Taygetos.
- The land’s “purity”, being located far from major urban centers and unburdened by heavy industry and intensive agricultural cultivations or affected by rivers encumbered by pollutants.
- The area’s potential for the production of high quality traditional agricultural products.
Our philosophy
Our goal at MELITINI Estate is to develop original, exquisitely flavored and aesthetically pleasing packaged foods that meet the highest safety standards. We also plan to produce functional food items by developing innovative, high value added products that will identify our company’s brand with quality. Our entire production consistently adheres to the strictest quality and food safety standards.
Our long-term objectives include the establishment of a zone of cooperating pesticide and herbicide-free olive grove farms.
The olive oil mill
Certain points worth mentioning since they clearly show our company’s steadfast commitment to issues involving food safety and quality:
- The bottling area is located in the center of our facility, creating control zones that ensure food safety
- The bottling area is bounded by a wall with triplex shatterproof glass panes over it.
- The floor and walls in the bottling and filtering areas are covered by ceramic tiles with cove-shaped joints between floor and abutting surfaces, to facilitate the effective cleaning of all surfaces and inside corners.
- The grout joints between the ceramic tiles in the bottling and filtering areas have been caulked with a non-absorbent sealant -specifically formulated for food industry flooring, creating a non-reactive substrate.
- All wood and wooden items are prohibited in the bottling area.
- A positive air pressure system in the bottling area allows the inflow of filtered air for ventilation and precludes the entry of airborne contaminants.
- The equipment used in the bottling area is either stainless steel (INOX) or made of polymers suitable for food production.
- Packaging and related materials enter our facility through a different ingress point than the exit used for finished goods to avoid cross-contamination.
- The entire facility uses a network of waste water drainage channels with a semicircular configuration to avoid ‘hidden corners’. Special mesh filters located at regular intervals retain solids and other waste.
- All windows that open for venting are equipped with a metal mesh to screen out insects.
- In the storage areas, the external doors and those connecting with the bottling area are equipped with insect repellent blinds, creating two exclusion zones for insects – pollutants.
- All the facility’s transparent glass panes are made of GlassPolicy triplex shatterproof safety glass.
- All other areas – storage, holding and machine shop, have epoxy flooring with cove-shaped joints between floor and abutting surfaces in a radial configuration to facilitate cleaning.
- All machinery and equipment, as well as storage systems and auxiliary tables and benches are located at an adequate height above the floor to facilitate inspection and thorough cleaning.
- All paints used to coat the facility’s walls are eco-friendly paints approved for food processing areas.
- The tank storage area is delineated by a 40cm wall in case of accidental leakage.
- All storage tanks are made of INOX stainless steel.
- The storage tank area is protected by a highly insulated heavy roof structure employing thermally inert material to preclude the build up of high temperatures and protect the olive oil from oxidation during storage.
- All windows in the tank storage area are equipped with sun screening blinds for temperature control purposes.
- Temperature control and variation, as factors affecting quality, are verified by a temperature logging system on each olive oil storage tank.
- All the piping used for olive oil is either stainless steel or plastic certified for oils and installed without using plasticisers.
- All the facility’s different areas, including those for final products, tank storage, packaging materials, and quarantined items among others, as well as employee ingress and egress points and walkways are appropriately designated and marked.
- There are special controlled areas for ancillary and cleaning materials.
- There is a special holding and storage area for final product and raw material samples.
This specialization reflects our consistent investment in quality and constitutes a significant comparative advantage for our company. Moreover, the design and construction of our building facilities as well as our production process are based on the principles of Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP), while the company’s quality assurance infrastructure complies with BSI-PAS 220:2008, FSSC 22000 and IFS standards, some of the most up to date, strict and innovative worldwide.
Our olive groves
In our family-owned olive groves we cultivate the select varieties of Koroneikiand Athinolia that yield olive oil with the highest concentration of antioxidants and finest sensory characteristics in the world.
Our olive trees are cultivated according to local traditions and with the greatest respect for the environment, avoiding the use of pesticides and using only environmentally friendly traps to counter the threat of olive fruit flies.
The olives are carefully picked by hand from each tree and placed in baskets to avoid bruising or other degradation. They are then always pressed within 24 hours of harvesting to ensure the highest quality. The precious ‘juice’ from our olives is carefully extracted at a temperature 3° C lower than the one specified by law for ‘cold-pressed’designation.
Available in cases of 6 or 12 bottles of 500ml and 750ml and 12 or 24 bottles of 250ml.