This review focuses on the conditions required to increase and maintain the antioxidant nutrients in both extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) and table olives (TOs) from the agronomic and technological practices to the gastronomy. The main antioxidants of TOs and EVOO are phenol alcohols and acids, secoiridoids, lignans and flavones, all of which possess the ability to prolong the oil’s shelf-life and exhibit healthy properties for humans. The precise detection of secoiridoid derivatives remains the breakthrough for the nutritional and health quality certification of extra virgin olive oils (EVOOs) required for EFSA health claims. To attain the necessary antioxidant quality in both EVOO and TOs, it is necessary to hard focus on the several steps in the production chain, including olive cultivar, agronomic conditions, harvesting methods, and transformation technology. The quality level is maintained if the storage conditions aim to minimize the oxidative processes that occur due to oxygen and light. In terms of minor polar biophenols, there is disagreement on which between the organic or conventional EVOOs show higher concentration values. The strict disciplinary of production of protected designation EVOOs does not ensure higher phenol values in comparison to the artisanal EVOOs. In gastronomy, the EVOOs are preferable to seed oils, particularly during frying vegetable. The EVOOs show higher heat stability, linked both to the fatty acid composition and the phenol content, that is important for preventing fatty acids oxidation. Concerning TOs, the commercial presentation includes olives and olive paste. Both products show a remarkable loss of natural antioxidants after pasteurization and during storage as the thermal treatment mostly impacts on TOs secoiridoids.

The process of transformation of table olives is the result of complex biochemical reactions that are determined by the interactions of the indigenous microflora of the olives together with a variety of contaminating microrganisms from different sources (fiber-glass fermenters, PVC tanks, pipelines, pumps and water) with the compositional characteristics of the fruit. One of the most important aspects of improving the quality of table olives is the use of selected microorganisms to drive the fermentation. These can supplant the indigenous microflora and, in particular, the complementary microflora that are responsible for spoilage of canned olives. In this context, from a technological point of view, a well-characterised collection of microrganisms (lactic acid bacteria, yeasts) that is possibly isolated from the matrix to be processed (the olive fruit) will provide the basis for the development of starter culture systems. These cultures can be fully compatible with the typical products and guarantee high quality standards. Inoculation of the brine with such selected starter cultures will reduce the probability of spoilage and help to achieve an improved and more predictable fermentation process. Control of the fermentation processes can thus occur through chemical, chemico-physical and microbiological approaches, and since 2008 (COI/OT/MO/Doc. No 1. Method for the sensory analysis of table olives), also through organoleptic evaluation. This last has established the necessary criteria and procedures for sensory analysis of the negative, gustatory and kinaesthetic sensations of table olives that can also be attributed to abnormal proliferation of microrganisms. It also sets out the systematics for commercial classification, through the assessment of the median of the defect predominantly perceived.