Quality Control Lab
This is the heart of the facility, where state of the art equipment has been installed to test the quality of sourced oil, stored oil as well as finished product. The lab is equipped with 2 gas chromatographs, titration equipment, UV spectrophotometer and other equipment to continuously ensure the quality of oil used. The QC team follows a strict testing system that was placed according to the International Olive Oil Council (IOOC) as well as the Standardization Organization for GCC (GSO) standards.
Storage
Storage in Dar Zaytoun is divided essentially to three areas.
Oil Storage: Dar Zaytoun has a storage capacity of 1200 metric tons upgradable to 2’740 metric tons in 316 stainless steel tanks, with temperature control, nitrogen blanketing and level
monitoring all to ensure top quality and smooth operations. Oil storage is a very important stage where oil should be kept in food grade stainless steel tanks, away from direct sunlight, minimal air exposure and temperatures below 25 °C.
Packaging Material Storage: Where 1’300 square meters has been allocated to store containers, labels, caps and all other packaging materials needed to produce the finished product.
Finished Goods Store: As parts of Dar Zaytoun assurance to highest finished product quality, the operation avoids over stocking of finished goods and follows the “produce to order” working mechanism.
The storage capacity for packaging materials and finished goods can be increased effectively by 300% by applying vertical shelving system.
Filtration
This is an important part of facilities, where oil filtration occurs in 2 stages for virgin and extra virgin grades. Filtration equipment are provided by one of the leading Italian companies specialized in manufacturing those filters specifically for the olive oil industry.
Stage I: Vertical Earth Filter where the oil is passed through a special grainy medium that removes any entrained fine particles and sediments that can be suspended in the oil bulk.
Stage II: Plate press filter specifically designed for olive oil purification process known as polishing. In this process olive oil is passed through the filter to remove fine suspensions from olive oil that cause cloudiness and muddiness and therefore provide a shiny appearance to the olive oil. That is why this operation is often referred to as polishing.
Packaging
Dar Zaytoun has currently two state-of-the-art linear filling and packing lines. One line is dedicated to produce oil in containers from 2 litres up to 16 litres while the other is designed to produce oil in containers from 1 litre down to 100 ml.
Both lines have been designed for diversity and to fill any of the three container types used in the industry: glass, tins and plastic (PET).
The filling machines use innovative robotic technology that enables easy programming and minimal changeover time from one product to another thus increasing efficiency and productivity. Capping machines are provided by one of the leaders in this field and can perform press on and screw capping on the same machine depending on product produced and with minimal changeover time. The labelling machine is a very efficient linear one and the seal-proof applicator is also provided by an industry leader and is a very efficient yet simple machine.
