Bertolli facts for kids
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Bertolli Riserva extra virgin olive oil
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| Type | Olive oil, pasta sauce, ready meal, spread, vinegar |
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| Owner | Mizkan (brand and North American pasta sauce) Conagra Brands (frozen food) Deoleo (olive oil) Upfield (spread) Enrico (European pasta sauce) |
| Country | Italy |
| Introduced | 1865 |
| Markets | Worldwide |
| Previous owners | Cirio Bertolli De Rica Unilever |
Bertolli is a well-known brand that makes Italian food. It started by selling extra-virgin olive oil and became a world leader in that. Today, you can also find Bertolli pasta sauces and ready-made meals. Many different companies around the world now make Bertolli products. The main brand name is owned by Mizkan Holdings.
Contents
The Story of Bertolli
How Bertolli Started
The Bertolli company began in 1865 . It was founded by Francesco Bertolli and his wife, Caterina. They lived in Lucca, Tuscany, which was part of the Kingdom of Italy back then. They first sold local products like wine, cheese, olives, and olive oil.
Changes in Ownership
The Bertolli family ran the company for a long time, until 1972. Then, a company called Alimont bought it. Alimont later changed its name to Alivar. After that, an Italian state-owned company called Società Meridionale di Elettricità (SME) took over. SME then grouped Bertolli with other food brands to create Cirio Bertolli De Rica.
In 1994, a big company called Unilever bought Bertolli. Unilever is known for many different products.
Bertolli Today
Over the years, parts of the Bertolli business have been sold to other companies:
- In 2008, Unilever sold the olive oil part of Bertolli to Grupo SOS. This Spanish company is now called Deoleo.
- In 2012, the frozen food business under the Bertolli name was sold to ConAgra Foods.
- In 2014, Unilever sold its pasta sauce business in North America to Mizkan Holdings. This included the Bertolli brand. Mizkan now owns the Bertolli brand name.
- In 2018, Unilever's spread business became a new company called Upfield. So, Upfield now manages Bertolli spreads.
- In 2021, Unilever sold its European pasta sauce and mayonnaise business to Enrico-Glasbest. This is a Dutch food company.
So, today, different companies make different Bertolli products around the world!
What Bertolli Sells
Bertolli makes many kinds of food products.
Frozen Meals
Their frozen meals are sold in categories like "Meals for One" and "Meals for Two." They also have some frozen desserts.
Pasta Sauces
Bertolli is also well-known for its pasta sauces. In 2015, Bertolli was one of the top brands for pasta sauce.
Important Information About Bertolli
Olive Oil Quality
In 2010, a study by the University of California, Davis looked at olive oils. It suggested that some Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil might not have met the "extra virgin" standard.
Later, in 2018, the company that owns Bertolli olive oil, Deoleo, agreed to a settlement. They paid money and promised to make changes. People had said that it was confusing for Bertolli to say "Imported from Italy." This was because the olives often came from other countries like Greece, Spain, or Chile. They were just mixed and bottled in Italy.
Deoleo removed the phrase "Imported from Italy" from its bottles. They promised not to use similar words unless the oil truly came only from Italian olives.
Protecting Olive Oil
The lawsuit also mentioned that Bertolli's clear bottles might not protect the olive oil well. Sunlight and heat can affect olive oil quality.
To fix this, Deoleo made several improvements:
- They started using dark green bottles. These bottles help protect the oil from sunlight.
- They improved their testing to make sure the oil stays "extra virgin."
- They started putting the harvest date of the olives on the bottle.
- They also shortened the "Best by" date on the bottles. This helps ensure the oil is fresh when you buy it.
In 2018, a court also stopped a magazine from spreading false information about Bertolli.
See also
In Spanish: Bertolli para niños
