Heritagization and extra virgin olive oil packaging in Apulia

This article analyses the packaging of two oil-producing companies from the Italian region of Apulia. Using the tools of Multimodal Analysis, the paper argues that these companies’ packaging design shows a tendency to emphasize the commodity’s close connection to a certain territory and its “traditional” way of production, implicitly valorized as markers of high quality and as signs of distinction for consumers, although the actual production chain is much more technologized, and the labour involved is provided mostly by foreign seasonal workers. Such valorization is inscribed within a food discourse that sees extra-virgin olive oil as a key component of a healthy diet and the consumption of terroir-produced foodstuff as a way to achieve health. This discourse, in turn, aligns with the neoliberal view, which sees health not as dependent on social factors but as the outcome of individual choices. The heritagization of olive oil is also put into relation to the wider process of heritagization of Apulian food.