Maria de la Paz Aguilera Herrera

Maria de la Paz Aguilera Herrera holds a B.Sc. in Biology from the University of Granada and a Ph.D. in Chemical Sciences from the University of Jaén. She has more than 20 years of experience in olive oil production and served for many years as a panel leader and head of the innovative “Experimental Cooking with Olive Oil” program at the Center for Olive and Olive Oil Technologies (Citoliva) in Jaén. In 2019, she joined the Superior Facultative Body of the Junta de Andalucía as a specialist technician in the food and health department of IFAPA (Institute of Agricultural and Fisheries Research and Training of the Ministry of Agriculture). Her main research focuses on the differentiated quality of EVOOs and improving the lipid profile after their incorporation into the food chain.

Over the past 15 years, she has served as a judge in numerous national and international competitions and has contributed to the Evooleum and Iberoleum guidebooks since their initial editions. She has authored over 30 articles in international journals, along with several research papers in leading scientific publications. She is the co-author of multiple specialized books, including “Manual of Olive Oil Tasting and Pairing” and “Olive Cultivation,” which is currently in its 6th edition.