Commenting at an awards function at Edgecombe Brothers Winery, Henley Brook, Professor Stan Kailis, chief Judge and chair of the judging panel, said he was pleased this year to award gold medals to three products, silver to 10 and bronze to seven.

"That 80 percent of entries were awarded medals indicates improved quality of table olives and it's encouraging to have entries from as far as New Zealand and Queensland," he said.

There were 26 entries in six classes: kalamata; naturally black, excluding kalamata; green Spanish style; green Sicilian style, brine treated; flavoured or spiced; olive pastes and tapenades.