The diagram illustrates the process by which olive oil is produced, from harvesting olives to the final storage and sale of the oil.
Overall, what stands out is that the production process involves seven distinct stages, commencing with picking olives from a tree and culminating with the bottling and sale of the finished oil. The process follows a linear sequence and requires both manual and mechanical steps.
Looking at the steps in detail, initially, olives are picked directly from the olive tree. They are then rinsed using cold water, which removes dirt and impurities. Following this, the cleaned olives are smashed by a mechanical belt-driven device, which crushes them into a substance known as olive paste. During this smashing stage, olive stones are separated as a by-product. Subsequently, the olive paste is placed into bags with holes, which are then subjected to pressing. This pressing stage squeezes the liquid out of the paste. The extracted liquid is passed on to a separation stage, where water is removed, leaving behind pure olive oil. Finally, the oil is collected and moved to storage, where it is bottled and made ready for sale.