It is an Institute for applied research, established in Reggio Calabria in 1918, and operating on a national scale with the specific aim of promoting the technical and technological progress in the
essential oils and
citrus by-products industry. In 1999 SSEA was transformed into a public economic institution with important legal, operational and administrative modifications which, however, have left its mission and functions unchanged. The Station was the Quality Control Body for the essential oil
Bergamotto di Reggio Calabria DOP. On 30 July 2013, attended by the Prefect of Reggio Calabria, was signed a collaboration agreement between the special Agency SSEA and the
Mediterranea University of Reggio Calabria. The agreement provides for an investment of 5 million euros in equipment, and the redevelopment of the experimental field as a field catalog. == SSEA Directors ==