Are 80% Of Olive Oils Fake?
Legitimate extra virgin olive oil is expensive to produce, so unfortunately, olive oil fraud is widespread across the world and has been for years. The largest companies have been caught and fined in pretty much every country on earth. Unfortunately, business goes on as usual as they simply ask for forgiveness, pay a smaller fine than profits made for selling this fake oil, promise never to do it again, and just keep on producing.
In 2013, a report published by the European Parliament crowned olive oil as Europe's most adulterated, tampered with, and counterfeited agricultural product. Despite attempted legislation and crackdowns, a 2020 report by the U.S.'s American Botanical Council found that adulteration of olive oil is still rampant.
Another, such as this one from 2020, has found that a large portion of oils sold as extra virgin olive oil in supermarkets are counterfeit. It’s an issue that regulators around the world are looking to tackle.
Research For Yourself
Investigative journalist Tom Mueller is author of the whistleblowing classic Extra Virginity, which blew the lid off the olive oil trade by exposing how rampant it is with fraud. Mueller shocked America when he claimed to 60 Minutes that "around 75 to 80 percent" of extra virgin olive oils sold in the U.S. are fraudulent.
In the August 13, 2007, New Yorker magazine, Tom Mueller wrote about corruption in the olive-oil trade. He said, “Olive oil is far more valuable than most other vegetable oils, but it is costly and time-consuming to produce—and surprisingly easy to doctor.”
Years later, fraud remains a problem. Mueller has expanded the scope of his article’s research with his recent book “Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil,” which focusses on the contamination of olive oil not only by seed oils but by the misuse of the label “extra virgin” on olive oils that don’t meet that designation’s standards.
This book will open your eyes to olive oil’s rich past as well as to the “fierce struggle between oil fraudsters of the globalized food industry and artisan producers whose oil truly deserves the name ‘extra virgin.'”
Fraud With Italian Oils
Surprisingly, Italy only makes 15 percent of the world's olive oil. Even so, as The Guardian reports, it's the second largest exporter of olive oil after top producer Spain, which dominates 45 percent of the global market (albeit with prices 60 percent cheaper than Italy's).
"Made in Italy" designations both highly coveted — and highly falsified. As The New York Times warned, "much of the 'extra-virgin Italian olive oil' flooding the world's market shelves is neither Italian nor virginal."
Larry Olmsted, author of Real Food, Fake Food, also notes, much of the oil that comes from Italy is bottled but not produced there. In recent years, countless undercover operations by the Italian police have uncovered massive scams in which tons of cheap, low-quality oils from Syria, Turkey, North Africa, and Spain are being bottled and sold as authentic Italian extra virgin to foreign markets. Among the biggest victims of this olive oil fraud is the U.S., to which Italy exports around 30 percent of its olive oil. America is the dumping ground of all these fraudulent operations because resources fail to control the over 350,000 tons of olive oil entering the country.(Mashed.com)
Extra Virgin Olive Oil Versus Virgin + Refined Olive Oils
The oil created from olives are generally grouped into refined or unrefined classifications, and graded based on level of acidity, or free oleic acid. Although the many types of olive oils can often be used interchangeably, it’s important to know what makes them different from one another.
The listing below is how oils are meant to be extracted and graded:
Extra Virgin Olive Oil is the highest grade and purest quality olive oil available, meeting the high standards of production and quality, as determined by the International Olive Council (IOC). EVOO is 100% pure, unadulterated oil from olives using no chemicals or heat to extract oil from the fruit purity and a free fatty acid content no greater than 0.08%. In addition to chemical testing, the oil must also meet an organoleptic standard, with no defects of aroma or flavor, and a positive taste of green or ripe olives.
Virgin Olive Oil is unrefined oil usually with slight defects of aroma or flavor, lower chemical standards and higher free fatty acid levels than extra-virgin olive oil. Virgin oil is cheaper and less healthy than EVOO, but remains an unadulterated oil with sufficient quality.
Refined Olive Oil - pure Olive Oil, classic olive oil, regular olive oil, or more simply "olive oil", are those oils not qualifying for the virgin designation due to acidity levels and other factors. They are usually refined with heat and/or chemicals to remove undesirable odors and flavors. The result is a bland, and almost colorless oil that’s blended with at least 10% virgin olive oil to add just enough olive oil character and has oleic acid measuring between 3-4%.
Light Olive Oil and Extra Light Olive Oil are the lowest grades, having the lightest true flavor of olives. Although most people are led to believe the term "light" translates to lower fat or calories that is not the case with light olive oil. Only the flavor is lighter as less than 10% virgin olive oil is added to light oils.
Source: Caviarstar.com
Spotting Inferior Olive Oils
Making high-quality extra-virgin olive oil is a complex, time-consuming, and expensive process, but faking them is relatively easy and cheap. When there is cheating, extra Virgin Olive Oils may be mixed with lower grade olive oils such as canola, colza, soy, and even hazelnut oil. Then chemical coloring (using the likes of industrial chlorophyll) is added, flavoring (with beta-carotene), and deodorization. (Mashed.com)
Even traditional, well-known brands haven't escaped the evil, despite bearing the coveted "Protected Designation of Origin" or PDO stamp indicating the precise geographical origin of a particular extra virgin olive oil to ensure the quality of that region’s agricultural products, and which are subjected to more strict controls. Yet, governments continue to permit the entry and commercialization of those products. (Forbes.com)
How Not To Get Scammed
Never buy anything that doesn't say "extra-virgin" on the label - the phrase alone isn't a guarantee, but without it, "you're always going to get a low-quality product. Don't bother with anything labeled "virgin," "light," "pure," or just "olive oil."
Price – extra virgin olive oil is more expensive to produce than refined olive oils and other seed oils. Therefore, if it seems too cheap – it most likely is not authentic EVOO.
Packaging – look for a dark bottle as the oil deteriorates quickly in light. Both glass and metal containers have been proven to protect the olive oil during storage for up to two years.
Taste – the best way to tell if extra-virgin olive oil is the real deal—which is to say not adulterated, mislabeled, or flat-out rancid—is to taste it. If it doesn’t have much of a taste or is plastic-y, it’s most likely rancid. It should taste fresh, green and have a peppery, somewhat stingy finish at the back of your throat, even inducing a slight cough. This is due to a molecule called Oleocanthal.
Harvest date and estate or mill name. Typically only the better oils will have a 'pressed on' or 'harvest date (when the oil is made). With extra virgin olive oil from North America, look for the most recent Fall Harvest, with an 18-20 month timing. No harvest date? Red flag! Also, if a label calls out the name of the producer or estate, or the variety of olive used, it's very likely genuine. Getting even geekier, if you see the free fatty acidity level, or FFA, listed , that's a great sign. Typically, only high-quality producers bother listing it.
Ignore the "best by" and "bottled on" dates. The "best by" date is arbitrary and lacks any legal standard, since this date is determined at the manufacturer’s discretion. And "bottled on" doesn't mean much either. It could've been in a tank for a year before it was bottled.
Look for a third-party certification seal. In particular, the European Union's Protected Designation of Origin (PDO), Italy's DOP, or the "COOC Certified Extra Virgin" seal from the California Olive Oil Council for California-made oils. (The council has its own standards and certification program that's stricter than the IOC's.)
Source: CamilleStyles.com, Kyoord.com, Epicurious.com
If you truly seek the healthiest oils, here is a website that showcases the world’s best olive oils.
Other than that, the next time you're puzzling over what olive oil to buy, then use this guide: Buy it, open it, smell it, swirl it in your mouth as you would a fine wine, and judge for yourself. If it doesn't pass that test, take it back to the store and demand a refund.