The Truth About Extra Virgin Olive Oil

[ezzra]

I have lifted this article from the public letter of the The olive oil center of Australia, http://www.theolivecentre.com

BUYERS BEWARE,

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Labeling Class Action Lawsuit

If you spend extra money on so-called "extra virgin" olive oil, there's a good chance you didn't get what you paid for. Our firm is investigating a recent UC Davis study which found that more than two-thirds of common brands of extra virgin olive oil failed to meet internationally accepted standards. Popular varieties marketed by Bertolli, Pompeian, Carapelli, Mezzetta, and Mazola are just some of the brands that failed the UC Davis tests.

As a result of the mislabeling found in this study, thousands of U.S. consumers may have paid a premium price for a substandard olive oil. Even worse, these phony extra virgin olive oils could pose a serious health risk to people with allergies, as the study found that many were blended with cheaper canola, seed or nut oils.

We are currently investigating a possible class action lawsuit against the companies responsible for this deception. If you believe you purchased olive oil that was incorrectly labeled as “extra virgin” or would like to learn more about our investigation, please contact us today for a free consultation.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Extra virgin is the highest grade of olive oil, according to standards set by the U. S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) and the International Olive Council, an international, intergovernmental organization that deals with issues involving olives and olive oil. The council, established by the United Nations, includes countries that produce 98 percent of the world’s table olives and olive oil.

The United States is not a member of the council; however olive oil produced in the U.S. must meet recently adopted USDA olive oil standards, which closely correspond to the international standards and will go into effect on Oct. 25, 2010. The standards include specifications for the grades of extra virgin, virgin, refined olive oil and olive oil.

Extra virgin olive oil can be adulterated by mixing extra virgin with cheaper refined oils such as hazelnut oil or with a cheaper refined olive oil, making the adulteration more difficult to chemically detect.

For some time now, many have suspected that much of the extra virgin olive oil marketed in the U.S. was anything but that. The UC Davis study, the first of its kind by an American academic institution, provides the first empirical proof of this deception.

UC Davis Extra Virgin Olive Oil Study

For their landmark study, researches at UC Davis purchased 14 imported brands and five California-produced brands of olive oil that were being sold as extra virgin at retail stores in California. Three bottles of each imported brand and two bottles of each California brand were sent to the Australian Oils Research Laboratory in New South Wales, where the oils were put through sensory and chemical tests specified by the international Olive Council and also were analyzed using methods adopted in Germany and Australia. Chemical analyses also were conducted at the UC Davis Olive Oil Chemistry Laboratory, in most cases using bottles with the same lot numbers as those tested in Australia.

The research team found that 69 percent of the imported oils sampled and 10 percent of the California-produced oils sampled failed to meet internationally accepted standards for extra virgin olive oil.

Of the following brands, every sample failed to meet the extra virgin olive oil standards:

Bertolli Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Pompeian Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Carapelli Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Mezzetta Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Mazola Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Other samples of extra virgin olive oil brands such as Filippo Berio, Colavita, Newman's Own Organics, Safeway Select, and 365 Everyday Value, were also found to not meet the international extra virgin olive standards.

According to the study, the defective samples failed the extra virgin standards for one or more of these reasons:

oxidation due to elevated temperature, light and or aging;

adulteration with cheaper refined olive oil; and

poor-quality oils made from damaged and overripe olives, processing flaws or improper oil storage.

The study also revealed that the analytical chemistry methods established by the International Olive Council and the USDA often do not detect defective oils that fail extra virgin sensory standards. On the other hand, the chemistry methods used in Australia and Germany were more effective in confirming negative sensory tests, the study found.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil Labeling Class Action Lawsuit

Countless U.S. consumers may have paid far too much for an inferior olive oil that was mislabeled extra virgin. If you were among them, you may be entitled to compensation. To find out more about a possible class action lawsuit, please fill out our online form, or call 1 800 LAW INFO (1-800-529-4636) today.

(Source: Parker Waichman Alonso LLP Link: Extra Virgin Olive Oil)

[BEENTHEREDONETHAT]

thanks for that ezzra, no more Bertolli extra for us. The people who do this should be boiled in oil,

[bonobo]

Most of those are the cheaper brands which I never buy, but I have bought 365 before.  I tend to buy either Greek or California, so I would love to see the tests on the brands I buy.

[FarangKenStine]

these cocksuckers will pay in blood! i mean oil!

Edited August 15, 2010 by FarangKenStine

[NanaFoods]

Is there any ethics left in large businesses these days?

[lazygourmet]

Unless it's "first cold pressure", I don't use.

[bkkjames]

Bertolli is also the most expensive typical grocery store olive oil I have seen. Couldn't bring myself to 20 - 30 percent more for it. Glad I didn't. Does that study have a list of brands that make the grade?

[steelepulse]

So they tested 5 California products and 10% failed the test. How does that math add up? Half of one of them failed, but the other half of the one passed.

[lazygourmet]

I am on my annual vacations in South of France, as usual I will stock up with Alziari products.

[Chantal]

Thank you so much Ezzra....it is so good to be made aware!

[krading]

I'll stick to the good old reliable palm oil.

[bonobo]

So they tested 5 California products and 10% failed the test.  How does that math add up?  Half of one of them failed, but the other half of the one passed.

Five California brands, but maybe two styles in each brand for 10 total types tested. 

I did buy a large can of "Supremo Italiano" first cold pressed extra virgin olive oil which I use for frying or to put a dollop in my pasta water, and from the taste, I have to admit I have wondered if it really was extra virgin or even 100% olive oil.

I am almost out of my boutique olive oils I picked up at a fancy food trade show, so I will have to stock up on my next trip.  I usually buy Trader Joe's or Martinis when I have to buy from a store, and I wonder if those are OK.

[metisdead]

I never did buy the Bertolli "extra virgin" olive oil, glad now that I did not buy into the hype!

[Godolphin]

I used to buy Bertolli 'extra virgin' olive in Australia but now only buy certified Australian extra virgin. I have seen some limited brands on sale in some Thai supermarkets.

There are several brands but there is a certification label (triangular) on the bottle which will tell you if it has been independently tested.

Lovely, fruity, clean tasting oil. I even have a nip from the bottle occasionally before having a few beers.

I'll never go back to the phony European bilge.

[sabaijai]

That list encompasses pretty much every brand found on the supermarket shelves in Thailand. Luckily there's still La Bottega di Luca, Food d'Italia other Italian delis in Bangkok where the real thing is readily available.

http://www.labottegabangkok.com/home.html

http://www.foodditalia.com/?module=cat&catid=6

[lomatopo]

Anti-fraud measures for olive oil were put in place in Italy in the first century A.D., so this problem has been around for a while.

There was a good article in the New Yorker a few years ago on the olive oil business. It is still available on-line: LETTER FROM ITALY - SLIPPERY BUSINESS

The trade in adulterated olive oil.

The first paragraph is a grabber:

"On August 10, 1991, a rusty tanker called the Mazal II docked at the industrial port of Ordu, in Turkey, and pumped twenty-two hundred tons of hazelnut oil into its hold. The ship then embarked on a meandering voyage through the Mediterranean and the North Sea. By September 21st, when the Mazal II reached Barletta, a port in Puglia, in southern Italy, its cargo had become, on the ship’s official documents, Greek olive oil. It slipped through customs, possibly with the connivance of an official, was piped into tanker trucks, and was delivered to the refinery of Riolio, an Italian olive-oil producer based in Barletta. There it was sold—in some instances blended with real olive oil—to Riolio customers."

[bonobo]

Dang you ezzra!  You too, lomatopo! Now I am obsessing about my olive oils!!!!!!!!  I went through all my remaining stock last weekend trying to see if any of them are on a hit list.

Ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise!!!!!!!

Oh well.  Unless I can get the Trader Joe's olive oils confirmed as good, I will have to go back to the boutique oils and at retail prices. 

(And in reality, thanks, ezzra, for the head's up.)

[Thailaw]

I seldom believe (or discount heavily) any claims of virginity regardless of the source (unless, of course, they are really, really ugly). I will now add olive oils to my list of suspect characters. Quite a shame.....

[sabaijai]

Another place that stocks the real thing in Bangkok, and at relatively reasonable prices compared to the other outlets in the city, is the Italian deli at L'Opera on Suk 39.

[Michaelaway]

Makro has 1-ltr bottles of Robo Extra Virgin Olive Oil, imported from Italy, for about 380 baht. On my 4th bottle now; been using it for cooking, marinating, vinegrettes, etc. Tastes good (smells good) to me...

[bonobo]

I will be in Austria and Germany in October.  Any suggestions on good brands of olive oil available there?  I am partial to Greek, but any good quality oil commonly available in Germany would be great.

[Ciocco]

In Italy, as you know, we use a lot of olive oil.

The Extra Virgin usually it cost around 6/7 euro per liter in the supermarkets (big brands, not IGP Protected Geografic Indication)

IGP EVO oil usually do not cost less than 10/12 euro per liter. Local production, handmade, cold sistem also more expensive.

Of course it don't mean that if expensive it's good, if cheap it's bad... but for sure the price mean something... and for considering the tranportation cost, taxes, duties... for 380/400 baht we cannot expect too much.

I tryed Bertolli and onestly i didn't like it so much.

Also sure that the stockage temperature is a big problem.

I hope that frauds could be fined very strongly, to be a lesson to who want to be smart on food business...

ciocco

[edwardandtubs]

I buy Tesco's own brand extra virgin olive oil which is cheaper and as far as I can see there's no allegations that it isn't the real thing.

[jazzbo]

a lot of 'Italian' olive oil somes from Spain ... As per 'authenticity' of composition, I just use the sunflower oil and mix in some olive oil for flavor if I have some around.

http://blogs.smithsonianmag.com/food/2010/03/10/where-does-your-olive-oil-come-from/

Edited August 31, 2010 by jazzbo