The Search for Honest Olive Oil

It might interest you to know that olive oil could be termed fruit juice. That seems to be so, technically speaking. The olive is a fruit, the oil comes from the flesh not the seed, same as orange or grapefruit juice.

The Olive -- A Bitter Fruit

On the other hand you may not give a hoot about that so long as it does what it is supposed to do, dressing your salad or searing your vegies – or maybe you use it for a body rub.

But you might care if that oil isn’t what it claims to be, right?

It’s no joke. In the 1980s, toxic “olive” oil killed hundreds who bought a cheap product in Spain. Turned out it was low grade olive oil mixed with an industrial oil.

Today cheating most often involves the grade, country of origin or dilution with a lower-cost olive oil or with a nut, seed or legume oil.

“Wherever the claimed origin of a food product adds to the value of the product, then there’s an increased risk of fraud,” Peter Bracher, managing director of food safety management NSF International Asia-Pacific testing firm, told FoodDive news. “Olive oil from a specific country such as Greece is favored by some consumers and so they will pay a premium, so this creates an opportunity for fraud.”

I’ve also noticed some consumers put a premium on Italian oil; this leads to trouble when demand exceeds supply, prompting mislabeling.

There is also the problem of misleading labeling, such as "Bottled in Italy," when the product that has been bottled actually comes from Spain. Or, who knows, maybe Tunisia.

In the event of a crime, you might think the government would jump in. Not always so, according to John Spink of Michigan State University’s Food Fraud Initiative. He said the crime is not always worth the government’s time to investigate. “With olive oil, let’s say it’s Greek olive oil but labeled as Italian olive oil," he said. "How much is it worth the government to investigate that? If no one got sick, there’s not the resources to do much about it,” he told FoodDive web site.

So how do you protect yourself against fraud? Probably not by growing your own olives, unless you live in a tropical sort of climate like parts of California or the Mediterranean. So, be alert when shopping. If it claims to be great stuff at a cheap price, skip it. Check out various tips on the internet for making a selection. Don’t go by “pretty.”

Why not?

“By the time olive has been filtered, purified, de-colored, and practically de-olived to make light olive oil, most of its flavorful, aromatic, and healthful compounds are gone,” according to noted food writer Robert L. Wolke.

Perhaps you can avoid fraud by sticking to the US product, in many cases monitored as is California oil bearing a seal of approval from the California Olive Oil Council. (According to a study funded in part by California Olive Ranch, one of the most trust-worthy brands on the market is – surprise! -- California Olive Ranch. But there are others, as noted in an article found on Lifehacker. 

One interesting tip I noted is to go for a bitter taste, it is more natural. An olive plucked directly from the tree would be too bitter to eat. However, people often choose rancid taste over bitter “thanks to years of knowing little else,” according to a very helpful industry site.