A a staple part of the “Mediterranean Diet”, the listed health benefits of olive oil are many. From its high antioxidant count to its ability to protect against heart disease, aid in the prevention of many types of cancers and lower blood pressure, this oil – actually more of a fruit juice than an oil – is one of the chief secrets to the success of the Mediterranean diet. So why should you worry about using your olive oil? Because what claims to be extra-virgin olive oil in your kitchen cupboard may in fact be a blend of many oils from hazelnut, soybean and canola to the illegal lampante oil (“lamp oil”) made from spoiled olive fruit that has fallen from the tree and can not be legally sold as food. Companies looking to stretch their profits – and many of them very common supermarket names in the United States – cut good oils with these inferior oils, oftentimes simply substituting one for the other, then color the concoction with industrial chlorophyll, flavor it with beta-carotene, package it and sell it as quality Italian-made extra-virgin olive oil.

Thanks to Tom Mueller writing for The New Yorker, we have the full story of how these companies smuggle, repackage and skirt the law to bring inferior product to consumers at inflated prices.

With “profits … comparable to cocaine trafficking, with none of the risks“ the European Union as well as Italy itself – one of the largest producers of olive oil – have setup elaborate mechanisms to police the oil trade, most to only limited success. That said, these policing forces did manage, in 2005, to break up a “criminal ring operating in several regions of Italy, and confiscated a hundred thousand litres of fake olive oil, with a street value of six million euros (about eight million dollars).” Eight million dollars! And this is only one of the rings in operation!

In addition to the “cutting” of oils, many companies, even those otherwise ethical operations, are shipping their product to Italy for packaging so that they may – legally, mind you – place a “made in Italy” label on the bottle, artificially driving up the price of their product. Your Italian oil, if it’s olive oil at all, may in fact be from Spain – not a bad thing, save for the misrepresentation and high price.

As one who uses olive oil extensively, as both a healthy alternative to other oils as well as a gourmet treat (their’s a certain subtle – sometimes not-so-subtle – beauty in a truly good olive oil), this is a frightening revelation!

Fear not. Olive oil remains good for you and packs all of the health benefits you’ve come to expect. If your oil is from olives, of course.

Read more in Slippery Business The trade in adulterated olive oil.
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[tags]Bertolli, Fasanesi, lampante, mediterranean diet, Nestlé, olive oil, Unilever[/tags]