Whether drizzled over salad or whipped into your favorite sauces, olive oil is probably one of the most popular healthy oils on the market (granted you don’t cook with it).
But did you know that much of what’s on the market is fake olive oil?
Reports suggest that a significant portion of olive oil on the market is adulterated or misrepresented. Whether it’s diluted with cheaper oils, such as sunflower or canola oil, or mislabeled as extra-virgin when it’s anything but, counterfeit olive oil is undermining consumer trust and industry standards.
Before delving deeper into the complexities of counterfeit olive oil, let’s first establish a clear understanding of what authentic extra virgin olive oil entails.
What is Extra Virgin Olive Oil?
Extra virgin olive oil (EVOO) is the highest quality form of olive oil, prized for its superior taste, aroma, and health benefits.
It is extracted from fresh olives using mechanical methods, without heat or chemicals, which helps preserve its natural properties. True EVOO boasts a distinctive flavor profile, characterized by fruity notes, a peppery finish, and a vibrant green hue.
You can think of EVOO as fresh olive juice (I know it sounds funny).
Beyond its culinary appeal, EVOO is renowned for its high concentration of monounsaturated fats and powerful antioxidants. These antioxidants develop within each olive fruit as the trees mature over decades, gradually increasing potency. These antioxidants are linked to various health benefits, including antimicrobial, antioxidant, immunomodulatory, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, anti-neurodegenerative, neuroprotective, and other beneficial health effects (1✓)✓ Trusted ResourcePubMed CentralHighly respected database from the National Institutes of HealthRead source.
As consumers seek to distinguish authentic olive oil from products that don’t meet authentic standards, understanding EVOO’s characteristics and production methods becomes essential.
We want cold-pressed extra virgin olive oil and nothing else.
But is that what we’re getting?
The Olive Oil Fraud
In 2008, more than 400 Italian police officers conducted an operation called “Operation Golden Oil,” which resulted in 23 arrests and confiscation of 85 farms.
Another operation a month later brought 40 more arrests in northern and southern Italy. The suspects were found to be adding chlorophyll, the green pigment from plants, to otherwise colorless sunflower and soybean oils and selling it as extra-virgin olive oil, in Italy and abroad. Over 25,000 bottles of the falsely labeled blended oil were seized and ordered destroyed. The extensive fraud prompted the Italian government to introduce labeling laws that require bottlers to declare the olive farm’s address and the country of origin of the olives on each label.
As a result of these raids, the Australian government decided to allow olive oil brands to submit their oils for lab tests, allowing them to certify companies as pure “extra-virgin olive oil.” Alas, every company failed to gain certification in 2012.
Prompted by all of these olive oil scams, researchers at the University of California decided to test 134 different samples from eight major brands of extra-virgin olive oil. Over 70% of the imported oils failed international extraction virgin standards (2).
The five top-selling imported brands failed international sensory standards for extra virgin olive oil by failing two International Olive Council-accredited taste panels. The samples exhibited undesirable sensory qualities, including rancidity and “fustiness,” a fermentation defect.
Olive Oil Fraud and Mislabeling Cases in EU
According to a 2022 European Commission publication, heat waves and droughts in Europe have been affecting olive oil harvests, leading to a flourishing black market for fake virgin and extra virgin olive oil. This publication also highlights that olive oil is estimated to be one of the most mislabelled food products in Europe (3).
In 2023, officials announced that law enforcement agencies in Spain and Italy apprehended 11 individuals involved in a “food fraud operation.” This scheme yielded over 260,000 liters, approximately 68,000 gallons, of olive oil purported to be of high quality but, in truth, deemed “unfit for consumption (4).”
In the first quarter of 2024, the EU saw a record number of potential olive oil fraud and mislabeling cases, driven by inflationary pressures that have boosted the hidden market for this kitchen staple.
As the price of olive oil has spiked, so has the number of “cross-border EU notifications”, which include mislabelling, potential fraud, and safety cases involving contaminated oils (5).
That said, all olive oil produced in EU member states—which accounts for over 80% of the olive oil consumed in the U.S.—is legally required to undergo risk analysis and be subject to authenticity checks and labeling controls at every stage of marketing, including before export to other countries (like America).
Olive Oil Regulation and Adulteration
The most frequent type of adulteration is when oil of lower quality (like soybean, canola, or lower-quality olive oil) is mixed into extra virgin olive oil.
David Neuman, professional oleologist, author of Extra Virgin Olive Oil: The Truth in Your Kitchen, CEO of Dave’s Gourmet, and founder of EVOOGuy.com, told Wellandgood that, “Fake olive oil was an issue many decades ago when some unscrupulous producers cut olive oil (not extra virgin) with seed or nut oils to make extra profit – that’s fake.”
According to Neuman, the main concern (particularly in America) isn’t oil mixing – it’s getting olive oil that is mislabeled as “extra virgin”. Extra virgin olive oil is a “different product” than ‘olive oil’, which according to the USDA Olive Oil Act of 2010, is a blend of virgin olive oil and refined olive oil and is not best used raw.
Extra virgin olive oil (or EVOO) “is the highest grade of olive oil with no perceptible defects and a myriad of chemical parameters to meet” (6).
With that being said, oil-mixing practices still occur to this day, though it is less common than they used to be.
A scientific review identified the most prevalent types of olive oil fraud and proposed countermeasures including more cooperation among regulatory bodies. The review “confirms that most common infringements (fraud or non-compliance) are the marketing of virgin olive oil as extra virgin, and blends of other vegetable oils (sunflower, corn, palm, rapeseed, etc.) with olive oil being marketing as olive oil.”
Between September 2016 and December 2019, the Joint Research Center (JRC) identified 32 instances of fraud in the global olive oil industry:
- 16 cases involved substituting olive oil with other oils.
- 11 cases were related to mislabeling.
- 4 cases dealt with false geographical indicators.
- 5 cases concerned counterfeit product distribution.
- 6 cases involved diluting olive oil with other oils or lower-quality grades.
- One case was related to theft.
Of these, twenty cases occurred in Europe. The most common frauds included marketing virgin olive oil as extra virgin and selling blended olive and vegetable oils as pure olive oil.
The researchers noted that the reported cases represent instances of fraud and not the total number of incidents, as some cases may fall into multiple categories. For example, selling seed oil as extra virgin olive oil is counted both as mislabeling and substitution fraud.
Outside the EU, common frauds included oil dilution and substitution. For example, Brazil saw issues with mixing olive oil with lampante or soybean oil. Notable incidents include Danish supermarkets selling only six genuine extra virgin oils out of 35 sampled, Greek arrests for adding green dye to sunflower oil, and a Spanish cooperative fined for blending imported olive oil with lower-quality oil.
In the rest of the countries, the most commonly reported fraudulent practices included mixing or marketing virgin or extra virgin olive oil with lower-quality olive oils. Cases of mixing olive oil with refined and soft-deodorized oils were reported less frequently.
Fake Olive Oil Brands
Discovering that the olive oil you trust might not be what it seems can be alarming. But unfortunately, it’s a reality with several brands selling products that aren’t quite up to the extra virgin standards.
While no specific study has been conducted on which brands to steer clear of, some experts have weighed in and claimed that if olive oil is cheaply priced, it probably isn’t high-quality or worth your time (and health).
Some brands that have proper accreditation and that I love include:
- California Olive Ranch
- Cobram Estate
- Lucini
- Kirkland Organic
- Lucero (Ascolano)
- McEvoy Ranch Organic
If you’re looking for a good brand of olive oil, the best thing you can do is research your olive oil and make sure it passes the tests below.
How Do You Test if Olive Oil is Real or Not?
Determining the authenticity of olive oil involves several factors:
- Label Verification: Check the label for indications of authenticity such as PDO (Protected Designation of Origin) or PGI (Protected Geographical Indication) seals, which certify the oil’s origin and production methods.
- Read The Label: Make sure it says “extra-virgin olive oil”. Look out for terms such as “light tasting”, “pure”, and “classic”. These are not official terms, but more so used for marketing. They are used by large industrial manufacturers to describe refined and blended olive oils. They are lower in nutritional value and their taste is sub-par. There are also blends that contain vegetable oils and are rarely extra virgin.
- Check the date: If you’re buying high-quality olive oil, it should have a best-before date either on the label or on the bottom of the bottle or can. The International Olive Council recommends that extra-virgin olive oil be consumed within two years from its production date. After that, oils can go rancid. Once you’ve opened your olive oil – make sure to consume it within 3 months.
- Taste Test: Genuine, freshly pressed olive oils exhibit a vibrant taste with a peppery kick, attributed to the presence of polyphenols. Conversely, counterfeit olive oils often lack this vibrancy, tasting flat and oily, and may even develop a waxy or crayon-like flavor if they have turned rancid.
- Smell: Authentic olive oil should have a fresh, fruity aroma. If it smells musty or rancid, it may be adulterated or past its prime.
- Color: While color alone isn’t a definitive indicator, genuine olive oil often exhibits shades of green or gold. Extremely pale or colorless oils may be diluted or refined.
- Consistency: Real olive oil has a characteristic viscosity, neither too thin nor too thick. If it seems unusually watery or viscous, it could be adulterated.
- Price and Packaging: Be cautious of excessively low prices or suspiciously elaborate packaging, as these can be red flags for counterfeit products.
- Third-Party Certifications: Look for oils certified by reputable organizations like the International Olive Council (IOC), which verify the oil’s quality and authenticity through rigorous testing. The seal denoting approval by the California Olive Oil Council is labeled as “COOC Certified Extra Virgin.” The Australian Olive Oil Association has a seal labeled as “Australian Extra Virgin Certified.” Other seals of approval are labeled by Italian Oliver Growers’ Association such as Extra Virgin Alliance (EVA) and UNAPROL.
By considering these factors collectively, consumers can make more informed decisions when purchasing olive oil and reduce the risk of falling victim to counterfeit or adulterated products.
The Bottom Line
Navigating the world of olive oil can be a daunting task, given the prevalence of counterfeit products flooding the market.
However, armed with knowledge and awareness, consumers can protect themselves from falling victim to food fraud. By scrutinizing labels for certifications like PDO and PGI, conducting taste tests to assess flavor complexity, and considering factors such as aroma, color, consistency, and third-party certifications, individuals can make informed decisions when purchasing olive oil.
While refrigeration tests may offer some insights, they are not foolproof, underscoring the importance of a holistic approach to authenticity verification.
By staying alert and focusing on quality, consumers can enjoy the true essence of genuine olive oil and steer clear of products that don’t meet high standards.
