Have you ever strolled down the oil aisle at your local supermarket and wondered why there is such a large price disparity from one extra virgin olive oil to another? You may have noticed that the more affordable imported extra virgin olive oils sold by Colavita, Bertolli, Filippo Berio, etc. As a skeptic, I've always questioned things when they seem "too good to be true". I'm a New Yorker and so this may be a big part of the reason why I think this way.
Could an oil claiming to be "extra virgin" really be this cheap?
After doing some research as well as producing my own oil in Greece, I've come to the conclusion that making and importing authentic and delicious olive oil is certainly very costly to do. Unfortunately, there is no regulatory body in the United States that enforces standards when selling extra virgin olive oil to consumers. This creates a breeding ground for fraudsters to take advantage of the U.S. market and in turn discourages authentic private label olive oil producers and worse yet, forces them out of business!
As mentioned in a prior blog post I had written, roughly 75% of imported extra virgin olive oils failed to meet International Olive Council (IOC) and USDA standards tests! This means that they failed at least one of the requirements that currently deem an olive oil "extra virgin" such as having defective flavors such as rancidity and mustiness or have been adulterated with cheaper and inferior oils or were produced from poor quality olives that may have been overripe, bruised, damaged and/or stored improperly.
UC Davis and the Australian Oils Research Laboratory recently conducted a study on this very topic and found that "69% of imported olive oil samples and 10% of California olive oil samples labeled as extra virgin olive oil failed to meet the IOC/USDA sensory (organoleptic) standards for extra virgin olive oil." UC Davis Olive Center, July 2010
Fortunately we can help put an end to this "legal" consumer fraud that is happening right under our noses every single day. In order for us to make a difference and ensure that we are getting the best olive oil our Earth has to offer, please support the authentic family owned growers/producers! By educating ourselves further and even paying just a little more we can be rest assured that what we are buying the real deal.
For more information on this topic, which in my opinion is unknown to many of us, I highly recommend you pick up "Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil" by Tom Mueller. It's a very informative book (also an easy read) that sheds alot of light on the olive oil industry and how it came to be over the years.
Could an oil claiming to be "extra virgin" really be this cheap?
As mentioned in a prior blog post I had written, roughly 75% of imported extra virgin olive oils failed to meet International Olive Council (IOC) and USDA standards tests! This means that they failed at least one of the requirements that currently deem an olive oil "extra virgin" such as having defective flavors such as rancidity and mustiness or have been adulterated with cheaper and inferior oils or were produced from poor quality olives that may have been overripe, bruised, damaged and/or stored improperly.
UC Davis and the Australian Oils Research Laboratory recently conducted a study on this very topic and found that "69% of imported olive oil samples and 10% of California olive oil samples labeled as extra virgin olive oil failed to meet the IOC/USDA sensory (organoleptic) standards for extra virgin olive oil." UC Davis Olive Center, July 2010
Fortunately we can help put an end to this "legal" consumer fraud that is happening right under our noses every single day. In order for us to make a difference and ensure that we are getting the best olive oil our Earth has to offer, please support the authentic family owned growers/producers! By educating ourselves further and even paying just a little more we can be rest assured that what we are buying the real deal.
Any suggestions for a quick test when walking down the olive oil aisle at Safeway to ensure purchasing a product of reasonable quality?
ReplyDeleteHi James - I'd suggest scanning the bottle for harvest date to ensure the oil you are about to buy is not past 2 years old. Depending on polyphenol content (a natural antioxidant found in olive oil that gives the oil its bitter taste and if high, can increase an oil's shelf life) I would not suggest purchasing an oil that is over 2 years old. Also, be aware of where the oil is coming from by reading the "Imported from xxx" on the back of the bottle's label. Sometimes an oil will claim that it is "Italian" on the front of the label but is actually a blend of oils from different countries. Also, you might want to choose a private label olive oil from a family estate or community where the oil is not being mass produced and sold in bulk quantities. Hope this helps.
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