News from the olive oil front... Of course over here we wouldn’t usually touch anything else but the Spanish stuff, but be aware if you do feel like indulging in a little of the Italian home grown extra-virgin olive oil. The Italian Olive oil market has become soooooooooooo lucrative that adulterated olive oil has become one of the biggest sources of agricultural fraud problems in the European Union. Some Italian oils labelled "extra-virgin" are diluted with cheaper olive oils or other vegetable oils. In some cases ‘lamp oil’ which is made from the spoiled olives that fall from the trees is used, even though it is illegal to sell ‘Lamp oil’ as food. One fraud ring is accused of colouring low-grade soy oil and canola oil with industrial chlorophyll, and flavouring it with beta-carotene. Americans are currently up in arms about this, as the FDA doesn't routinely test imported olive oil for adulteration, and some products are difficult to test.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Italian Olive Oil Fraud
News from the olive oil front... Of course over here we wouldn’t usually touch anything else but the Spanish stuff, but be aware if you do feel like indulging in a little of the Italian home grown extra-virgin olive oil. The Italian Olive oil market has become soooooooooooo lucrative that adulterated olive oil has become one of the biggest sources of agricultural fraud problems in the European Union. Some Italian oils labelled "extra-virgin" are diluted with cheaper olive oils or other vegetable oils. In some cases ‘lamp oil’ which is made from the spoiled olives that fall from the trees is used, even though it is illegal to sell ‘Lamp oil’ as food. One fraud ring is accused of colouring low-grade soy oil and canola oil with industrial chlorophyll, and flavouring it with beta-carotene. Americans are currently up in arms about this, as the FDA doesn't routinely test imported olive oil for adulteration, and some products are difficult to test.
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