Don’t slip on some fake olive oil.
The ongoing olive oil shortage has driven up prices of the pantry staple and led to an increase in fake “liquid gold.”
Prices have surged to an average of $12.39 per bottle — a record high reported by market analyst firm Mintec Global — which has led to a rise in fraud with some dishonest producers diluting their products with cheaper oils.
And some of those have been deemed unfit for human consumption.
Olive oil fraud typically happens in two main ways: producers mislabeling lower-quality oils as premium products, such as extra virgin olive oil, or mixing olive oil with inexpensive neutral oils like sunflower or grapeseed oil.
In some cases, cheap oils are even dyed with chlorophyll and carotenes to mimic the appearance of olive oil.
The rise in olive oil prices can be attributed to a series of poor harvests over recent years, more than doubling since 2018.
Kyle Holland, an analyst at market research group Mintec, told CNBC that extreme weather has “significantly impacted” olive oil production in Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece.
“Some players we speak to that have been doing this for many years wonder how they are going to carry on,” Holland said.
Others have begun selling off fake olive oil.
According to professor Maurizio Servili from the University of Perugia, this has created lucrative opportunities for fraudsters.
“Olive oil is not a cheap product. It’s easier and more economical to make frauds of an expensive product than a cheap product,” he told the Daily Mail.
These five signs will help you determine whether the bottle you bought is filled with “liquid gold” or a fraudulent concoction:
1. Only the real deal can be labeled ‘extra virgin’
- Olive oil must be pure to be legally labeled “extra virgin.” Avoid products that use terms like “light,’ “pure” or simply “olive oil.”
2. Tastes bright and peppery
- Real oil will have a rich, complex flavor while fake oils have little, no or even rancid flavor.
3. Look for the producer name and region where grown
- The more detailed the information on the bottle, the more likely it is to be reliable.
4. Also look for a DOP seal
- A “Protected Designation of Origin” seal specifies the region of origin, and strict testing is followed.
5. Marked with a third-party certification
While some fraudulent activities are small-scale, organized crime syndicates, including the mafia, also engage in large-scale operations.
Just this summer Italian authorities stopped a network of slippery fraudsters selling fake oil by the truckload — with cops seizing 42 tons of packaged “extra virgin” worth $1 million.
