Fake Olive Oil Companies Revealed Stop Buying These Brands Now

[packman]

Last edited Sun Jan 8, 2017, 12:45 PM - Edit history (1)

If you weren't aware of it - 70%, yes - 70%- of olive oil sold in the U.S. is fake. Basically, it's the left-overs from quality olive oil sold in Europe and around the globe (Those stupid Americans will buy anything). Get a tanker full of oil, mix this with that type of oil (sunflower and such) and bottle it in a nice jar with maybe a olive pasted on the front - who'll know the difference.

AVOID THESE BRANDS:
•Pompeian
•Bertolli
•Colavita
•Star
•Sasso
•Antica Badia
•Primadonna
•Carapelli
•Mazola
•Felippo Berio
•Safeway
•Whole Foods
•Carapelli
•Coricelli
•Mezzetta

And these are good ones:

•Corto Olive
•Ottavio
•Omaggio
•Bariani Olive Oil
•Lucini
•Kirkland Organic
•Lucero
•Olea Estates
•McEvoy Ranch Organic
•Cobram Estate
•California Olive Ranch

Site gives a simple refrig test for olive oil and more info:

http://www.anonews.co/olive-oil-fake/

Personal Note: Bought and used Bertolli for years , if not decades. On a suggestion bought and used California Olive - God, what a difference. Life's too short, get the good stuff - you're worth it.

[flamingdem]

1. Bragg Organic is not on the list

wondering if that's another fake. Sold at Whole Foods.

[tenorly]

123. They're the real deal.

I'm of Italian descent, and have only rarely gone a day without olive oil on something ever since I can remember.

Consequently, I can smell colza, soy, or (egads!) paraffin in olive oil the instant I open the bottle. While use of such adulterants in olive oil itself is probably more unusual the the article implies, I can tell you that its use in sun-dried tomato jars is indeed very common (Mezzetta and Alessi are probably the worst).

Salute!

[flamingdem]

128. thanks!

think i'll have some now

[tenorly]

144. Buon Pranzo!

[catmando]

133. Neither is MalWart's Daily Chef

I just did the fridge test and it never solidified even after 40 minutes.

[GreenEyedLefty]

2. I heard about this a few years ago.

Yikes. CA Olive Ranch is pretty good.

[dixiegrrrrl]

59. I just checked some Cal. Oilve oil at an online store, the harvest date is over a year old.

It is recommended olive oil be used within 18 months of harvesting.

so, that is another thing to check on labels.

[GreenEyedLefty]

122. Oh, I'll make sure to check that next time I'm at the store.

I always smell my olive oil when I open the bottle. If it smells the least bit rancid, out it goes.

[classykaren]

142. Yes and I thought our goverment cleaned this up. I am rejoining Costco

[Squinch]

3. Shoot! That sucks!

[Cha]

4. Kirkland is Costco

[Dream Girl]

89. Costco has great stuff. They carry both the California Ranch and their own

Kirkland brand. I have both in my pantry along with Avocado oil. Each bottle will last about 2-3 months we cook a lot and use a lot healthy fats. They also carry Kerry Gold grass fed butter and pastured eggs. They are pricier, but a good value for the money.

[LittleGirl]

140. Love kirkland and Kerry Gold Butter ! The Best! eom

[NightWatcher]

5. Kirkland??? But I don't need a 50 gallon drum since I stopped hosting orgies

Just checked and we've got California Olive Ranch next to the stove.

[Kolesar]

15. You don't need virgin olive oil for an orgy

Defeats the purpose

[Kilgore]

21. Bravo!!

[wordpix]

80. nothing about organic...what's the deal?

[DashOneBravo]

35. LOL

It always makes break out.

[not fooled]

72. The best stuff Costco sells comes in 1L bottles

Kirkland Extra Virgin Toscano

Seasonal and in limited quantities. Comes in glass bottles with the harvest date prominently noted.

[IronLionZion]

109. Never stop hosting orgies

just be sure to keep it further away from the stove

[BainsBane]

6. What about Trader Joe's?

Does anyone know?

Lucini is very good but expensive.

[C Moon]

66. There's a good article here...

http://www.truthinoliveoil.com/2013/08/trader-joes-extravirgins-and-floozies

It seems the one we buy (Trader Giotto's Extra Virgin Olive Oil) has issues.
Others don't.
We now buy the Kirkland brand, although, it's sold in plastic. :O

[BainsBane]

71. Great. The Greek is the one I buy

Looks like that's the best.
Thanks!

[democratisphere]

7. Thanks for this info.

I've been bamboozled by corrupt corporations again. I'll know better next time.

[marybourg]

8. Thanx!

My current brand, Partanna, not on list.

[packman]

17. Give it the refrig. test

Put it in the frig. a day - if it turns solid yellow, good stuff. If still liquid, been diluted and fake.

[7962]

50. Not a reliable test, according to UC Davis:

http://www.davisenterprise.com/local-news/ucd/not-so-fast-dr-oz-olive-oil-fridge-test-doesnt-reliably-detect-fraud/

[Crash2Parties]

54. Not surprised...the "fridge test" is from (wait for it) The Dr. Oz Show

[jberryhill]

97. Bullshit

http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=9582

[OrwellwasRight]

9. CA tried to get an official

label that they could put on CA grown, processed and bottled oil so that you could trust it. That effort was shut down by the importers.

[trof]

47. It passed. California Olive Oil Council:

https://www.cooc.com/

[Crash2Parties]

53. Reason #4581 that California is wonderful. More to come over the next 4 years...

[OrwellwasRight]

100. That's not a national standard though.

Doesn't prevent mislabeled imports.

[OrwellwasRight]

102. Here's a link:

A pilot program was ordered to be launched in a bill that never became law:

http://www.eater.com/2016/4/25/11503910/olive-oil-fraud-fda-testing
https://www.oliveoiltimes.com/olive-oil-business/north-america/u-s-congress-directs-fda-to-test-imported-olive-oils/51259

But that's as far as it's gone so far.

Back in 2013, there was an olive oil import control provision that made it into an apropos bill and it was stripped by an amendment sponsored by Rep. Gibson (R-NY).
https://www.congress.gov/amendment/113th-congress/house-amendment/213

[NBachers]

60. My friend is from Corning, California, which bills itself as the world olive capital.

She was telling me last week about how the big fake producers are bringing all their garbage olive oil in and displacing the local California Growers. That said, you can stop into some of the local olive product stores up there, and get some truly exquisite local olive oil.

[OrwellwasRight]

101. Similar things happen in Europe.

They import junk oil into Greece and Italy and then are able to export it as Italian and Greek olive oil, two of the (formerly) most prestigious olive oil producing regions in the world.

[underpants]

10. What about Genco?

[packman]

19. Give it the fridge test

See above post or refer to link

[underpants]

20. I was joking. Look at the logo - it was the basis of wealth and cover business for Vito Corleone

[packman]

26. HA- Got me - good one

That insulted my intelligence and it makes me very angry. Now, who approached you first? Barzini or Tattaglia? That oil would go well with some fishes that sleep in the deep.

[Docreed2003]

23. Might be a little hard to do...

Unless the Corleone's are still making it (lol...that's the brand from The Godfather)

[Docreed2003]

25. Nice Easter Egg from one of my fav movies!

[underpants]

67. It's a very fluid business

[Auggie]

85. Genco: An Olive Oil You Can't Refuse

[winstars]

98. Don Ciccio didn't like Genco Olive oil so much....

[Cracklin Charlie]

11. Kick for my next shopping trip

[Kolesar]

12. while tests carried out on olive oil between 2008 and 2010 revealed that many store-vended oils did

... did not meet the criteria set by regulatory agencies for the "extra virgin" label, the testing did not determine that the oils were "fake" or not made from olives.

http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/oliveoil.asp

MOSTLY FALSE

[packman]

18. Not the point - some olive oil diluted still being sold as "Olive Oil"

not that it's "fake", or not made from olives - just doesn't give the true % of "TRUE" olive oil. Like needs a label "60% Olive oil, 40% other oils such as sunflower oil"

[Kolesar]

24. There was no study to see if other oils were being substituted into the olive oil

The study was whether virgin olive oil was correctly labeled.
"According to snopes"
I had heard about substituted oil years ago in an article I found on the web, but Snopes did not address that.

[smirkymonkey]

13. Good to know. I have purchased many of those brands on the no-buy list

I would have at least expected that Whole Foods would have decent EV Olive Oil. I plan to complain. When I lived in SF we used to get it straight from the small EVOO producers in wine country. No fancy bottles, but very good. I don't have that luxury here, so I would like to have the option of buying the real thing.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

14. I only use Genco.

[underpants]

22. Yes!

See most post above

[LeftyMom]

16. Bariani is good stuff. The cheap stuff tastes nothing like it.

It's a local product so I've been buying it at the Farmer's Market for years.

[mopinko]

27. please dont post fake news.

this is a bullshit, typical fake news story. link to snopes in the thread.
come on now. lets be smarter than that.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

33. It has been verified that a lot of imported olive oil

does not meet the standard for "extra virgin" and sometimes does include other kinds of oils. The article, as Snopes points out, goes too far with the claim that many of there brands are not olive oil at all, but it's true that the industry has little or no quality control outside California. A better reference, with more to back it up, is the book Extra Virginity:

Amazon Best Books of the Month, December 2011: E.V.O.O. just got a whole lot more complicated. Tom Mueller's Extra Virginity is about as explosive as an expose can get, at least if your subject is liquid fat. The road from tree to table, it turns out, is fraught with corruption, fraud, and laboratory interventions. Mueller shows how and why the trade in adulterated olive oil is about as profitable as the trade in some hard drugs, and with a lot less risk, too. There are equally entertaining detours into olive oil's long history, the politics of regulation and enforcement, and even debates over the best way to taste it (swirl, aerate, spit, or just swig?). All in all, it's a great read not just for foodies, but also for anyone interested in the complexities of global trade and organized crime.

[mopinko]

37. that doesnt make this not fake news.

i'm just makin a general comment here that this sort of stuff doesnt belong here. fake news often contains a kernel of truth. we need to be more discerning.

[They_Live]

36. Did you see some of the other stories

that are posted on that site? All seems pretty fakey to me, too. Fake Anonymous.

[bhikkhu]

84. Some corroboration for the story from a couple of years ago:

http://www.forbes.com/sites/ceciliarodriguez/2014/01/27/can-the-eu-beat-olive-oil-scamming/#7fdb3cd1504c

"Generally, olive oils are mixed with sunflower, canola or colza oil, chemically deodorized and then flavored."

My understanding from light reading over the years is that its standard practice in Europe to heat the pressed product to remove the odor of rancidity. The result then needs to be flavored to reintroduce the expected smell and taste.

US olive oil standards are lower than EU, so they can freely export their worst products here. The best standards I know of are set by the California Olive Oil Council, and I look for the COOC stamp, along with a date of production.

All respect to "let's be smarter", and I try to fact-check things myself. I think one of the problems with olive oil is that there's a great deal of money involved, and many players with their own agendas - not the easiest thing to research.

[Dream Girl]

90. This has been out there for a long time, definitely not fake

[ksoze]

28. FYI - The study this is based on is from 2010...

The article may be a bit hysterical. Not saying it may not still be accurate, but....

A letter from Colvita CEO on the study:
http://main.colavita.com/a-letter-from-our-ceo/

[Kolesar]

30. Hey, didn't he play right field for the Cleveland Indians?

anyway:
"The testing methods employed in the report had been rejected as unreliable by the International Olive Council" per Mr. Colavita

[packman]

31. Note in the letter - Nowhere did he state the quality of his oil

just threw doubt on the testing. He danced around the issue.

Give it the fridge test.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

29. A book came out a few years ago - "Extra Virginity"

It describes how corrupt the olive oil industry is, and advises buying California olive oil because they have some quality control. I've been using California Olive Ranch ever since I read it. More here: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/08/books/extra-virginity-by-tom-mueller-a-word-on-olive-oil-review.html

[Vinca]

32. I've got a full bottle of Bertolli to use up. Thanks for the info. It will be the last.

[Maru Kitteh]

48. Before you give up any oil that you really like read Snopes on the matter

http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/oliveoil.asp

[Vinca]

57. Thanks - you don't know what to believe these days.

[George Eliot]

115. The label extra virgin implies a quality standard not there so fake works for me

If I buy extra virgin. I expect it to be the conventional quality rhat defines extra virgin.

[lunasun]

34. I Have to say that something familiar, like Pompeiann you can see it's not quality , but there are

esp. branded names on the list -whole foods etc. that although I have never tried them at least sound like they would be striving for pure but obviously not

[Freethinker65]

43. I thought Pompeian admitted to using a mix of different country of origin OLIVE oils years ago

And tested out ok. Just checked a small Pompeian bottle in my pantry (needed some prior to a Costco run) and my bottle indicates Tunisia, Greece, and Argentina. I remember reading about huge tankers that would pull up to the Italian coast specifically so production labels could say bottled in Italy! My large EVOO bottle is Kirkland Organic because I had read the report years back.

[Nitram]

38. The majority of good olive oil is produced in Greece, but purchased in bulk, then bottled

and sold by companies in Italy and elsewhere. I've been using Oriston brand Greek olive oil with a refillable bottle for a few years now. It just tastes better.

[potone]

130. Absolutely!

I only buy Greek extra virgin olive oil and the difference is immediately apparent. It isn't sold in most grocery stores. I get it from a store that specializes in imported foods, mostly from the Mediterranean region. I won't buy Italian olive oil because most of what is sold here is clearly not the real thing.

[WinkyDink]

39. Oh, man. Some pretty big names there. I buy CA EVOO and/or Avocado Oil.

[C_U_L8R]

40. Whole Foods is listed as failed but...

but if you click through to the UC report itself, Whole Foods is not mentioned at all.
http://olivecenter.ucdavis.edu/research/files/report041211finalreduced.pdf
Also note the report is partly underwritten by California Olive Ranch.

We've been concerned about our olive oil and mostly stay away from
mass market brands but a couple of things don't quite stand up to scrutiny here.

[WinkyDink]

41. It is SNOPES that is being "fake." The articles all make clear it is the label "Extra Virgin" that

is the fraudulent aspect, not whether or not it is olive oil AT ALL. Consumers want the "EV" as highest quality.

A headline does not an article make, people.

[IronLionZion]

70. The article in the OP is as fake as it gets

[muriel_volestrangler]

114. The first sentence of the linked article claims it's about not being olive oil at all

"70% of Olive oil available in stores in the US has actually been cut with cheaper, nastier oils – meaning its fake!"

followed with "7 of the biggest olive oil manufacturers in the US have been cutting their products with cheaper, inferior oils (such as sunflower oil or canola oil)"

[DemoTex]

42. I always used Pompeian to oil my oboe.

My oboe did not care.

[pinboy3niner]

44. Great euphemism!

[Brother Buzz]

45. UC Davis sells olive oil

Our Estate olive oil is hand-harvested with student volunteers from the only organic grove at UC Davis. This spicy oil has grassy and herbaceous flavors, with a touch of cinnamon. The high antioxidant content is reflected in a healthy bitterness. Try our Estate Oil with crusty bread, baked potato, popcorn, or any other food that will allow the flavors to shine. Only 325 cases produced -- this oil sells out fast!

Size: 250ML
Item: 2046040
Price: $15.00


http://ucdavisstores.com/MerchList.aspx?txtSearch=olive+oil&searchtype=Description&drpsearch2=Description&searchin=All+Merchandise

Their field blends of olive oil are a little cheaper and more plentiful, but not by much.

I will attest the quality of these olives are fantastic because I harvested them for years until they ran me off when they opened the UC Davis Olive Center in the Robert Mondavi Institute for Wine and Food Science. My field blend oil was smoooth, and had a Pippin apple nose, an avocado taste, and a slight hint of banana at the finish; it was to die for.

I loved poaching olives around the extensive campus because the had a lot of totally exotic varieties to select from, unlike the boring Mission olives I find everywhere along the roads. My frantoio really got excited when I brought in my field blend.

[Sunny05]

46. Thank you! / nt

[paleotn]

49. Good info. Thanks! Bought Bertolli for years as well.

[johnp3907]

51. No.

[mainer]

52. I didn't know how delicious olive oil really is until I tasted the real stuff

I used Bertolli for years because it was conveniently available at the supermarket. Then I splurged and bought an artisanal olive oil from Sicily and ... wowza. All my life, I'd been missing out.

Now I use only artisanal oil for salads and finishing. And California Olive Ranch for other cooking purposes.

[Igel]

61. There's a lot of variation in "the real stuff."

Depends how hard you crush and press the olives. The first pressing is higher in flavor, it congeals when chilled, it's darker in color. For some kinds, "chilled" is 68 degrees--so at room temperature the stuff goes translucent.

The last bit you get out, after heating and stirring and finely crushing, is pale, lower in flavor, and doesn't congeal.

But both are from olives, and both are olive oil. They have different purposes. Extra virgin is pointless for soap; it has a much lower smoke point for cooking (in fact, it often tastes bad because all the stuff that gives it flavor and color degrades). The standard, last pressing is like any other oil for salad dressings and pesto.

You pick the kind of oil that suits your purpose. It's like what you get from a cow. There's suet, there are different cuts of beef, and there's milk. You'd never want to make biscuits with tenderloin or rump roast, you wouldn't add suet to your coffee, and trying a nice piece of roast milk with gravy is silly sounding. Pure cream makes good butter, bad cheese. And if you want filet mignon for your chili, you're wasting money.

Most of this is honor talking: No way I'm going to be ripped off, I'm not that stupid. Knee-jerking-off in response to that is a sure-fire way to be able to say, "No, I refuse to be ripped off, but please, trick me using my vanity and pride, I like to be trickled, um, tickled right here."

[matt819]

55. This has been circulating for a while

And it's fine as far as it goes.

But there are scores and scores of olive oils available in supermarkets, co-ops, health food stores, etc. There are also olive oil and vinegar stores popping up around the country.

Knowing what not to buy is fine. Pretty much all the name brands in the olive oil market. But knowing what to buy is more of a challenge. This list is okay, but it really doesn't account for what appear to be small, family-owned olive oils, or the olive oils in the specialty stores, or. . . you get the idea. Maybe the analogy doesn't hold, but it may be like craft beers. At a certain point the more successful craft beer makers are no longer very craft-y. And there are some craft beers that are anything but, produced, as they are, by the multinational beer makers and marketed as small town craft beers.

[elleng]

56. Discussed 'good' brands here recently, for info:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/115762232

[phylny]

58. I buy California Olive Ranch locally, but this olive oil is amazing (and pricey, but amazing):

From one orchard, 100% non-blended cold pressed evoo - amazing taste:


https://smile.amazon.com/Papa-Vince-Unblended-Unfiltered-Antioxidants/dp/B015T2EEKU/ref=sr_1_2_a_it?ie=UTF8&qid=1483900626&sr=8-2&keywords=papa+vince

[bhikkhu]

62. Based on an NPR article, I switched to california olive oil 2 years ago

That article was about how there were few regulations on the product in europe, and how olives tend to go rancid. In europe the practice is to press all the old and new together, and they wind up with a rancid-smelling oil that they then have to cook to eliminate the smell (which also destroys many good things in the oil). They wind up with a tasteless oil, which is then reflavored with extracts or smaller quantities of good oil...

California has a wonderful olive oil industry and excellent standards; my preference is organic california olive oil. The other thing they said is to look for a bottle with a date, as olive oil goes stale within a couple years.

[marybourg]

73. And don't keep it in a clear glass bottle

out on the counter. It oxidizes rapidly.

[brooklynite]

63. I buy Lebanese olive oil from my local Arab grocery.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

64. Fake news from a fake news site.

You should self delete this bullshit.

[mainer]

69. Not fake at all. There is a difference between oils.

I know a number of Italian chefs who agree that most olive oils sold in US grocery stores are cobbled together from the worst Europe has to offer.

Not everyone can appreciate the difference in flavor, and if you can't, then you might as well go for the supermarket stuff because it is cheaper.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

118. Fake news is fake.

http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/oliveoil.asp
http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=9582

[packman]

76. You should read the article

It has a link to their source - Not fake news, just repeated news from another link - one should learn the difference.

[IronLionZion]

108. Repeating fake news doesn't make it less fake

[Dr Hobbitstein]

117. I did read the article.

I also read the source.

Both are inaccurate.

http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/oliveoil.asp
http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=9582

[bhikkhu]

87. It may be a click-bait site, but the article itself seems adequately backed up

How do you call it fake news if it lists and links to its sources, and those sources detail their own sources, and so on? Research it before calling "fake news", or the claim means nothing.

[Dr Hobbitstein]

116. The article is mis-resporting (purposefully)

the sources.

To top it off, the measure used to test the olive oil is NOT a reliable method.

http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=9582

Even Snopes says it's false.

http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/oliveoil.asp

And the source is a fake news site with a heavy right wing slant.

[demigoddess]

65. when I heard about this I switched to the Paul Newman brand.

I hope it's fine.

[IronLionZion]

68. Anonews is among the fakest news sources out there

99% of their statistics are just made up. If you look at their other articles it would become very apparent.

Remember fake news causes real idiots to shoot real assault weapons near real children eating pizza. Please don't share fake news.

[packman]

74. Someone perhaps should have read the article

and noted what they referenced too - Where did you get that 99% - some fake news source?


http://livetheorganicdream.com/fake-olive-oil-companies-revealed-stop-buying-these-brands-now/

[IronLionZion]

105. I bet you're living the organic dream

Dreams are not reality

Having the same fake news article on multiple sites doesn't make it any less fake.

[handmade34]

112. the study

from whence the fake news comes...

http://olivecenter.ucdavis.edu/research/files/oliveoilfinal071410updated.pdf

I agree, lots of trash out there... always, always find source/sources

[IronLionZion]

113. OP is very different from that study

That study is about extra virgin olive oil mixed with lower quality olive oil, not about mixing it with sunflower or soy or any such BS.

It's still olive oil

[wordpix]

86. read the N Yorker article that's linked - news is not fake

[IronLionZion]

106. That 2007 New Yorker article is far removed from the OP

and doesn't mention any of the brands listed.

We do have an FDA in this country with labeling regulations for ingredients.

[mahatmakanejeeves]

141. You beat me to it.

The site is anonews.co, not anonews.com. They have a registration by proxy. Look 'em up:

http://www.geektools.com/whois.php

How to Spot Fake News

By Eugene Kiely and Lori Robertson
Posted on November 18, 2016

....

Consider the source. In recent months, we’ve fact-checked fake news from abcnews.com.co (not the actual URL for ABC News), WTOE 5 News (whose “about” page says it’s “a fantasy news website”), and the Boston Tribune (whose “contact us” page lists only a gmail address). Earlier this year, we debunked the claim that the Obamas were buying a vacation home in Dubai, a made-up missive that came from WhatDoesItMean.com, which describes itself as “One Of The Top Ranked Websites In The World for New World Order, Conspiracy Theories and Alternative News” and further says on its site that most of what it publishes is fiction.

There were plenty of threads started at DU based on stories from abcnews.com.co. I was hoping that people would study the URLs more carefully from now on.

The large print giveth, but the fine print taketh away.

Always read the fine print.

[Scurrilous]

75. Garbage.

From the folks who bring you this:


Assange Appears on FOX News and Destroys the Russia Hack Conspiracy Theory

http://www.anonews.co/assange-russia-hack/


Media Silent as Obama Signs ‘US Ministry of Truth’ Law to Fund Propaganda Aimed at Americans

http://www.anonews.co/obama-fund-propaganda/


Russian Scientists Produce A Technology That Can Transmute Any Element Into Another!

http://www.anonews.co/russian-scientists-elements/

[packman]

91. Hey, even a broken clock is accurate twice a day - also---

Someone perhaps should have read the article

and noted what they referenced too -


http://livetheorganicdream.com/fake-olive-oil-companies-revealed-stop-buying-these-brands-now/

Are you saying Live the Organic Dream is fake news ???

[Scurrilous]

93. Anonews is garbage and shouldn't be linked to. n/t

[IronLionZion]

107. Yes

It is very fake

7 of the biggest olive oil manufacturers in the US have been cutting their products with cheaper, inferior oils (such as sunflower oil or canola oil)

Maybe Trump's FDA would allow them to lie on their labels but not Obama's. FDA has strict regulations for this sort of thing. They have to list the ingredients. It is one of the "job killing regulations" Republicans complain about.

[deaniac21]

119. You right

awful sorce

[mainer]

77. Another article saying much of the same thing

The most common type of fraud, Campanile explains, is mixing Italian extra-virgin with lower quality olive oils from North Africa and around the Mediterranean. In other cases, a bottle labeled "extra-virgin olive oil" may not be olive oil at all, just a seed oil like sunflower made to look and smell like olive oil with a few drops of chlorophyll and beta-carotene. Major Sergio Tirro of the Italian Carabinieri police, one of the top investigators of food fraud in Europe, showed 60 Minutes' Bill Whitaker just how easy it is to make a realistic-looking fake.

"Olive oil fraud has gone on for the better part of four millennia," Campanile says. "The difference now is that the food supply chain is so vast, so global, and so lucrative that it's easy for the bad guys to either introduce adulterated olive oils or mix in lower quality olive oils with extra-virgin olive oil."

So, what's a foodie to do? Campanile has some suggestions. For starters, he says, look closely at the label. It may have a pretty Italian landscape, but was the oil actually produced in Italy? If so, where? Campanile says he's encouraged when it's from a city in Sicily or Puglia known for producing olive oil.

Since freshness matters, Campanile says, you may want to consider extra-virgin olive oil from California, which can be pressed and shipped more quickly. But if it's Italian you crave, expect to pay more for the real deal. "If you're paying seven bucks or eight bucks for a bottle of Italian extra virgin olive oil," he says, "it's probably not Italian extra-virgin."


http://www.cbsnews.com/news/60-minutes-overtime-how-to-buy-olive-oil/

[Ligyron]

78. My favorites are both from Spain

Nunez de Prado and my very favorite - Columela.

Taste and quality can vary greatly from year-to-year and harvest to harvest.

Generally speaking, I find Italian oils too bitter and grassy and I've read it's due to them being harvested too early due to the likelyhood of frost in the Tuscan region. Some pure Sicilian oils can be excellent however.

Like Genco, bwahaha!

[Unrepentant Fenian]

79. Great information, thank you for sharing!

[mainer]

81. And maybe one of the most comprehensive olive oil info sites:

http://www.truthinoliveoil.com/great-oil/how-to-buy-great-olive-oil/

[AgadorSparticus]

82. Yaaaaay for costco. Kirkland brand is always quality.

[Metro135]

83. According to the article . . .

One sure way to test if a brand is mostly olive oil and not cut with other oils is to put it into the refrigerator and see if it solidifies.

I've done this with Whole Foods "365" brand -- one of the brands to avoid -- and it does solidify.

[mindfulNJ]

88. Calivirgin olive oil

is certified by the COOC (California Olive Oil Council), family owned, and is really good stuff. I buy it by the gallon!

http://www.calivirgin.com

[NCjack]

92. My everyday olive oil is California Olive Ranch (USA),

sold in North Carolina by Food Lion supermarket; when not available, I get Ottavia (Spain) from Costco. I really like Arbequina varietal from Texas Olive Ranch. When I want a special treat, I get an award winner single-source Greek oil (e.g., PJ Kabos). The Greek economy is still suffering, and buying Greek products (available on internet) is a good way to aid small businesses in Greece. Once you try top quality, it is hard to go back to the cheap supermarket stuff with labels that vaguely describe where it was sourced, processed and bottled.

For an introduction to olive oil varietals and infusions, find an Olive Oil speciality shop in your area. I got my introduction (free samples!) in the Olive Oil Store in Jacksonville, FL. These types of shops have spread everywhere. I now live in North Carolina and get my oils at the Blue Sky Oil and Vinegar shop, Durham, NC. To begin your education, start with American Arbequina and Arbosana varietals. Be advised: it is addicting.

[Retrograde]

110. I use Kirkland for day-to-day cooking and sauteeing

and whenever I need a kinda bland oil. For salad dressings and anywhere I want the taste of the oil to come through I use my "good" olive oils - my current fave is from Grumpy Goat, a small California producer that turns up frequently at my local farmers' market (I've never seen it in stores). They carry a few varieties, including a field mix of what they just happened to harvest - it can be rather assertive. California's been producing olive oil since the Mission era, but production started taking off in the 1990s: there are large olive groves in Sonoma county, and in the Corning area. Once you see the distinctive grey/green trees you can easily spot them!

[GeorgeGist]

94. Mostly false ...

http://www.snopes.com/food/ingredient/oliveoil.asp

[HeartachesNhangovers]

95. I just had a teaspoon of Colavita extra-virgin ...

and it's tasty. Not the cheapest, but not expensive at Fred Meyer.

[jberryhill]

96. This is a steaming pile of "Dr. Oz" bullshit

http://ucanr.edu/blogs/blogcore/postdetail.cfm?postnum=9582

[Warpy]

99. Olive oil fakery is as old as the olive oil business

Most of the brands you listed as fake are actually olive oil mixed with other oils, with the exception of the Bertolli "lite." The yellow stuff has been chemically extracted from the lees after all the good stuff has been pressed out.

Amphorae from ancient shipwrecks have been found with sealed amphorae containing adulterated olive oil, so this has been going on for a very, very long time. It's not just the US that is suffering, they don't bottle the stuff any differently over there.

The best idea is to find one you like and stick with it. Second best is to not be impressed by fancy bottles. And unless you know a little old guy in Spain, North Africa or Greece who still uses his own press and can visit him once a year to see his olives being pressed, paying through the nose for his product, you are most likely going to be getting a little McOil with your olives.

[Sissyk]

103. They are not fake,

Or made from other oils. The problem is with the Extra Virgin varieties.

Here are the conclusions from the study performed at UCDavis.

CONCLUSIONS
Our laboratory tests found that the top-selling imported brands of “extra virgin” olive oil sold in the United States and purchased at retail locations throughout California often failed the IOC’s sensory standards for extra virgin olive oil. Sensory analysis showed that these failed samples had objectionable descriptors such as rancid and fusty. Sensory analysis is a sensitive tool to analyze olive oil quality and is an essential component of the IOC olive oil standards, but sensory analysis should be supported by gas chromatographic analyses and other analytical methods. It is essential to support sensory evaluations by chemical tests for volatile compounds that are known to be produced by lipid oxidation.
Our chemical tests indicate that the samples usually pass the IOC’s chemical tests even when those samples failed two IOC-accredited sensory panels. Chemical confirmation of the negative sensory results were strongest with the German/ Australian DAGs and PPP tests, followed by IOC tests for UV absorption. The IOC and USDA standards would be more effective in assessing and enforcing olive oil quality by including the German/Australian DAGs and PPP standards.
Our testing indicated that the samples failed extra virgin olive oil standards for reasons that include one or more of the following: (a) oxidation by exposure to elevated temperatures, light, and/or aging; (b) adulteration with cheaper refined olive oil; and (c) poor quality oil made from damaged and overripe olives, processing flaws, and/or improper oil storage

[Warpy]

129. Not only that, definitions have changed over the years

In the years of hand or animal driven presses, "Extra Virgin" was from the first pressing, with several other grades from there. Now 99% of oil is factory produced from olives from multiple areas around the Mediterranean. Nearly all oil is expelled by rollers and it's all labeled "extra virgin" since it's the one and only pressing, combining several of the old grades. What is left over at the end is chemically treated to produce the pale yellow, "user friendly" stuff that people buy to get the benefits but not the taste.

[HockeyMom]

104. I used a LOT of Olive Oil (Italian heritage)

Buy both Olive Oil and Extra Virgin from COSTCO (Kirkland) in those Gallon jugs. Much more economical.

[deminwi]

111. Thanks for sharing this info!

It's great to read that the California olive oil is recommended.

[sheshe2]

120. I use California Olive

Very good price at Market Basket.

[Mr.Bill]

121. I live in Northern California

and many of the wineries around here are diversifying and going into the olive oil business. They started planting olive trees around ten years ago. I don't use much olive oil, but what I do use I buy locally.

[bucolic_frolic]

124. I kind of suspected as much

Over the years as the labels indicated blending olive oils from several
countries, the consistency became thinner and thinner, the color was less
green, and the fruity aroma diminished. I said, oh, these other countries must
grow different olives, or process marginal crop.

Then I had a bottle grown in California. It was really good consistency, less
fruity, more earthy I'd call it, and good flavor. I think I had one from Australia too.
Very good.

Anything that's not "extra virgin" can be chemically processed, or from post-first
pressing.

Incidentally, Congress approved the "extra virgin" label as well as the term Canola
oil, or so I read. Canola is really rapeseed oil, just grown in Canada. These foreign
foods just don't seem very well inspected anymore.

[TNNurse]

125. Georgia Olive Oil company???

[50 Shades Of Blue]

126. Thanks! I read labels and I got California Olive Ranch last time I bought olive oil.

Glad to have confirmed that it's the real thing.

[myohmy2]

127. K&R

...fake olive oil?...is there nothing sacred anymore...

"Bought and used Bertolli for years , if not decades."

...yep, me too...

[oasis]

131. Thanks. We use olive oil quite often.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

132. Thanks. We need someone to do this for honey, as well. Loads of hfcs and pesticides involved there.

I don't see the brands of evoo I usually use on the lists:

Olio beato extra virgin 100% organic
Bragg® Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil

Did buy and consume a bottle of Carapelli last year. I want my money back. Devious bastards.

[Bucky]

134. I've always bought Bertolli because of their more authentic-looking bottles

on the other hand Whole Foods doesn't surprise me at all. It's a totally right-wing company

[Separation]

135. I wish I could find an article read about this.

It was maybe a year ago and it was either in Playboy, Maxim, or Popular Science. The gist of the article states the the number 1 counterfeited thing in Italy is olive oil and that it was a huge cash cow for the Mafia in Italy.

[forgotmylogin]

136. Anyone know the Aldi store brand?

I don't remember the name. They usually have good stuff, including cheapest cold-press coconut oil without a Sam's card.

[Auntie Bush]

137. Snope said this report is false

According to a friend who checked it out.

[packman]

139. First - Snopes is not 100% - Second

The article posted has a link - go to it - it is reliable and keep in mind what the post is about. The brand of Olive oil you buy may be diluted with other oils and/or may be a mix of olive oils from other countries.

Your friend is missing the point of the post. If you wish to remain skeptical about it, feel free.

[IronLionZion]

143. Carapelli is so bad it's listed twice

Dr. Oz is already being sued for libel by the olive oil industry.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kavinsenapathy/2016/12/01/dr-oz-made-false-attacks-on-olive-oil-and-now-hes-getting-sued/#d33348e13e84

http://abcnews.go.com/Health/olive-oil-trade-group-sues-dr-oz-calls/story?id=43886080

[Javaman]

138. good to know! thanks! nt

[TrekLuver]

145. What about Stop and Shop brand...LOL

[marble falls]

147. What do you mean?

[Yonnie3]

148. Maybe, !, )))

seems to be the drift.