Liquid gold or liquid scam? Fake olive oil is big business, and that pricey bottle you just bought might be a ripoff.
You’ve heard of gift card scams, refund scams, even fake shipping container scams (the tiny-house boom can be blamed for that one). And all of these have one thing in common: the product or service doesn’t actually exist in the first place. The scammers behind these little enterprises simply take your moola and vamoose in the blink of an eye.
Impersonations, however, well that’s an entirely different thing altogether.
But more than that…to fk with one of the most pristine, heritage-rich, artisan-crafted, exquisite, and globally respected products on the planet is…well, seriously not cool. (Especially as the price has almost doubled in the last 10 years!)
However, it seems that’s exactly what’s happened to your expensive and much loved bottle of virgin and/or extra virgin olive oil, which has a prime position next to many stovetops across the globe.
Is there nothing sacred?
Something sinister is most likely impersonating the liquid gold that’s been used for thousands of centuries for medical, religious, and gastronomical reasons, and it’s all dressed up like the real deal so you are none the wiser. Some experts say that 80% of olive oils aren’t isn’t what they appear to be.
Vegetable and seed oils – the cheap and often clear stuff – can be dyed with chlorophyll (green) and carotenes (yellow) to mimic the golden hues of olive oil. Scarily though, lampante oil – unrefined stuff suitable for oil lamps and unfit for human consumption – has also been identified in the mix, putting people’s health at risk.
Word is it’s all down to climate change, lack of produce, increasing prices and the need to meet demand. Here’s the facts:
Last year CNN reported that Mediterranean olive oil production was down by 41%, and extensive investigations identified that “agri-mafia” setups were filling the gap with their fake oil operations.
And Europol claims that selling fake olive oil has become common practice with raids across Italy and Spain in November last year, resulting in 260,000 litres of the stuff being confiscated.
In the EU, mislabelling and fraud around the product has skyrocketed.
The most common fraud or non-compliance infringements are around the deception of origin, the marketing of olive oil as extra virgin, and blending the real deal with cheaper oils such as sunflower, corn, palm and rapeseed oils. Vegetable and seed oils – the cheap and often clear stuff – can be dyed with chlorophyll (green) and carotenes (yellow) to mimic the golden hues of olive oil.
Scarily though, lampante oil – unrefined stuff suitable for oil lamps and unfit for human consumption – has also been identified in the mix, putting people’s health at risk.
How do you know you’re getting the right stuff?
Look for the words “extra virgin”. Only true olive oil can use that term. Ignore the words “light”, “pure”, or just plain old “olive oil”.
Taste it: olive oil has a smell, and a rich complex flavour. It should be bitter and peppery – that’s the polyphenols.
Check the producer and the region it comes from. The more the label tells you, the more you can trust it’s the real thing.
It has to have the “Protected Designation of Origin” (DOP) seal. This tells you it’s undergone the strict testing that is attributed to the product.
Some bottles come with third party approval from the North American Olive Association (NAOOA), or the California Olive Oil Council (COOC).
Buy Australian. The Australian Olive Oil Association offers a seal of certification that ensures you get the best oil for your buck.
So yeah, oils ain’t oils. Next time you drizzle that liquid gold over your salad, bread or baba ghanoush, give it a little side-eye – it could be more con artist than culinary gold.