The Deception of Extra Virgin Olive Oil

The Deception of Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)

The practice of adulterating olive oil is an ongoing concern, despite this product being highly regulated under European law. Methods used to adulterate olive oil are becoming increasingly sophisticated. According to scientist Alba Tres Oliver of the University of Barcelona (UB), this sophistication means that standard controls can sometimes overlook fraudulent cases.

The Driving Force: Financial Profit

The primary incentive for adulterating olive oil is financial gain. Dishonest vendors aim to market their product at lower prices than legitimate producers or simply move larger volumes. Since EVOO is relatively expensive (though its price hasn’t reached 10 euros per liter this year, it remains high compared to past figures), consumers are advised to **be wary of extra virgin olive oil priced significantly below the average**, as such a low price is typically impossible.

Ingredients Used in Adulteration

To adulterate olive oil, fraudsters often substitute it with inferior quality oils. The key ingredients currently used include:

• Sunflower oil
• Hazelnut oil
• Avocado oil

While standard testing can detect sunflower and hazelnut oils, avocado presents a particular challenge. The expert notes that avocado’s nutritional profile is very similar to olive oil’s, making its detection significantly difficult.

Detection Efforts and the Criminological View

To counter these complex fraud techniques, the UB has developed and validated an advanced analytical tool specifically designed to detect the adulteration of olive oil. This tool is set to be shared with the Generalitat de Catalunya authorities to combine efforts and strengthen surveillance.

From a criminological viewpoint, fraud contains all the necessary elements of a crime:

1. The Victim: The consumer.
2. The Motive: Economic gain.
3. The Opportunity: Occurs when oversight is insufficient.

The very presence of more effective control instruments serves to discourage criminal attempts.

Types of Fraudulent Practices

Discussions of olive oil adulteration often recall the notorious historical rapeseed oil fraud, which resulted in over a thousand fatalities. That case was deemed a “double fraud”: rapeseed oil was sold as olive oil, and the rapeseed oil itself had been contaminated with an industrial dye toxic to humans.

In contemporary cases, the expert asserts that the intent behind adulterating olive oil is financial enrichment, not to pose health risks to the general public.

A more common form of deception than adulterating olive oil with other ingredients is labeling fraud. This includes misrepresenting virgin olive oil as extra virgin, or labeling products as EVOO that have degraded in quality due to improper storage. While these labeling deceptions receive less public attention, the professor concludes that severe adulterations involving external ingredients, although present, are “always exceptional.”