The Great Olive Oil Fraud – Why Your Extra Virgin Olive Oil May Not Be Virgin at All

You thought you were making an informed health choice by using extra-virgin olive oil in place of cheaper, low-quality cooking oils, right? You probably never thought that a tiny, expensive bottle of EVOO might be cut with crap or doctored with chlorophyll to make it taste like olive oil — when in fact it was soybean or another health-compromising, cheap oil. According to Tom Mueller, the fearless author of Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil, 70 percent of the extra virgin olive oil sold worldwide is watered down with other oils and enhancers making them far from virgins and more like sidewalk hookers on the corner of 10th and Main — not exactly good for your health or your pocketbook.

Mueller exposes the billion dollar industry, showing how EVOO is compromised world-wide. During volunteer testing by suppliers to authenticate what they thought were pure extra virgin olive oils, every brand submitted in Australia during 2012 failed the tests and none gained certification for being pure. Authentication tests at UC Davis in 2011 uncovered similar results.

Buying genuine extra virgin olive oil

The best place to buy the real thing is from local producers whom you know. Of course, not everyone lives in Italy or near an olive orchard. The next best way to find genuine, extra virgin olive oil from companies or online is to look for those whose products have been tested and certified as pure and organic. (http://www.foodrenegade.com/real-food-resources/#fats) Pure EVOO is not cheap, but then neither is fake EVOO; so you may not notice much of a difference in price, just in taste and health effects.

How to recognize genuine extra virgin olive oil

It’s difficult to tell by taste if the brand of olive oil you buy is truly extra virgin. Even the experts get stumped during taste tests. There are two ways that give a hint whether you have the real thing or a fake. Neither is absolutely fool proof; however, they will rule out the hardcore fakes.

Read the full story here: https://www.jbbardot.com/the-great-olive-oil-fraud-why-your-extra-virgin-olive-oil-may-not-be-virgin-at-all/