Many consumers recognize that the price of a bottle of olive oil can indicate the quality of the product. An extra virgin olive oil that costs an extra $10 likely means the product will taste nicer than its cheaper counterparts. Unfortunately, this may not be the case. Olive oil fraud is one of the most prevalent forms of food fraud in the world, and many consumers may not be getting what they're paying for.
Olive oil fraud involves false marketing of olive oil products, especially extra virgin varieties. For olive oil to be defined as extra virgin, it needs to meet a series of international standards for the product. With olive oil fraud, companies market a product as extra virgin olive oil even if it fails to meet these standards.
Some of these standards include treatment and sensory defects. Extra virgin olive oil must be extracted without heat to avoid oxidation. Chemical solvents must also be avoided. Once production is complete, the oil must be free from rancid smells and other sensory factors.
Extra virgin olive oil is expensive to produce, so companies often take shortcuts. Manufacturers might dilute extra virgin olive oil with cheaper varieties, like corn, sunflower, or soybean oil, and apply the same high price tag to the product to earn more from sales. Additionally, manufacturers may allow for rancidity that affects the overall taste and may even cause indigestion.
Olive oil fraud may lead people to feel sick without understanding why. If they're paying a high price, they expect a fine product. With the widespread practice of olive oil fraud, many consumers don't even know what real extra virgin olive oil is supposed to taste like.
Fake olive oil may have minimal flavor — it can even taste like plastic. Other consumers might believe it tastes like butter. In reality, real olive oil has a unique depth of flavor. Extra virgin varieties often come with a pepperiness at the tail end of the taste.
Many regulatory bodies have updated grading standards and introduced optional certification programs to fix the mass presence of olive oil fraud. These certifications allow for voluntary submission of oils for conducting tests. Brands can then make their products stand out with quality certifications declaring authenticity.
The global market is complex, and many brands have limited control over supply chains. This fact means many companies may not even be aware that their olive oils are fraudulent. Internal testing protocols can help resolve this lack of transparency and help brands detect real olive oil in their product line.
With UV-Vis spectrophotometry, manufacturers get rapid and accurate testing results for their olive oils. This method is economically viable and integrates into quality control processes.
UV-Vis spectrophotometry can gauge the quality of olive oil by measuring the absorbance and transmittance of light. According to the Palestine Technical University Research Journal, the absorbance values of refined oils are often higher than those of virgin and extra virgin olive oils. Absorbance frequencies can range from 200 to 400 nm for olive oil testing. Values on the lower end indicate a high-quality extra virgin olive oil.
This testing method allows companies to identify even trace amounts of other oils in an olive oil product. As public awareness of olive oil fraud grows, this quality control method is critical for protecting brands and maintaining and expanding market share.
HunterLab offers industry-leading spectrophotometry for measuring the color of olive oil. With the help of our intuitive equipment, your company can confirm the quality of your olive oil to protect your brand. Contact us today to learn more about our products and how you can integrate them into your quality control processes.
Mr. Philips has spent the last 30 years in product development and management, technical sales, marketing, and business development in several industries. Today, he is the global market development manager for HunterLab, focused on understanding customer needs, providing appropriate solutions and education, and helping to solve customer color challenges across these industries and cultures.LinkedIn