From: livelovefruit.com

Fake Olive Oil Is EVERYWHERE! Here Are 7 Popular Brands You Should Stop Buying NOW!

In 2008, more than 400 Italian police officers conducted an operation called “Operation Golden Oil,” which resulted in 23 arrests and confiscation of 85 farms. Companies were adding chlorophyll to sunflower and soybean oil and selling it as extra virgin olive oil. As a result of these raids, the Australian government decided to allow olive oil brands to submit their oils for lab tests, allowing them to certify companies as pure “extra-virgin olive oil.” Alas, every company failed to gain certification in 2012.

Prompted by all of these olive oil scams, researchers at the University of California decided to test 124 different samples from eight major brands of extra-virgin olive oil. Over 70% of the imported oils failed the test.

What does it mean when an oil fails an extra-virgin test? It essentially means that all of these oils claiming to be “extra-virgin” are actually cut with cheaper, lower-grade oils (like canola oil, sunflower oil or cola oil). The oil is them deodorized, coloured, and then flavoured and sold as “extra-virgin” oil to a producer. …

The brands that failed to meet the extra virgin olive oil standards were:

– Bertolli
– Carapelli
– Colavita
– Star
– Pompeian
– Santa Sabina
– Primadonna
– Antica Badia
– Sasso
– Coricelli

Filippo Berio, Mazola, Mezzetta, Newman’s Own, Safeway, and Whole Foods are also selling fake olive oil.

Brands that you can trust are:

– California Olive Ranch
– Cobram Estate
– Lucini
– Kirkland Organic
– Lucero (Ascolano)
– McEvoy Ranch Organic
– Bariani Olive Oil
– Corto Olive
– Ottavio
– Omaggio
– Olea Estates 100% extra virgin olive oil

Aside from brands, how can you tell if your oil’s fake?

1. Refrigerate the extra virgin olive oil. If it solidifies, it means that it contains mostly monounsaturated fat…. This isn’t a fool-proof test, however, as the olive oils cut with lower grade oils also cloud over. If the oil you put in the fridge doesn’t thicken at all, though, then you know for sure that the oil is fake.

2. Extra virgin olive oil should be flammable enough to keep an oil lamp burning. However, this test isn’t that dependable….

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