Appreciated all over the world for its beneficial properties and its unique taste, extra virgin olive oil is among the most loved Italian products, but unfortunately also the most imitated, especially abroad.
A careful inspection of the colour , appearance, flavour , label and price of extra virgin oil can help you to recognize the frauds which are unfortunately widespread in the food sector.
Among the most common are:
Adulteration: when a shoddy product is passed off as one of high value and quality. This occurs by modifying the components of the food product to mask its defects.
Sophistication: this consists in adding extraneous substances to natural foods, in order to make the food appear better than it really is.
Counterfeiting: is the sale of one food for another so deceiving the consumer. The classic example is the sale of seed oil passed off as extra virgin olive oil, or the counterfeiting of DOP / IGP / BIO brands with materials that are not.
Alteration: occurs when a food, due to negligence or by accident, has undergone a change that can make it harmful to your health.
As far as extra virgin olive oil is concerned one of the most common deceptions is that of mixing multiple types of oil together, obtaining a product that appears to be of quality, but is not at all.
Many scammers sell seed oil with chlorophyll and beta-carotene added to it, or modify the so-called lampante oil by mixing it with olive oil and then sell it as extra virgin oil.
However, the excellence of 100% Italian extra virgin olive oil cannot be artificially reproduced without arousing suspicion.
An extra virgin olive oil cannot have an acidity higher than 0.8%.
Virgin oil, on the other hand, can reach 2% acidity.
For more information on purchasing 100% Italian extra virgin olive oil from first cold pressing click here