Most of the olive oil consumed in the United States is not what consumers expect it to be. But companies aren’t required to disclose what’s really in the bottles they label as olive oil.
Larry Olmstead, who wrote a book about “Real Food” and “Fake Food,” told Mother Jones that olive oil is easy to fake because consumers can’t tell by looking at it. Bottling outside the US adds to the problem, says MJ, along with the fact that “there is no mandatory labeling for authentic pure, fresh extra virgin olive oil.”
According to several sources, including MJ, some oils labeled as extra virgin olive oil are “cut with soybean (meaning GMO and lots of pesticides) and even hydrogenated oils.” Others are often old or rancid. A CBS report reveals that some oil sold as “extra-virgin olive oil” isn’t olive oil at all - chlorophyll and beta-carotene are added to make it look and smell like the real thing.
Hydrogenated oils, or trans fats, not only attack human cells, they prevent cells from absorbing good oils, making this kind of food fraud what Olmstead calls a “crime against public health.”
Even though these and other concerns about olive oil fraud prompted the USDA to add the product to its monitoring program in 2012, says MJ, participation is voluntary.
Sign this petition to insist the USDA require olive oil companies to participate in its monitoring program and accurately label their oil products.
To Charles W. Parrott, US Department of Agriculture:
As a former grad student of public health, I know how important it is to avoid ingestion of hydrogenated oils. Therefore I am writing to insist the public has a right to know the quality and content of the oils they purchase, and that companies selling these oils should be required to participate in USDA's monitoring program and truthfully label their products.
[Your Comments]
Even though, according to Mother Jones, USDA has added olive oils to its quality monitoring program, this action is does little if anything to assure quality if companies don't have to participate. So far, says MJ's report, only two companies are participating.
Furthermore, there seems to be confusion over which labels now being used, indicate the best quality. MJ says to look for approval by the California Olive Oil Council: "COOC Certified Extra Virgin." While author Olmstead "recommends Extra Virgin Alliance (EVA) and UNAPROL, the respected Italian olive growers' association."
However Ultra Premium Olive Oil claims to exceed "world standards for olive oil quality" and to be the "freshest and finest olive oil in the world today."
Consumers need and deserve clarification on this issue of olive oil quality and truth in labeling, Therefore I, the undersigned, urge the USDA to require participation in its quality monitoring program and whatever else is necessary to ensure consumers know the quality of the oils they buy and consume.
Thanks for your time.
[Your Name]
