The falsifications

We feel obliged to warn the Internet visitor about a category of oil that many manufacturers and traders insist on attempting to put onto the market under the name, olive oil. First and foremost, olive oil is the official name that should only be used to denominate the fats derived from the olive, produced without chemical intervention. Even though in Italy olive oil is known simply as oil, in most languages, this term could also define soya oil, sunflower oil, etc. Therefore, we propose that no fat obtained by chemical process be called olive oil. Having said this, we would also warn the consumer about olive oil purported to be extracted from the olive stone as if some mill actually removed the stone to manufacture olive oil from it! In the production process, after the separation of solids from liquids, the pomace of the olive is submitted to a chemical treatment based on solvents, giving rise to Óleo de Bagaço de Azeitona (Portuguese), or Azeite de Orujo (Spanish), or Ólio de Sansa (Italian), or Pomace Oil (English).

Detail: falsification of olive oil is not one of the most arduous tasks. And we already know that not all negotiators are of good character with a place reserved in heaven. Many of them, really many, buy a product abroad and bottle it in their own country. It is hard for the consumer to know what type of olive oil is in the bottle (generally, labeled olive oil), but he can be sure that most of the liquid is soya or sunflower oil.

And one more warning for the unwary. The non-producing countries, and even those that do produce olive oil, have manufacturers and traders whose honesty has evaporated. If, on the one hand, they produce olive oils proven to be adulterated and below the standards established by the International Olive Council, on the other, there are abundant cases and examples of traders who, in having a line of comestible products on the market and enjoying considerable selling power, decide to place one more product into their line, in order to potentialize the work of his team. Lets suppose that, without any knowledge of the subject, he resolves that the product will be olive oil, as this is in vogue. (I insist on the inverted commas because they stress the inconsequential nature of these traders).

Despite all the knowledge they lack, they send one of their executives who also does not even know how to choose the olive oil he consumes, to a certain country, in general, one whose language is easier to understand. There he is received by a native producer who offers to supply him his best produce. The executive, skilled in arithmetic and a catastrophe in the subject of olive oil, uses his calculator and rapidly reaches the conclusion that the price is high. He needs a cheaper product. And the producer, proudly offers him a second olive oil. Its expensive for my market says the wise executive. After one or two tries, they arrive at the product of course, third or fourth grade to be imported by the great, astute distributor. This is a perverse example, which leads to supermarkets having up to 50% of absolutely unknown products, without a past or future, ready to occupy a space on the shelf and tempt the consumer to part with his money. This helps to form a consumer without a standard of quality worthy of a good olive oil. This characteristic is common to many countries.

The lesson is: avoid the unknown brands and be careful with the known ones!