Olive Oil Warning

LaVieEnRaw

I was really surprised by this myself, being that I am an avid EVOO lover. But I was watching a documentary the other day, and they were talking about how many companies sell olive oil that isn't olive oil at all, in fact it's mostly canola oil. I just figured it was a crock, but when I pulled out my own bottle that I had bought at Ralphs market, the ingredients read both olive oil and canola oil, but it was being advertised as olive oil. One of the factors that really gave it away is that real olive oil is not "cold pressed" which was also on the bottle in my pantry. There's also a noticeable difference in smell, the fake stuff smells a bit corny, whereas the real stuff smells fresh and a bit fruity. Just thought I'd let everyone know!

Shoechick5

Not sure where you're getting your data from but REAL olive oil is certainly cold pressed.

SteveO390

Do you happen to have the title of the documentary?

LaVieEnRaw

@Shoechick Yea, I just looked it up and you are right, I think I just heard the information wrong the first time around. But yea, my olive oil was definitely not olive oil, which really surprised me.

@Steve I'm thinking it was Foodmatters, and here's the website: http://www.foodmatters.tv/
BUT at the time I was on a mass documentary spree, and I also watched some episodes of How Stuff Works among other things. But I'm pretty confident it was in Foodmatters.

bert16

My mom was just reading a book about this... who knew there was so much scandal in the world of olive oil!

LaVieEnRaw

Yea, I think Tom Mueller wrote a book about it, maybe that was the one she read! Here's another link on fake olive oil with a quote from the book:
http://naturalsociety.com/olive-oil-you-buy-is-often-low-quality-and-fake/

MaximalLife

I was really surprised by this myself, being that I am an avid EVOO lover. But I was watching a documentary the other day, and they were talking about how many companies sell olive oil that isn't olive oil at all, in fact it's mostly canola oil. I just figured it was a crock, but when I pulled out my own bottle that I had bought at Ralphs market, the ingredients read both olive oil and canola oil, but it was being advertised as olive oil. One of the factors that really gave it away is that real olive oil is not "cold pressed" which was also on the bottle in my pantry. There's also a noticeable difference in smell, the fake stuff smells a bit corny, whereas the real stuff smells fresh and a bit fruity. Just thought I'd let everyone know!

By 100% virgin olive oil - it's great with nothing added.

Here is an article outlining this scam.
http://www.peak-health-now.com/olive-oil-scams.html

vzucco

I'm going to check my pantry right this second!

Bentley2718

One of the factors that really gave it away is that real olive oil is not "cold pressed" which was also on the bottle in my pantry.

As people have already noted, olive oil is indeed cold pressed. Not to be snarky, but wouldn't the real giveaway be the ingredients list? As a general principle/pet peeve, I'm continually amazed by the number of people who are "surprised" by things clearly printed on food labels. Think the "shock" that Vitamin Water was pretty much sugar water.

Elleinnz

I actually just read this article - with actual data and examples on Charles Poliquin's site last night - lots of food for thought....

If you google - you should find it:

charlespoliquin.com/ArticlesMultimedia/Articles/Article/786/Is_Your_Olive_Oil_Extra_Virgin

tamiesue2

I read ALL food labels, and unfortunately, even that isnt good enough. I just posted a comment the other day on I Cant Believe its Not Butter spray, it says its ) calories, but the whole container actually contains over 800 calories and 91 grams of fat, the food industry has its loop holes!!

jeshutt

Not sure where you're getting your data from but REAL olive oil is certainly cold pressed.

Not any more. Most oil is extracted by centifruge. Some smaller companies still cold press, but using centrifuge doesn't affect the quality of the oil. The words you need to look for are 'Extra Virgin'.

icemaiden17_uk

Thats nothing!! Have you looked to see if vegetable oil actually contains vegetable oil recently? 95% of it is actually Rapeseed Oil wich is bad for us and the environment! I wont buy the stuff at all and since when is a sickly yellow flower a vegetable?

Before anyone pipes up and says that Rapeseed Oil is good for you I will leave you to your oplion but hundreds of horses die each year due to breathing problems caused by Oil Seed Rape nearby and many more people develop alergies because of Oil Seed Rape. This is not a scientific fact or anything just something I know from living where I do and knowing people who own or look after horses

LaVieEnRaw

One of the factors that really gave it away is that real olive oil is not "cold pressed" which was also on the bottle in my pantry.

As people have already noted, olive oil is indeed cold pressed. Not to be snarky, but wouldn't the real giveaway be the ingredients list? As a general principle/pet peeve, I'm continually amazed by the number of people who are "surprised" by things clearly printed on food labels. Think the "shock" that Vitamin Water was pretty much sugar water.

I completely agree with you. It's really a sad thing that we do not question where our food comes from, much less what it contains. We give in too much to what is being sold and accept it for what it is, then question why our bodies are so unhealthy. The minute I realized this, I began reading every food label to make sure that no chemicals go into my body.

LauraRose03

I read ALL food labels, and unfortunately, even that isnt good enough. I just posted a comment the other day on I Cant Believe its Not Butter spray, it says its ) calories, but the whole container actually contains over 800 calories and 91 grams of fat, the food industry has its loop holes!!

Omg! What?!? I love that stuff!

ShapeUpSidney

Not sure where you're getting your data from but REAL olive oil is certainly cold pressed.

thank you! i was going to say the same!

Sharon91606

Thanks for the post - I use EVOO alot in my cooking - good to know and will keep and eye out - getting ready to restock this weekend.

ambervargo

I would never think to look for ingredients on an olive oil bottle, I would have assumed it would just read "Ingredients: olive oil", so I will definitely be checking mine out!

ShapeUpSidney

I completely agree with you. It's really a sad thing that we do not question where our food comes from, much less what it contains.

I think it's sadder that we HAVE to question our food and where it comes from. So much food prep and processing is being done in distant lands. Just buy local. For olive oil, that could be tough though.

Also, just from a health perspective, there's nothing wrong with a canola oil blend.

ShapeUpSidney

I would never think to look for ingredients on an olive oil bottle, I would have assumed it would just read "Ingredients: olive oil", so I will definitely be checking mine out!

Usually, if you're buying quality stuff, you don't even have too. It's when you get into cheap generics that you really need to check. I get Colavita, which I've found to be decent quality for daily use, without breaking the bank.

Grokette

Thats nothing!! Have you looked to see if vegetable oil actually contains vegetable oil recently? 95% of it is actually Rapeseed Oil wich is bad for us and the environment! I wont buy the stuff at all and since when is a sickly yellow flower a vegetable?

Before anyone pipes up and says that Rapeseed Oil is good for you I will leave you to your oplion but hundreds of horses die each year due to breathing problems caused by Oil Seed Rape nearby and many more people develop alergies because of Oil Seed Rape. This is not a scientific fact or anything just something I know from living where I do and knowing people who own or look after horses

Rapeseed Oil is canola oil.

I don't touch ANY vegetable oils at all due to the PUFA (Polyunsaturated fats) content . No canola, vegetables, corn oil and definitely not soy either.

I consume some nut and seed oils, olive oil and the rest of the fats I consume are all saturated fats in the form of raw butter, coconut oil and filtered bacon drippings (only if its clear, if it turns brown it is discarded because it got to a smoking point which ruins it).

Grokette

I completely agree with you. It's really a sad thing that we do not question where our food comes from, much less what it contains.

I think it's sadder that we HAVE to question our food and where it comes from. So much food prep and processing is being done in distant lands. Just buy local. For olive oil, that could be tough though.

Also, just from a health perspective, there's nothing wrong with a canola oil blend.

Yes there is, canola oil is very unhealthy.

Grokette

Thanks for the post - I use EVOO alot in my cooking - good to know and will keep and eye out - getting ready to restock this weekend.

Actually olive oil should not be used if you are using a higher than medium heat to cook with. Once it gets too hot, it oxidizes and that makes it unhealthy.

Olive oil should mostly be used for light sauteing or used for salad oil.

rockerbabyy

i always buy my olive oil from club stores. im a member or costco now, but the last time i bought it we were going to sams club. their store brand (members mark) evoo, first cold pressing, ingredients: high quality evoo from italy, spain, greece, and tunisia

ALW65

Don't you just love how the internet knows everything about us? I'm reading your post and an add shows on the banner for natural olive oil soap....the olive oil police are on to us!

Trechechus

Canola oil is full of nutritional value. And, it's cheaper.

Starlage

I would never think to look for ingredients on an olive oil bottle, I would have assumed it would just read "Ingredients: olive oil", so I will definitely be checking mine out!

Me too! Now I'm curious. Gotta check my bottle when I get home! What a ripoff.

Panda86

I read ALL food labels, and unfortunately, even that isnt good enough. I just posted a comment the other day on I Cant Believe its Not Butter spray, it says its ) calories, but the whole container actually contains over 800 calories and 91 grams of fat, the food industry has its loop holes!!

Omg! What?!? I love that stuff!

Yes, note that it often says, "Per Serving"... which is usually a quick spray. If you are using anything more than a short, quick spray, you are not getting "0 Calories".....

jhyan

Wild rapeseed oil may be dangerous to animals and humans, but the rapeseed oil used in the food industry has been bred to lower the amount of Erucic acid to below safe levels. This Low Acid Oil was developed in CANada. CAN O L A (CANadian Oil, Low Acid) - Canola oil is made from this low erucic acid rapeseed, and canola oil is a pretty healthy oil, as oils go.

LilMermaid6411

My husband was listening to someone on NPR that was talking about the issues with olive oil. The other thing was that just because it said it was made in Italy, doesn't mean it was. It could have been made somewhere else and repackaged there. This probably isn't an issue with most people, but my mother is from Florence so I grew up with Italian Olive Oil ingrained in my head. Also, the more "virgin" it is the more processed it is. I always thought it was the other way around. If it was extra virgin you would think it would be less processed. The guy also mentioned that just because it says "pure" olive oil doesn't mean it is. Like you said, it has other stuff in it.

Similarly, honey isn't always completely honey. Most of the honey you buy from the grocery story is mostly artificial sweetener. Since we found that out, we have been getting honey from local beekeepers. It's more expensive but at least I'm paying for a real product. And honestly, it's way better.

Grokette

Wild rapeseed oil may be dangerous to animals and humans, but the rapeseed oil used in the food industry has been bred to lower the amount of Erucic acid to below safe levels. This Low Acid Oil was developed in CANada. CAN O L A (CANadian Oil, Low Acid) - Canola oil is made from this low erucic acid rapeseed, and canola oil is a pretty healthy oil, as oils go.

Well Canada can keep their Canola oil. Canola oil is a processed oil that is pretty much rancid by the time it gets bottled and then goes to the grocery market.

And talking of the plant being "bred", which means it is a GMO that is another big NO, NO on my list as it should be for everyone.

And it is a PUFA and PUFA's are not healthy as they disrupt the Omega 3 to Omega 6 ratio which causes chronic inflammation in the body over time.