There seems to be renewed talk these days about the fraudulent olive oil industry: much of what is labelled EVOO from Italy is in fact olive oil from other countries cut with other cheaper oils then shipped to unsuspecting buyers around the world.
The latest buzz is a New York Times article – slideshow titled “Extra Virgin Suicide”: The Adulteration of Italian Olive Oil featured in last Sunday’s issue. //nyti.ms/MmFwiR It very graphically simplifies what is a complicated problem for the olive oil industry and the consumer.
Author Tom Mueller in his book “Extra Virginity” and on his blog has exposed much of this fraud. He is sited as the source of the information on this NYT chart.
This topic of fraud and adulteration comes into question with so many foods we eat. It is frustrating to think we can’t rely on labeling to guide us in our food choices. The same often applies to organic and GMO foods. We want to make healthy choices and find it increasingly hard to figure out who or what to believe.
Personally, I think the safest way to go about making choices is to know where your food comes from. Local farmers markets are growing in popularity because they give us a comfort zone that the food they sell is being grown in a healthy way and not by big agri-businesses that are more about profit than quality. Supporting small farms is a better way to ensure you get more wholesome food.
With our Amelia Oil we help to support a small family owned and operated farm in Italy. Our producers the Suatoni family grow their own olives, without chemicals. We bring you their oil each year just as soon as they have it pressed. When we first started this business in 2007, fraud wasn’t even on the radar screen for us. We just wanted everyone to experience what fresh olive oil tasted like. It was the oil we tasted when we were on the farm in Italy and loved. We knew it wasn’t the same as what we were getting back at home off the grocery store shelf. Now we hear that much of what is on the grocery store shelves is not even the real deal let alone fresh.
All I can say is Amelia Oil is an extra virgin olive oil that is grown and pressed in Italy by farmers who take pride in their product – pure and simple, nothing added.
