He's a fake! The adulterated olive oil in your pantry

I have more respect for olive oil. My little friend who sat in the back of the pantry, overshadowed by his gallon-sized canola oil counterpart, looked sad, lonely, and neglected. His name was Bertolli, and underneath that dusty jacket, he wore a gold suit. The color, I assume, was supposed to make an impression me and potential consumers but it rarely caught my eye. I suppose for a moment in the supermarket, he made enough of an impression to my parents to trick them into making a purchase but nonetheless, he was no star in my pantry.

In my house, we don’t really use olive oil. My mother and father are fully aware of the health benefits of olive oil, and hold olives in high regard, but we stray away from olive oil in cooking/cuisine for a few reasons:

1)   The house chef (aka my mother) doesn’t like the smell.

2)   Using olive oil in the quantity we need would be very expensive.

3)   Heating olive oil would instantly rid it of the benefits associated with its use.

Reading Mueller’s book, I found myself drawn to Bertolli in a way that made me appreciate its intrinsic qualities but question its integrity. I was surprised by the purposes of olive oil and it’s importance in history, culture, and conflict. The olive oil industry is scandalous to say the least and it’s saddening to see how a fruit so innocent can be the source of such wide scale fraud and corruption. We got a first hand look into the lives of those who have dedicated everything to advocate the production of pure extra virgin olive oil and continue to fight the battle against adulterated oils. Just a few chapters in and I thought, my Bertolli must be fake.

It is somewhat ironic how as time has gone by we’ve actually gotten worse about labeling our olive oil. Perhaps it is because punishments for false advertisement in ancient times actually involved physical harm whereas now, the federal government has shifted priorities in public health could care less about mixed oil fraud. Prosecution for this issue isn’t taken seriously. In my opinion, I agree with Mueller and understand the health consequences of selling adulterated oils as extra virgin, however, I wouldn’t blame the government for their lack of concern. Mueller says that they are more concerned with things that pose an immediate health risk to citizens such as polio and I completely agree. As a large nation, these things should take priority over olive oil considering how little Americans actually consume it. The source of the problem is overseas and comes from the corruption associated with a laissez faire based economy. On one hand, you want to provide customers low cost items but at the same time, these items are competing with others that surpass in quality. Considering how relaxed of an industry olive oil is in terms of regulation and rule enforcement, making adulterated oils and selling them at low prices as “extra virgin” seems like a criminal’s one-way ticket to success. Although there have been efforts to change this systematic corruption, nothing can be done until enough people with vested interest do something about it. We can protest, we can lobby, we can express our concern or simply refuse to buy the fake. However, we also have to be realistic as ask ourselves if it is really worth our time, and if our little actions will make an impact on a fight that’s been going on for decades. 

Mueller speaks about Greece as the Mecca of olive oil production and consumption. Hearing the stories about local citizens and how much of their livelihood is dependent on olive oil is uplifting and inspiring. Olive oil serves not as a garnish or a tangible good but as a means of connection, prosperity, and unity. It’s something that everyone on the community holds in high regard and respects, like a precious gift passed down from generation to generation. But, putting things in context, is it something these people care enough about while their nation is on the verge of economic downturn? People, who are struggling with problems in the lives so much greater than cuisine, aren’t going to be concerned with something as miniscule as olive oil. Even as a student, I’m intrigued by the world of olive oil I have been ignorant to for so long, and I have truly enjoyed our discussions on the issue but not enough to really do anything about it.

My decision, however, stems not from a lazy or indolent standpoint but rather a skeptical one. Mueller is undoubtedly knowledgeable in his field and has done more than enough research to convince me as a reader that the olive oil industry is corrupt. I understand his arguments; I just refuse to be naïve and assume that after reading his book, I know both sides to the story. For example, just today we learned that claims regarding the olive oils anti-inflammatory properties can be misleading. Oleocanthal, the compound extracted from olive oils, produces the same throat burning sensation as the active ingredient in ibuprofen. Yes, research has shown that the structures, and properties are similar to that of ibuprofen, and that olceocanthal inhibits the COX enzyme responsible for inflammation in vivo. Nonetheless, Vincenzo Fogiano brought up some very good point about the research. He says that realistically, no one will really consume 0.9 mg per day and that “in vivo human studies do not reveal any protective effects on olive oil phenols on LDL oxidisability.” In addition, attributing health benefits to this compound alone is risky because there are many factors that play a role into how olive oil affects our body. 

In order to holistically understand olive oil’s anti-inflammatory properties, we must look beyond isolating oleocanthal and research other compounds that potentially mirror ibuprofen’s anti-inflammatory effects. Fogliano states, “the acid hydrolysis of oleocanthal would produce elenoic acid dialdehyde, a compound even more similar to ibuprofen than olecanthal itself”. Is this not a topic worth looking into before making such strong claims of oleocanthal and, as a reader, taking them at face value? Today, we learned about internal and external standards as a control for research and brought up valid sources of error regarding olive oil research that can occur even with the most controlled experiment. It’s interesting to note how these errors can exist and how this can so easily propagate misleading information. 

Research is not a means to an end but a piece to add to an infinite and never ending body of knowledge. There’s trial, there’s error, then far along the road there’s truth. So, I remain skeptical… informed, but skeptical until I know the full story.

Here’s a cool link I came across, perhaps slightly irrelevant to my post: http://www.marketplace.org/topics/life/big-book/scandalous-world-olive-oil