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| Is your olive oil really soybean oil and chlorophyll? |
It all started with a comment by a concerned mama on the Soy Allergy Board on Facebook. She posted a picture of her daughter’s reaction to Bertolli Light Olive Oil. This literally broke my heart and took me back to my childhood where I was covered in so many open, weepy hives that my family would cover my cleansed and medicated skin in saran wrap to keep the environmental allergens like dust and pollen from making it worse. This poor angel’s eyes were practically swollen shut and her face was red, inflamed and puffy. Now the cause of my “mysterious” reactions are
coming to light.
I went on to find this message board on Chowhound which touches the surface of this matter. I was absolutely livid.
With all of the Food-Allergy Labeling that goes on, how are companies ALLOWED to get away with this? Simple. They either don’t know their supplier is lying or they submitted to the testing process, failed and don’t care to change their supplier!
Studies show that over 50% of the imported Extra-Virgin Olive Oil failed USDA quality and authenticity tests as well as IOC chemical tests. You can read results for “Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Sold in California” as well as “Olive Oil Sold to Restaurants and Foodservice” separately if you click on either of the first two links on this page. Most restaurants don’t even know their olive oil is fake.
Luciano Sclafani blew the whistle on a particular olive oil when he noticed the company sold triple the amount of his own brand’s extra-virgin olive oil at a fraction of the price.
Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection Commissioner Jerry Farrell ordered food inspectors to test the suspicious product and the results will shock and rattle the entire food-allergy community.
“We came across cans of olive oil that were for sale in Connecticut that had, after testing, these other oils in there — peanut oil, soy oil, hazelnut oil,” Farrell says. Feel free to read the entire story here.
Upon more research, I found out that “light” olive oil is the lowest quality olive oil out there and is more likely to be “mixed” with other oils than extra-virgin.
Tom Mueller is the author of “Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil” which is the first book on my list of books to read. I did discover upon a Twitter search that he does have his own blog and lists which Extra-Virgin Olive Oils are pure.
The bottom line to this post is no refrigerator test is foolproof and just because your olive oil solidifies does not mean it has not been tampered with or diluted even a small bit.
For this reason, I will only trust the extra-virgin olive oils that Tom Mueller lists on his blog as pure or USDA Organic Extra-Virgin Olive Oils and you should, too. (I LOVE Kirkland Signature Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil and use it for literally everything cooked that’s not sweet
In restaurants, eating anything cooked in olive oil is a risk for me, so instead of explaining this whole conspiracy and usually being looked at like I have four heads, I discreetly ask for olive oil and vinegar and discreetly pour a tiny bit into a bread plate. I then do a finger taste test; if it doesn’t taste like olive oil to me, I don’t chance it and opt for a steamed dish.
Hopefully this post empowers your future food choices and helps you to avoid getting sick or feeding an allergen to someone you love!
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