Lack of quality, misleading labels... Beware of olive oil scams

Noa Moussa, edited by Solène Leroux 08:06, August 15, 2022

It's one of the gustatory pleasures of summer: olive oil.

Nothing better to season your tomato-mozzarella dish for example.

France is also in the top ten of the biggest consumers in the world: 110,000 tonnes are consumed on average and each household buys two liters a year.

Beware of in-store bottle labeling scams.

According to the crackdown on fraud, more and more deception.

To avoid tricks, Europe 1 gives you some advice.

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A fraud on more than 60% of the bottles

Factory, distributors, websites and even small village markets, they are 90 to have been singled out by the repression of fraud, most often for labeling problems.

This is explained by Morgan Bourven, journalist for the consumer association UFC-Que Choisir, who also investigated this subject.

"The most frequent fraud is really the qualification 'extra virgin' which is mentioned on the label, when it should not be", he explains at the microphone of Europe 1. " It's really a problem in the end when an oil that should be sold for two or three euros is sold for 15 euros, or even 30 euros."

Visible fraud on more than 60% of the bottles checked by the UFC.

Very little olive oil made in France

But sellers also falsify the origin of the product, displaying the 'made in France' when the oil actually comes from Italy or Spain.

"In France, we produce very, very little olive oil. We are at 3 or 4% of our consumption", assures Morgan Bourven.

"In concrete terms, you have very little chance of finding olive oils made in France."

To avoid falling into the trap, it is advisable to go for better controlled mentions, such as AOP for example, a serious guarantee of quality.

Finally, beware of too good deals.

If you see an extra virgin olive oil at three euros per liter, it is surely a scam.