Adulterated Olive Oil Fraud

[Deryn]

Many years ago (hard to believe but it was probably about 40 years now) when I went to Portugal I was sad and a bit shocked to find out that one really cannot buy the best Mateus outside of that country - it is all kept 'in house' so to speak. That was the beginning of my disillusionment. I haven't drunk Mateus since (but that's ok since my tastes have changed anyway).

 

Sad but true, I think that happens in most countries that make goods that the locals like and have traditionally held dear as being indicative of their 'culture' - the exported version is of the lowest quality possible .. the dregs, so to speak. Add to that the eruption of corruption in every corner of commercial enterprises - and government - and one can have little trust in any label any more. If they can 'cut it', they will.

 

Buy local - do the same as they do if possible. Wish I didn't have to say that but if you don't these days, you will spend more money than needed and be scammed as well. I no longer purchase oils from Europe, especially since, if I want GMO canola oil, I can buy that cheaper here in Canada.

Edited April 4, 2016 by Deryn (log)

[rotuts]

well  good points

 

how ever, no local my way

 

I get Tj's Greek Olive oil, and its the real deal i.e.  100 % olive oil

 

unfortunately for the Greeks

 

they have not been able to market their on oil internationally

 

ita a shame    very nice oil/

[Shel_B]

Just now, rotuts said:

I get Tj's Greek Olive oil, and its the real deal i.e.  100 % olive oil

 

How do you know it's "the real deal?"  Not only 100% olive oil, but meeting the standards of a true extra virgin oil?

[Deryn]

rotuts, I understand you can't buy 'local' olive oil (as in you can see the olive grove from your house) but you can buy olive oil that is produced in the US. At least if US growers/producers begin messing with their oils, there is a possibility (especially with small 'local' producers) that some recourse from public outcry could directly influence their sales drastically. A little hard to be heard in Greece or Italy or Spain or Portugal from across the Atlantic - and have any real impact (especially when governments are, these days, often involved as much as producers).

 

And Shel_B also makes a good point - just because the label says something doesn't mean that the bottle actually contains what is advertised. There is little real regulation or, more to the point, oversight in this arena. As a consumer, once burned, many times shy is my mantra. If I taste a particular olive oil from, for instance, at a major food show/venue - and it comes from a small US company, I will trust it for now. If I ever get an inkling that their oils have deteriorated or that they may be engaging in underhanded 'cutting' practices, they will never get my business again - and, if, as I suspect, I am not alone, that will supremely hurt their bottom line.

 

I really read labels these days too. I often see 'packed for' or 'produced for' and it is often difficult or impossible to determine the country of origin on bottles, cans, boxes. I won't buy those any more if I cannot readily and quickly identify the source and I trust that source. Western governments are now making it difficult to tell where a product or ingredient in a product was sourced - usually because they signed trade deals that no longer allow them to demand those things. I think the only way we will 'know' what we are getting is to 'know the producer' so we can trust them - and buy mostly if possible from small companies that we are sure produce their own ingredients or buy them from local farmers, etc.

Edited April 4, 2016 by Deryn (log)

[Tere]

I find Mateus in this discussion fascinating - I've always thought of Mateus as budget wine.

 

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mateus_(wine) - was very heavily marketed in the UK when I was a teenager (cough, about 25 years ago  ) so it's interesting with what Deryn's saying. 

 

Mostly I use locally produced oil for this reason. I use cheap "EVOO" and I have a herb steeped "EVOO" but mostly I use the local premium rapeseed. And a cheapish rapeseed for when I want to fry potatoes.

[Deryn]

Tere .. I was in my early 20s (and definitely not a wine connoisseur) when I drank Mateus. Mateus was considered upscale (in my age group) and was much more expensive in the Yukon in those days than most others of the bubbly rotgut genre that one could find to drink back then. Believe me there are worse roses, but it could be we were conned by the price - since everyone knows that 'price = quality'  - well perhaps that is what the young (female?) mind thought back then. That said though, maybe it was the romance of being in exotic lands but frankly I think the quality in Portugal was outstanding back then (IF one likes the stuff at all, of course) and it was on every wine list in every restaurant (and they were not 'tourist trap' restaurants we went to - just where the locals seemed to go).

 

Interestingly I have a friend (who is almost 60 now, and lives in NC) who says that the ONLY wine she will ever drink, even today, is Mateus. However, she drinks very rarely so perhaps she too is as deluded as I was when I was young.

 

Anyway .. off topic .. sorry. Back to knocking around the olive oil industry.

Edited April 4, 2016 by Deryn (log)