Olive oil, the pillar of the Mediterranean diet, in addition to being increasingly expensive, is becoming the protagonist of frequent food frauds. Diluted with other oils, altered by pesticides or sold with fake labels. The phenomenon is varied, but tells us a clear trend: the liquid gold of the Mediterranean, which is scarce with climate change but is increasingly in demand, has become attractive to crime. In 2023, 380 tons of oil products were seized by the Italian Central Inspectorate for the Protection of Quality and Repression of Fraud of Agri-food Products (Icqrf). The phenomenon is not only Italian, but extends to the whole of Europe. In addition to the Peninsula, the scams mainly concern Spain and Greece, two other homelands of olive oil.
Behind the increase in these food scams there is (also) the increase in the cost of extra virgin olive oil, which pushes people to look towards products with lower costs so as not to change their eating habits. Since 2018, the price of olive oil has more than doubled. Farmers, especially small ones, are finding it increasingly difficult to produce, between drought and an adverse market. Supermarkets are full of increasingly expensive bottles of Italian brands, which however squeeze olives generically from the European Union. In this context, the phenomenon of oil fraud is spreading and is taking advantage of it to deceive consumers, who delude themselves into thinking they are paying less and instead lose out, even in terms of health.
How to Scam on Olive Oil
Over 2 million euros. This is the total value of the 380 tons of oil bottles seized by the Italian Central Inspectorate for the Protection of Quality and Repression of Fraud in Agri-food Products (Icqrf). The people reported, considered responsible for having falsely or missingly labeled the bottles, were 17. In November of last year, 2,550 thousand kg of oils declared as olive oil, actually consisting of blends of vegetable oils, were recovered by the Italian authorities. The value in this case was approximately 250 thousand euros. In April, another 900 liters were seized in the province of Naples in tin containers with counterfeit labels of a well-known Italian brand. We are not talking about small scams, but a real business. Potential fraud and false labeling are a phenomenon that concerns the entire European Union.
Oil on the go
Contaminated oils tend to travel. Cases of mislabeled bottles and potential fraud intercepted at borders were just 15 in 2018, in the first three months of 2024 they shot up to 50. Behind these numbers, there is a well-founded suspicion that much larger ones are hidden, given that these data refer to the goods that the European authorities have managed to intercept. Some cases directly affect public health. The seized oils even contained pieces of glass, but also pesticides and mineral oils. The most common frauds concern mixtures.
How Olive Oil Became the New Business of Scammers
The amount of extra virgin olive oil is minimal (or non-existent) and the bottle is filled with mixtures of vegetable oils (such as corn and sunflower) of lower cost and quality, but mixed in such a way as to deceive buyers, at least on the color. One of the most serious cases was reported by Germany. The German authorities intercepted bottles from Israel marketed as “extra virgin olive oil” but which actually contained lampante oil, a product considered unfit for human consumption unless further refined. There are oils that “make huge trips”, such as those from Syria, which entered the European bloc through the door of the Netherlands and then traveled directly to other member states as if they were olives produced in the EU.
More and more thorough checks
According to the European Commission, the increase in reports is indicative of “improved exchanges between the competent authorities of the Member States” and “of their vigilance towards fraud in the agri-food chain”, commented a spokesperson at the Guardian. More thorough checks are also the result of new rules introduced by Brussels in 2022, which also concern the methods for analyzing this precious liquid. Despite the reassurances, fears for consumers remain. Of the 182 notifications reported since the beginning of 2023, the largest number (54) concerned products from Italy, followed by Spain (41) and Greece (39). Experts suspect that fraud occurs in greater numbers where there are fewer checks, therefore in more isolated areas, in small grocery stores or through informal sales and in restaurants in peripheral areas.
The oil crisis
Olive oil production has fallen sharply, with climate change disrupting some of the world’s most productive areas, particularly Spain. Iberian farmers, who produce more than half of the world’s olive oil, have faced repeated heatwaves and droughts. The data is clear. In 2018/2019, the European Union alone produced 2.264 million tonnes of olive oil, while the forecast for 2023/2024 is just 1.510 million tonnes. It is clear that prices on the shelves will rise even higher. From around 7 euros per litre in 2018, we have gone to over 10 euros this year and further increases are expected. Of the three main EU producing countries, Italy has the highest prices for extra virgin, with Greece and Spain proving more competitive. This means that “cheating” on oil, especially the Italian one which is more expensive, becomes a very interesting attraction for those who intend to defraud.
