Italians probe seven olive oil producers for extra-virgin fraud

Italian prosecutors are investigating seven olive oil producers for fraudulently selling ordinary olive oil as highly prized extra-virgin.

Prosecutors in Turin announced the investigation after customs officials independently confirmed the findings by the magazine Il Test, which published a cover story last spring revealing that nine out of 20 bottles it tested were not extra-virgin as labelled.

Turin police are examining whether seven companies, Carapelli, Bertolli, Santa Sabina, Coricelli, Sasso, Primadonna, which is packaged for Lidl, and Antica Badia, have been selling virgin olive oil as 100% extra virgin.

The Italian farm lobby Coldiretti called on authorities to better protect Italy’s olive oil sector, second only to Spain’s with estimated annual revenues of €2bn.

Coldiretti said that the fraud was often perpetrated by adding imported olive oil to domestic, noting that Italy was the number one olive oil importer in the world.

One of the companies under investigation, Coricelli, said the inquiry was based on taste tests by professional tasters that could not reliably discern whether the oil met industry standards.

“The protested batch, before being sold on the market, had been carefully analysed either by the company or independently recognised laboratories and all the analysis confirmed compliance to the quality standards,” Coricelli said.

Italy’s Ministry of Agriculture last year seized €10m worth of fake olive oil as part of a food fraud crackdown.

“We’re closely following the investigation,” said agriculture minister Maurizio Martina.

“For months we have been strengthening controls, particularly in view of last year’s poor harvest. It is important to protect consumers as well as the thousands of honest olive oil producers.”