Olive oil that is not really extra virgin: antitrust intervention requested for unfair commercial practice

The situation of some brands of extra virgin olive oil resulting from a test only "virgin" oils was reported to the antitrust

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Surely you will remember the recent test on extra virgin olive oil sold in our country which showed how some bottles actually contained simple "virgin" oil. The matter has now been reported to the Antitrust which is asked to carry out the necessary checks.

After the test of Il Salvagente which in April had revealed (or rather confirmed) the fact that in our shops and supermarkets not all extra virgin olive oil is really olive oil (7 out of 15 bottles are not according to the survey) , the Consumer Movement has decided to send a report to the Antitrust. (Read also: Olive oil, almost half is not really extra virgin. Monini and Bertolli the best two).

The Guarantor Authority is asked to ascertain whether some producers are actually guilty of unfair commercial practice, declaring on the label an oil of higher quality than it really is.

We cannot justify ourselves by blaming the Panel Test, the "tasting test" that penalized some oils by making them downgrade. As the Consumer Movement reminds us, in fact:

Far from being a 'subjective' test, the importance of the 'panel test' was recently reaffirmed by a sentence of the Council of State of 20 November 2020, where the Administrative Justice reaffirmed the reliability and objectivity of the panel test, considering the aforementioned organoleptic test as 'essential for the correct classification of oils'.

We recall that, commenting on the test results, some producers defended themselves by claiming that, upon arrival in supermarkets, their oil was definitely "extra virgin". So what could have happened? Again according to them, the problem would have occurred during the storage of the products.

Regardless of whether the producers are in good faith or not, however, the damage to the consumer is still there. We reiterate, consuming "virgin" oil is obviously not a health risk but why if we choose to buy "extra virgin" oil we must instead find ourselves struggling with a lower level product?

The Consumer Movement also recalls that the matter of extra virgin olive oil downgraded to virgin is not new. Another test, also conducted by Il Salvagente, dates back to 2015 when the incorrectness of the labels of some oils had already been highlighted and, following those analyzes, measures were taken by the Agcm (in part then canceled by the Administrative Justice ).

Now new investigations are being asked and as stated by the Consumer Movement, which is dealing with the oil issue together with the Earth Movement is South Wind life:

If this were the case, it is clear that there would be an incorrect commercial practice, to be qualified as a sale on the shelves, of a product lacking the elements advertised on the label and in advertising campaigns.

The Il Salvagente test was not actually the only one to reveal the presence of "virgin" oil labeled as extra virgin. Even the French magazine Que Choisir, which analyzed 26 bottles of oil, came to the same conclusion, just a few weeks ago. (Read also: Extra virgin olive oil: more than half of those sold in supermarkets are not really. The confirmation in a new French test).

Read all our articles on extra virgin olive oil.