After it became clear that Greeks buy Bulgarian oil and “turn” it into olive oil with paint, Interpol now reports that the problems come from Italy and Spain as well.
The olive harvest is weak and the market for extra virgin olive oil is growing, officials from the European police cooperation agency Europol have noted. Their laboratory tests showed that behind the most popular extra virgin olive oils in the world, produced in Italy, Spain and Greece, there are equally lucrative criminal enterprises that profit by selling mint, the production of which uses sunflower or rapeseed oil, and the price per liter in the US reaches 30 dollars.
Greek police arrested a father and son and confiscated tons of sunflower oil disguised as olive oil.
In late November, authorities in Spain and Italy, working with Europol, said they had arrested 11 people linked to one such criminal group, seizing around 260,000 liters of counterfeit extra virgin olive oil. Authorities say it is “unfit for consumption” despite fake labels stating the olive oil is 100% Italian or Spanish.
Authorities also found €91,000 in cash, four high-end cars, forged labels and documents stating the olive oil was Spanish and Italian, while tests of the samples showed it was more likely to have been produced by blending of olive oil by-products with other types of oil.
The demand for olive oil and the recent poor harvest have caused the price of olive oil to rise sharply.
“The combination of various factors, such as general price inflation, reduced olive oil production and increasing demand, created an ideal environment for fraudulent producers,” Europol said in a statement, quoted by BGNES.
“Unfortunately, the counterfeiting of extra virgin olive oil is a common practice, which is why the fight against it is a priority for law enforcement authorities – especially in producing countries,” adds the law enforcement agency.
Adulteration of high-quality olive oil with lower-quality products has become common as growing demand for Mediterranean olive oil for export clashes with lower production levels brought on by increasingly harsh climates, says Cordiletti, the main agricultural body in Italy.
In 2023, Mediterranean olive oil production will decrease by 41%, says Cordiletti. An extremely wet spring means fewer olive trees bloom, and record summer heat dries up the olives.
This has resulted in the inability of manufacturers to meet market demand.
The so-called “agricultural mafia” in the Mediterranean olive oil-producing regions is trying to fill supply gaps by developing fake extra virgin olive oil production operations.
“Mixing consumer-grade olive oil with lower-grade alternatives allows criminals to offer competitive prices while tapping into legitimate supply chains,” Europol said.
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2023-12-11 23:03:24
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