olive oil fraud
Oct. 1, 2025
Regulators Investigate After Newspaper Identifies Olive Oil Fraud in Belgium
Authorities in Belgium are investigating after a newspaper found 20 out of 32 olive oil brands failed quality standards and one was adulterated.
Sep. 22, 2025
Quality Tests Lead North American Trade Group to Take Legal Action
After a quality testing initiative turned up two instances of fraud from more than 200 samples, the North American Olive Oil Association said it will take legal action against the producers.
Aug. 5, 2025
France Uncovers Olive Oil Fraud in Annual Investigation
Despite the findings, officials maintained that olive oil fraud is not on the rise, citing improved detection and stronger communication between agencies.
Jun. 23, 2025
Olive Oil a Leading Focus in Italy’s Crackdown on Food Fraud
Italy's food fraud prevention efforts last year focused on olive oil, with over 8,200 inspections and 23% of samples showing irregularities, leading to seizures and criminal reports.
Jun. 16, 2025
New Method Detects Olive Oil Adulteration, Reduces Environmental Impact
Researchers have developed a fast, cost-effective method to detect olive oil adulteration using side-front face fluorescence spectroscopy.
Dec. 5, 2024
An Accusation of Widespread Fraud Sparks Controversy in Spain
The general secretary of the giant Spanish cooperative Dcoop accused bottlers of selling sunflower oil blends labeled as olive oil.
Nov. 4, 2024 Business
Aug. 26, 2024 Business
Jul. 18, 2024 Business
Details Emerge in Seizure of Counterfeit Olive Oil in Puglia
Apr. 9, 2024 News Briefs
Discovery of Adulterated Olive Oil Kindles Debate Over Testing in Northern Cyprus
Mar. 19, 2024 News Briefs
Mar. 10, 2024
Researchers Use Ultrasound to Detect Adulterated Olive Oil
They could detect extra virgin olive oil adulterated with as little as one percent sunflower or refined olive oil.
Dec. 12, 2023
Authorities in Brazil Seize 9,000 Bottles of Fraudulent Olive Oil
The seizure comes two weeks after a separate raid where 16,000 liters of product marketed as extra virgin olive oil and deemed unfit for human consumption was destroyed.
Dec. 7, 2023
Police in Spain and Italy Uncover Olive Oil Fraud Ring
A Europol investigation led to the arrest of eleven accused of adulterating extra virgin olive oil with other products.
Nov. 15, 2023
Trade Group Announces Olive Oil Quality Testing Initiative
Faced with low supply and high prices, the North American Olive Oil Association says it seeks to deter dishonest actors.
May. 15, 2023
Smart Labels on Display at Italian Food Show
One of Italy’s premier food fairs highlighted tracking technologies to promote traceability and prevent fraud.
Dec. 1, 2022
Researchers Use AI to Identify Extra Virgin Olive Oil Provenance
The researchers said they could correctly identify locally-produced Taggiasca Ligure olive oils 100 percent of the time.
Nov. 28, 2022
Low Availability and Rising Prices Spark Concerns of Olive Oil Fraud in Morocco
Already-high olive oil prices could rise a further 25 percent, which would put the product out of reach of many of the country’s consumers.
Jan. 14, 2020
Botanical Council Publishes Overview of Olive Oil Adulteration
The American Botanical Council has released a report detailing the causes of adulteration of olive oil and the issues surrounding olive oil counterfeiting, mislabeling and fraud.
Oct. 7, 2019
Tom Mueller's New Book Delves Into the World of Whistleblowers
As whistleblowers dominate headlines in the United States, Crisis of Conscience: Whistleblowing in an Age of Fraud shines a light on the history of whistleblowing and people who do it.
May. 21, 2019
150,000 Liters of Fraudulent Oil Seized by Europol
The criminal organization responsible for the olive oil fraudsters pocketed nearly $9 million annually from their illicit activity.
Apr. 1, 2019
Report Warns of White Collar Crimes and 'Mafia 3.0'
Threats to the olive oil sector are changing as white collar crimes become more prevalent, officials said.
Mar. 11, 2019
Omics Ensure the Authenticity of Portuguese Olive Oils
Genomics and metabolomics are at the core of a research study to authenticate and trace Portuguese extra virgin olive oils.
Feb. 27, 2019
Poor Harvests Lead to More Vigilance in Canada
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is warning consumers to be on the lookout for fraudulently labeled olive oil in light of the poor European harvest this year.
Feb. 4, 2019
Spanish Senators Demand Investigation of Turkish Imports
The search is on to determine whether stolen Syrian olive oil has been imported into Spain under the guise of 'Made in Turkey.' A criminal investigation could be coming.
Jan. 21, 2019
Blockchain Technology Adds Transparency to Spain's Olive Oil Industry
The controversial technology behind cryptocurrencies is at the core of a new project driven by IBM and other players in Spain's olive oil sector to guarantee the traceability of extra virgin olive oils.