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Comments (15)
Justine
13 Nov 2023Fascinating article, thank you! It would be interesting to know if the counterfeiting is happening locally as well. We have a couple of prestigious oil-producers in South Africa which reduces the need to even consider a Spanish or Italian product.
Dominique
13 Nov 2023Hi Justine!
So I did a bit of digging, and while there isn’t much info out there, I did find one article from 2001 that spoke of a team effort between Carte Blanche, SAPS and SAOGA (SA Olive Growers Association) to bust a number of fraudulent olive oils that were popping up on local shelves. Most of the oils they tested were the made-in-Italy kind, but they did also test a handful of local oils (no info given on which brands sadly) and the local oils all passed the test. 6 the foreign oils tested during that bust were found to be coloured sunflower oil!
I think the olive oil industry in SA is relatively young (especially compared to Mediterranean peers), which means that counterfeiting probably isn’t as rife just yet. We also have a local watchdog in the form of SAGOA keeping an eye on things. For extra assurance, local olive oil brands can voluntarily apply to have their oils tested by SAGOA and receive a CTC seal on their bottles. My guess would be that if you were looking for a local oil brand with nothing to hide, then that CTC seal should be on your radar.
Errol Hope
13 Nov 2023Thank you for a very interesting article, beautifully written.. It has alerted me to steer clear of those special offers and rather buy local olive oil from our own farms.
Dominique
13 Nov 2023Thank you Errol, I’m glad you liked it! And yes – our local oils are very good, so now we have even more reasons to skip the imports and support our local farmers.
Ebrahim Seedat
13 Nov 2023What about the olive trees actively being destroyed in Palestine
Dominique
13 Nov 2023Hi there Ebrahim,
thanks for your comment. It would appear that the story about the Palestinian olive trees got lost under the Mediterranean weather crisis and the Greek olive theft in the news cycle. It didn’t come up when I initially researched this topic but I’m glad you’ve raised it, especially against the backdrop of the humanitarian crisis linked to the destruction of these trees and the livelihoods of those who depend on them.
I’ve done some reading now and it seems unlikely that this will have an effect on the broader olive oil fraud story (the focus of this piece), as most of the olive oil produced in Palestine appears to be consumed locally.
Rooksana
20 Nov 2023In the meantime, something sinister is afoot elsewhere.
Israel, since 1967, has illegally uprooted and destroyed an estimated 800 000 Palestinian olive trees. Read “Israel’s Campaign Against Olive Trees” in the Yale Review of International Studies. Link below.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&opi=89978449&url=http://yris.yira.org/global-issue/6018&ved=2ahUKEwjYoq6hhNKCAxV9XUEAHdfADKQQFnoECBYQAQ&usg=AOvVaw0S5K3l4y8eZhKLrzzhvIII
David Walker
13 Nov 2023I have previously been warned of exactly this and now only buy locally produced extra virgin olive oils with the correct stamp/ sticker verifying it’s authenticity, of course it cost more
Dominique
13 Nov 2023Yup, and as we learned here, this has been a problem since the age of the emperors! Good on you for choosing to buy local David. That’s a win for you and a win for our local producers.
Ida vignazia
14 Nov 2023I have been using andante extra virgin olive oil, I recently changed to Ayama cold extracted extra virgin olive oil for the 5lt container as it is less costly when I came to this country many years ago I used Costa olive but it was not as refined as we used in Italy then
The local oil are good can you comment ida Vignazia
Dominique
14 Nov 2023Hi there Ida,
While I don’t pretend to have the last word in which local olive oils are good, I can tell you from my research that it pays to look for the CTC Seal on a bottle of olive oil before buying. The CTC Seal means that the olive oil has been tested by the SA Olive Growers Association and is certified genuine.
For advice on which brands to buy, you can also have a look at the last year’s winners in the SA Olive Awards. Have a look at the link here: https://www.foodandhome.co.za/lifestyle/news-and-trends/winners-extra-virgin-olive-oil-2023-olive-awards
Mzi
16 Nov 2023Greetings,
Rule of thumb, “local is lekker”- buy only Italian cars not their oil because the Mob will never fake them; walk away from Greek, Spanish or imported oils as a matter of fact – that’s it.
Dominique
17 Nov 2023Speaking as a fan of Italian cars and local olive oils, I couldn’t agree with you more, Mzi!
Leon Joffe
17 Nov 2023Brilliant article. Thankyou
Dominique
17 Nov 2023Thanks for reading Leon!