Why Your "Extra Virgin" Olive Oil Is Probably a Sham

[Ian David]

Why Your "Extra Virgin" Olive Oil Is Probably a Sham

When Gary Beauchamp went to Erice, Italy in 1999 for the series of lectures that spawned what is now known molecular gastronomy, he attended an olive oil tasting. The symposium’s attendees smelled and sipped the viscous oil from clear glasses. “We were drinking it,” he said, “and, all of a sudden, my throat started to burn.”

The sensation reminded him of the burn that comes when you chew up ibuprofen. It tingles or itches. It makes you cough or, ahem, clear your throat. Sure enough, in 2005, Beauchamp, a biologist at Philadelphia's Monell Chemical Senses Center, and other researchers showed that extra-virgin olive oil contains a cough-eliciting compound they called oleocanthal, a distinguishing chemical characteristic of fresh-pressed olive oil.

Generally, "extra-virgin" oil is pressed or centrifuged and meets certain requirements set forward by the International Olive Council. But since the United States Department of Agriculture, which enacted new rules for "extra-virgin" oils (PDF) last October, does not enforce the voluntary rules, "extra-virgin" labels in the U.S. are essentially a marketing term intended for unheated, unrefined oil with low acidity and superior taste.

What's remarkable about that prickly, itchy, tickling sensation is that it comes from anti-inflammatory compounds that are very similar to ibuprofen. In a study published earlier this year in the Journal of Neuroscience, scientists said oleocanthal binds to the same TRPA1 receptors in our oropharyx that ibuprofen does.

More:
http://www.stumbleupon.com/su/2hpDu3/www.good.is/post/why-your-extra-virgin-olive-oil-is-probably-a-sham/?utm_source=supr

[Bryan Buchan]

1. Then which are truely extra virgin?

n/t

[Ian David]

3. Only trust the imports, is my guess. n/t

[NV Whino]

8. Lots of good oils from CA

Particularly the Napa Valley. This is one of my clients. Excellent olive oil.
http://cimarossa.com/

[Ian David]

9. Perhaps, but they can't be trusted at face value because their labeling is "voluntary."

Your client's best interests can be served by advocating mandatory standards for using the label "extra-virgin."

[NV Whino]

12. Given that I designed the label

and know how the olives are harvested and where and how the oil is bottled, you are wrong in this case. I have first hand knowledge of many of the producers in the valley, and they all adhere to the "voluntary" standard of extra virgin. The firms who don't adhere to the voluntary standard are usually, although, not totally, the bigger firms. It doesn't serve the small producer to take advantage of his clients.

[Ian David]

13. Well, I trust YOU. n/t

[TheMadMonk]

17. Not if the local code of conduct is a voluntary one.

Some of the nastier Euro suppliers learned their lesson from America rather well. We here in Australia were for a while getting litterally rancid, second and third pressings being sold to us as extra virgin from Spain, Italy and Turkey. AND they were NOT small names doing it.

Give me my renderd animal lipids. Lots and lots of sizzling pan drippings with extra BCBs (Burnt Crunchy Bits).

[cliffordu]

4. Mosly computer science nerds that look like Bill Gates.

Mosly.......

[northoftheborder]

5. I want to know that also. Maybe the ones imported from Italy.

[Codeine]

23. Those are even less trustworthy.

The labels aren't all that meaningful in the US, but in Italy and Spain they've been known to mix in other oils with the olive oil or even color other oils with chlorophyll and sell them as olive oil when there's none there.

http://blogs.wsj.com/informedreader/2007/08/05/extra-virgin-olive-oil-great-to-taste-easy-to-fake/

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/13/070813fa_fact_mueller

Hell, many years back someone sold industrial oil as olive oil in Spain and a hundred or so people were killed by it.

http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,921072,00.html

[tabatha]

2. Which is why one can obtain

anti-inflammatory results by eating the right food, without having to resort to pharmaceuticals.

And there are some outfits in CA that produce really good olive oil.

[SheilaT]

6. Who in the normal course of eating

consumes olive oil by drinking down a lot of it at a time?

Okay, "a lot" is a relative term, especially given the description, but I myself never consume olive oil all by itself. I use it to cook, or I use it as an ingredient in something else.

[Ian David]

10. That's just how they test the stuff for quality.

Or, if you want to use it as medicine, I suppose.

[Codeine]

22. I always try my new oils straight.

Just like wine tasting -- swish it 'round and mix in some air, but unlike in wine tasting I prefer to swallow it. I need to get a grip on its spiciness, its fruitiness, any bitter element that may be present, if there's a smoky note, etc. Then I can know how to use that bottle.

[enlightenment]

7. Interesting - we recently bought a bottle of Carapelli's

Il Numarato EVOO - presumably a smooth and low acid finishing oil. I love the taste of Carapelli's oils and was looking forward to this new version.

Great taste, but it made me cough (we were using it as a dipping oil with bread). I was vastly disappointed - now I know why it did that!

Still disappointed, though. I don't want to cough everytime I take a bite.

[Ian David]

11. The coughing is caused by virtue of it being a HIGHER quality. n/t

[enlightenment]

14. I know . . .

but I'm not sure I want to suffer THAT much for my sustenance.

*I will try it again, though. The taste is excellent*

[Ian David]

15. Good Japanese wasabi hurts your nose. n/t

[Codeine]

21. You want that in certain olive oils.

A spiciness is great for some applications (I like my salad oils to have a bit of throaty tingle), but for breads you want a fruitier and softer oil. Buy lots of different brands until you find the best for each application.

[enlightenment]

24. Yes - I bought this one because it claims

low acidity and smoother taste. It is very smooth and has great taste - I just wasn't expecting the 'throaty tingle' to the point of coughing.

I'll try another, because a good chewy bread (a nice dark bread is excellent, too) and olive oil is manna. Really. :)

[Codeine]

25. Honestly, if malnutrition wouldn't kill me

I'd freakin' LIVE on bread, olive oil, and balsamic vinegar.

[enlightenment]

26. Yep.

And I would die happy. Slightly greasy, but happy.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

16. I had a natural health guru promise me that if I took enough supplements that

I would have 72 bottles of extra virgin olive oil when I get where I am going. Notice I didn't say heaven... cuz I sure do cause enough trouble in here and elsewhere. :)

[TheMadMonk]

18. If you're going to the "other" place, you may well need every slippery...

...ounce. Though it's unlikely to be of much assistance with the pineapples.

[HysteryDiagnosis]

19. I loves me some pineapples. Will there be blueberries?? Gotta have 'em too. n/t

[Codeine]

20. Even the imports can't be trusted.

A huge number of cases have occurred in Italy and Spain where origin labels are faked or adulterant oils like sunflower and canola are mixed with colorants and sold as EVOO. The Italian mob has its fingers deep in that industry.