03 Jun

Spanish & Italian Olive Oil fraud’s adulteration

By Andrew Weil, Q: I understand that a magazine reported that a lot of the olive oil from Italy is adulterated with lesser oils and described ongoing fraud in the olive oil business. Do you have any information about this? A: I have read the article you mention, it reports that fraud remains a major […]

29 May

Canada: Olive oil imports were half sunflower

A Toronto-area food importer and distributor has been fined for importing an olive/sunflower oil blend labelled as “extra virgin olive oil” in 2006. Jan K. Overweel Ltd., which markets the Emma, Casa Italia and Cortina Foods brands and other imported products, was convicted in Toronto in February under the federal Food and Drugs Act, with […]

10 May

SOS Cuetara to issue 200 mln euros of shares to plug hole

Spain’s SOS Cuetara (SOS.MC) said on Sunday it would issue 200 million euros of new shares to plug a hole in its accounts after top executives were discovered siphoning off funds to buy shares in the olive oil bottler. SOS said it was restating 2008 results and booking a loss after it emerged that chairman […]

02 May

SOS Cuetara’s top execs fired, shares suspended

by Tracy Rucinski & Rodrigo de Miguel, Spain’s SOS Cuetara (SOS.MC), the world’s biggest olive oil bottler, said on Thursday it had fired its two top executives after discovering last month they had used company funds to buy SOS shares. “SOS Group’s board, which met today, has fired Jesus and Jaime Salazar Bello as chairman […]

18 Mar

NZ: CRI denies involvement in olive oil judging scandal

By Allan Swann, Plant & Food Research is distancing itself from a recent Olives NZ judging scandal, claiming its involvement had nothing to do the outcome that saw head judge Margaret Edwards award her own oil first place. Plant and Food Research, formerly HortResearch, provided venues, equipment and logistics for the event, but spokesman Roger […]