27 Oct

Olive Oil Cops – Italian police can taste fake olive oil

Twenty members of the Italian NAS food piracy unit have graduated from a special course laid on by the Italian National Olive Oil Association Unaprol. Police said the group graduated from a course taught by the National Olive Oil Association Unaprol that included instruction on how to taste fake extra-virgin olive oil and how to […]

04 Oct

California olive oil must meet global standards by law

Beginning Jan. 1, that bottle in the supermarket labeled “extra virgin olive oil” will need to meet international standards because of a new state law enacted by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger this week. California law has long protected consumers against unscrupulous dealers selling imitation or blended oils as olive oil. However, said state Sen. Patricia Wiggins, […]

12 Sep

EU to help consumers identify top quality olive oil

By Jeremy Smith, Europe’s olive oil producers may soon have to mark their best-quality brands with origin labels to stop consumers being misled about where the oil comes from, EU officials said on Friday. Next week, EU experts will vote on whether to make origin labelling compulsory for virgin and extra virgin olive oils. If […]

09 Sep

Woman charged in alleged olive pit scam

Authorities say a Waukesha, Wis., woman allegedly stole more than $25,000 from her employer by falsely claiming olive pits had cracked people’s teeth. Ellen J. Schroeckenthaler, 52, who worked for the Seville olive importing company in Waukesha, allegedly filed the false claims in other people’s names, then filled out company checks and had acquaintances cash […]

04 Sep

Mexican Duties on EU Olive Oil Are Illegal, WTO Rules

By Jennifer M. Freedman, Mexican import duties on olive oil from Italy, Spain and Greece are illegal, World Trade Organization judges ruled, backing a complaint by the European Union while rejecting the bloc’s call for a repeal of the taxes. “Having found that Mexico has acted inconsistently with provisions” of WTO rules on subsidies and […]