About 46 percent of the “extra virgin” labeled olive oils sold in the market are not authentic. Many of these are cut with sunflower oil, soybean oil, and other oils, resulting in a chemically colored, flavored and deodorized blend.
According to Larry Olmsted, author of New York Times best seller "Real Food, Fake Food: Why You Don’t Know What You’re Eating & What You Can Do About It," olive oil is one of the most counterfeited products in the world. In his book, the journalist takes readers into the unregulated food industry, revealing premium food counterfeiting. In the case of olive oils, many labeled as “extra virgin” are not actually so. However, as Olmsted points out, it’s worth trying to find the actual thing you are looking for instead of a bland and potentially risky substitute. In addition to pointing out which items to avoid, he helps readers recognize quality products; and for olive oils, he highly recommends Oliviers&Co.
How can we tell if it is real extra virgin olive oil?
Olives are fruits, so it is important to note that real extra virgin olive oil is fresh-squeezed fruit juice without any additives or chemicals. It should have a low acidity level not exceeding 0.3 percent.
It’s important to understand how olive oil is produced. Each stage of the olive oil production process—from deciding when to harvest the olives to the pressing, bottling and storage of the oil—needs to be conducted under optimal conditions for the resulting oils to be considered for O&CO.’s selection. The O&CO. laboratory is a temple dedicated to extreme quality control.
Olives must be hand-harvested when still green and immediately transported to the mill after harvesting. They are then sorted to select the “best” that continue onward to pressing. The olive processing occurs below 77 degrees F. Olive oils of different origins are never pressed together, which would result in sub-standard oil. Each oil is then tasted by Eric Verdier, Oliviers&Co.’s olive oil expert. He tastes over 1,200 olive oils each year before making his final selection.
Once bottled, the consumer can check the O&CO. label for the following information: the name of the producer and the mill, the country of origin, the date of harvest, the specific lot, the olive varietals, and the number of liters selected by O&CO. In addition to the Best Before Date (BBD), O&CO. also prints the actual harvest month and year on every label to guarantee that oils are from the current harvest.
Oliviers&Co. has the strictest guidelines and selection criteria from harvesting to bottling, and has continued in their commitment towards high quality standards, transparency, and traceability of their products.
In the Philippines Oliviers&Co. (O&CO.) is exclusively distributed by Specialty Food Retailers, Inc. (SFRI), a member of the SSI Group, Inc. O&CO. boutiques are located at Central Square, Bonifacio High Street, and Greenbelt 5, Ayala Center.