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Thursday, 08 October 2009 08:44 |
Great news!. The ACCC are finally starting to do something about imported oils.
The Sydney Morning Herald ran the following story on October 3rd 2009. You can view the entire article by clicking on http://www.smh.com.au/national/oils-aint-oils-extra-virgin-tests-show-20091002-ggj4.html, or read it below.
I would also like to point out that this work is a direct result of the efforts of the Australian Olive Association, Olives SA and in particular Paul Miller and Leandro Ravetti. Paul and Leandro have been working on the ACCC tirelessly for months and I’m very proud of them both, they continue to do great work on behalf of the industry. We, as an industry, are receiving wonderful support from the Federal Government with this matter.
Our next step is to get as many growers signed up to the Code of Practice and then to apply to have our “Australian Standards” adopted by Standards Australia. When we achieve this it will be much harder for importers to send inferior olive oil into Australia and pass it off as Extra Virgin. These standards will go some way towards levelling the playing field for growers in this country.
Cheers!
Lisa
Oils ain't oils, extra virgin tests show
KELLY BURKE CONSUMER AFFAIRS
October 3, 2009
MORE than half the olive oil sold as extra virgin in Australia is either fake or below standard, according to an independent analysis of more than 100 brands.
The results of comprehensive tests conducted earlier this year by Modern Olives Laboratory in Melbourne showed a failure rate of 80 per cent for imported extra virgin olive oil, the World Congress of Oils and Fats was told in Sydney this week. Laboratory manager and researcher Claudia Guillaume said the imported oils failed because they recorded unacceptably high levels of peroxide, free fatty acids or failed a raft of other tests which measure oxidisation or contamination.
The results showed that more than 40 imported olive oils had either been adulterated with cheaper oils such as canola, had gone through a refining process or had spoiled due to age or poor storage techniques.
While Australian-made extra virgin olive oil fared significantly better, almost one in four local brands still failed at least one test because the product was too old.
The president of the Australian Olive Association, Paul Miller, said the results showed that Australia had become a global dumping ground for counterfeit oil relabelled extra virgin. Consumers were being duped into paying premium prices for substandard imported products, he said, because unlike much of Europe, Australia had no mandatory testing and certification regulations.
The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission yesterday announced it had obtained court enforceable undertakings from three olive oil importers, after its own tests concluded it was likely the distributors had engaged in false, misleading and deceptive conduct.
The brands included IGA Distribution's corporate brand, Isabella Extra Virgin Olive Oil, Paese Mio Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil, imported by Calcorp Australia and supplied exclusively through Coles supermarkets, and Aigeon 100 per cent Extra Virgin Olive Oil, imported by Basfoods and supplied mostly to delicatessens and restaurants.
The Australian Olive Association said all extra virgin olive oil, imported or local, needed be certified, to instil confidence and integrity in the industry. Retailers were as much responsible for ensuring quality products as producers, Mr Miller said. But while most of the major local extra virgin oil producers were already adhering to the association's certification standards and its code of conduct, Aldi had been the only big supermarket chain so far to demand certification of all its extra virgin olive oil.
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