In Search of 100% Pure Olive Oil

Recently on my Facebook page I shared a very informative post by The Kitchen Rag entitled:  Is Your Olive Oil Adulterated with Rancid Vegetable Oil.

This post stirred up quite a bit of conversation, which is exactly why I share information like this. The issue of olive oil adulteration is real and consuming these adulterated oils can have negative health consequences, because many commercial olive oils are cut with low-quality vegetable oils, most of which are genetically modified (GMO).  And, if you buy real olive oil, you should be getting pure olive oil, right? It’s real olive oil that has the health benefits and it’s real olive oil that is a culinary delight. Spicy, peppery and rich… that’s olive oil!

I’m not out to reinvent the wheel here.  Many others- scientists, authors and bloggers- have already blazed a trail and done the research in regards to the fact that your olive oil may not be real.  I challenge you to read up on this subject and arm yourselves with information so that you can continue to be a savvy consumer.  A 22-page report titled:  Evaluation of Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Sold in California  is a rather eye-opening study done by six scientists from UC Davis. This report laid the groundwork for others to start investigating this disturbing trend of adulterated olive oils.

Tom Mueller, author of the bestselling book on this topic, Extra Virginity, and owner of Truth in Olive Oil.com is quite the expert on olive oil and the adulteration issue. His website is absolutely worth a visit, and he has an entertaining blog that covers everything from recipes to the latest olive oil news and buy-worthy brands.

Food Renegade shares in two separate posts the discovery that 70% of the olive oil brands on the market are in fact not pure olive oil and are cut with lesser quality, rancid vegetable oils, among other things. In  How to Tell if Your Olive Oil is Fake ,  Kristin sets the groundwork for her follow up post  Your Extra Virgin Olive Oil is Fake making both articles a good resource and a great place to start in order to become more informed on this subject. Mark Sisson over at Mark’s Daily Apple wrote on the olive oil issue too, and explains again WHY we want to avoid these adulterated oils (and vegetable oils in general).

Now that you’re armed with all sorts of information you will want to make sure you can purchase some truly pure olive oil.  Many of you mentioned that you would be grateful for a list of trusted brands,  as not everyone has access to specialty shops or local olive oil farmers in their area.  Below is a list of Olive Oil brands/companies that we can wholeheartedly support.  I’ve included links to some of our own articles so that you can read up on the companies we have personally reviewed and can recommend without reservation.

Trusted Olive Oil Brands-

1. Chaffin Family Orchards– our family favorite
2. Euphoria Olive Oils
3. Seggiano Artisanal Foods
4. Kirkland Organic or Toscano Olive Oil  From Costco.
5. Kasandrinos
6. Jovial Foods
7. Olia Olive Oil
8. Trader Joe’s Premium 100% Greek Kalamata Olive Oil
9. Oils from this list by Tom Mueller

The bottom line is that we can’t trust the FDA to check every product that hits the shelves of your local grocery store, nor regulate all online sales. Restaurants and grocery store owners also aren’t testing products – they simply take the word of the company selling the product that is is safe, pure, and real. It’s up to us- to consumer- to do the research, read the labels and know what we’re buying.

As health conscious consumers, it’s our responsibility to research what we put in our mouths and if Real Food Whole Health can help ease some of that burden by doing a little homework on your behalf, well, we’re happy to help.

If you know of any other truly pure, 100% authentic olive oil brands, feel free to shoot me an Email and I’ll update the post in the near future.
This post contains a referral link to Amazon.