"The Olive Oil We’ve Been Eating Was Actually Fuel" Olive Oil Shock Shakes Europe

Inedible Industrial 'Olive Oil' Disguised as Premium
Europol Arrests 11, Seizes 260,000L of Olive Oil
Lowest Grade Fraudulently Sold as Top-Grade Extra Virgin

A gang involved in an olive oil fraud scheme in Spain and Italy has been arrested. The case involved selling the lowest-grade olive oil, which is unsuitable for consumption and mainly used for industrial purposes, as high-quality edible olive oil.

The New York Times (NYT) in the United States and the UK’s Guardian recently reported that the Spanish Civil Guard and the Italian Carabinieri, together with Europol, raided olive oil facilities located in Sicily and Tuscany in Italy, and Ciudad Real in Spain last month, arresting 11 people.

The police seized about 260,000 liters of oil that the gang was selling as premium olive oil at the scene. It was revealed to be “lampante,” the lowest grade of olive oil. The term lampante, derived from the Spanish word meaning “for lighting or fuel” and the Italian word meaning “bright or dazzling,” has traditionally been used for fuel or industrial purposes rather than for consumption.

The gang is known to have sold this oil as top-grade extra virgin olive oil through document forgery and other means. Police in both countries also confiscated approximately 91,000 euros (about 129 million KRW) in cash and invoices owned by the group.

Olive oil, an indispensable ingredient on the dining tables of Southern Europe

According to the NYT, fraud involving food ingredients such as olive oil, beef, and seafood has long troubled European law enforcement authorities. In the past, scams have been uncovered where cheap horse meat was sold as premium beef or impurities were mixed into expensive spices like saffron.

Among these, olive oil is a food product frequently involved in fraud. According to a 2022 European Union (EU) report, olive oil was the food product with the highest number of food fraud investigation requests in Europe in 2019.

Olive oil is an indispensable ingredient in the Mediterranean diet. Especially in southern Europe, including Spain, Italy, and Greece, the olive oil produced is as famous as crude oil from the Middle East. Looking at global olive production, Spain overwhelmingly ranks first with 50%, followed by Italy and Greece, each with 10%.

Europol stated in a press release, “Fraudulent olive oil is produced due to various factors such as price inflation, decreased olive oil production, and increased demand.” According to Olive Oil Times, a media outlet specializing in the olive oil industry, last year, 2.3 million liters of low-grade olive oil were caught by Italian police while being sold as top-grade.

Europol added, “Such illegal practices can pose risks to public health and can also economically harm the industry by undermining consumer trust.”