Adulterated olive oil - is Bertolli'ssafe?

[ambers_artworld]

Hi all, I'm sure many of you are familiar with the olive oil scandal a few years ago where they discovered a HUGE ratio of olive oil is adulterated...Bertolli, it was found at that time, had a huge percentage of each bottle oftheir "olive oil" adulterated with hazelnut oil from Turkey. That brand was also on a list of main offenders for not passing purity tests.

I was wondering if anyone has heard any updates on the Bertolli brand "Classico" pure olive oil, whether or not they have eliminated the issue, since that all happened in 2008 or 09...it is by far the cheapest olive oil I can get locally at cash and carry, but obviously I have concerns...mainly, my lye amount will not be correct if I've got some other oil snuck in as a large ratio of my olive and I could end up with a lye heavy batch. Any info greatly appreciated!

 

[hellogorgeous]

Sorry I don't know about Bertolli. But do you have a Costco there? You can get 6L olive oil there for $18. I believe Kirkland brand was the only brand to pass all the tests for each type of olive oil.

 

[Loubou75]

Hi all, I'm sure many of you are familiar with the olive oil scandal a few years ago where they discovered a HUGE ratio of olive oil is adulterated...Bertolli, it was found at that time, had a huge percentage of each bottle oftheir "olive oil" adulterated with hazelnut oil from Turkey. That brand was also on a list of main offenders for not passing purity tests.

I was wondering if anyone has heard any updates on the Bertolli brand "Classico" pure olive oil, whether or not they have eliminated the issue, since that all happened in 2008 or 09...it is by far the cheapest olive oil I can get locally at cash and carry, but obviously I have concerns...mainly, my lye amount will not be correct if I've got some other oil snuck in as a large ratio of my olive and I could end up with a lye heavy batch. Any info greatly appreciated!

Oh no please don't say that! I bought four bottles of Napolina's Extra Virgin Olive Oil today at a reduced price. I hope it isn't tampered with. You don't know what you are paying for these days. I'm sure you've heard the scandal here in the UK this week that horse meat and pig meat has been found in Beef products sold in our supermarkets.... It's scary!

 

[ambers_artworld]

Oh GROSS!! Nope, I don't really watch much news or tv so I'm out of the loop...I can only imagine what kind of chemicals they used to soak the horse meat in to soften and mask the flavor!! *shudder*. Yes, I do have a Costco but I was hoping so bad Bertolli's name had bean cleared since the price is a lot lower when purchased in bulk at cash n carry. I'm not concerned if there are various types of olive oil grades in the same bottle since sap values are so close on all, but more concerned that an oil with a very different sap value is mixed in at a ratio large enough to cause a problem.

 

[elizmar2006]

I know this is a late reply but I have been dealing with looking up this information too so thought I would post something to help anyone searching for answers.
To answer your question. From what I have been reading Bertolli has not changed. Their olive oil is still failing the oil test. Here is a link I found helpful with information on bands that fail or pass olive oil test plus test you can do at home. The post is from 2011 but I have found many of the brands have not changed.
http://mamanatural.com/virgin-olive-oil-scam-fraud/

How did I find out? I made my first batch of soap! I had a big bottle of olive oil and decided to get my feet wet by making a 100% pure olive oil soap so I could see what it was like with nothing added. I made my soap but right off the bat something was odd. In all my research I read it takes forever to trace and longer to cure. My soap traced in about 5 minutes and appears to be cured at 4 weeks out. Looking up answers I found out that the olive oil I used is not olive oil even though it says 100% pure on the bottle. I found out the brand I used was originally on the list of adulterated oil all those years ago. Doing a few oil test on it seems to confirm that nothing has changed.

I've seen some people say who cares, the fake olive oil makes good soap and I don't have an issue with lye. My concern is by buying a product whose ingredients I do not know may cause an issue down the road if I ever try to sell my soap. Imagine I have a fake olive oil and put on my ingredients just olive oil but in reality it's been cut with soy, canola or who knows what. Now someone allergic to this buys my soap and has a bad reaction. I can't knowingly take that risk.