Though there’s a long history of scandal in the olive oil world, the problem in the U.S. for consumers is less about oil that isn’t made from olives,1 and more about olive oil that doesn’t meet the quality standards declared on its label. But since most people in the U.S. can’t tell fusty2 and musty3 from pungent4 and fruity,5 low-quality olive oil masquerading as extra virgin is a hard problem to fix.
“We call the U.S. the world’s dumping ground for rancid and defective olive oil. We don’t know the difference,” said Sue Langstaff, a sensory scientist who consults for the beer, wine and olive oil industries, among others. Studies have shown that even frequent olive oil consumers in the U.S. don’t know what the extra virgin or cold pressed designations mean, let alone have the ability to taste the difference. And in blind taste tests, consumers often prefer lower-quality olive oils.
We should be upset about this but if we’re too stupid to know better, good on Italy / Greece for making billions off their lowest-quality oil.