Olive oil is one of the most important ingredients in Mediterranean cuisine. Now, a complaint from the Organization of Consumers and Users (OCU) has set off all the alarms. Irregularities have been identified in the packaging of up to eleven brands of olive oil and the main focus of detection is in two autonomous communities: Andalusia and Extremadura.
Food alert for olive oil
For her part, the General Directorate of Public Health of the Extremadura Health Service (SES) has reported that it has brought to justice the case of the alleged virgin olive oil that has been immobilized recently as it is a crime against public health and fraud.
The Junta de Extremadura has already received the results of the first analysis carried out by the Agrifood Laboratory of Extremadura. At least one of the eleven intervened brands contains lampante oil, a variety that is not suitable for human consumption.
The presence of lamp oil It can be due to several reasons: that the olives have been collected from the ground and/or that they are too ripe or that there have been deficiencies in the virgin olive oil production process.
Despite the presence of lamp oil in the intervened marks, the Deputy Director of Food and Environmental Safety of the Extremadura Health Service (SES), Santiago Malpica, has called for calm. He assures that it does not pose a health hazard, since the reason why it is not suitable for human consumption is due to “its bad taste and poor quality.”
Precisely, it was the consumers themselves who notified the competent authorities of a bad taste in the virgin olive oil. In the case of Andalusia, the investigations carried out have concluded that behind this problem there is a network for the illegal sale of this product.
The authorities have already withdrawn it from circulation, which It was for sale in markets, retail stores and gas stations in Andalusia and Extremadura in a 5-liter carafe format. In total, 68,000 liters of virgin olive oil have been withdrawn.
Las once intercepted marks They are the following: Acebuche, Virgen del Gudiana, La Campiña de Andalucía, Cortijo del Oro, Galiaceite 2022, La Abadía, Villa de Jerez, Don Jaén Aceite 2019, Imperio Andaluz, Vareado and La Esmeralda.
From the OCU they have announced that will continue to investigate said illegal sale and the possible social reach that the alert can provoke.
