As cooking-show celebrity Rachael Ray coos for “EVOO,” shoppers should be wary of deceptive labeling from a slick industry — and of their own vulnerability to fads.
The priciest type of olive oil is “extra virgin.” It’s processed without heat or chemicals to maximize nutrition and minimize acidity. Except when it isn’t; a new University of California at Davis study found that most brands of imported extra virgin olive oils at major grocers failed international standards. Some were blended with cheaper, refined oils. Some were damaged in other ways. One brand that flunked bears the name of Rachael Ray, the extra virgin olive oil enthusiast who got the abbreviation EVOO in the Oxford American College Dictionary.
The study was funded in part by the California Olive Oil Council, as lobbyists for the importers have furiously pointed out. But allegations of iffy oil have arisen before; two decades ago, the Food and Drug Administration found that 40 percent of “extra virgin” oils were falsely labeled.
Tempting as it might be to blame Big Olive Oil alone, picky cooks should also pay closer attention. Many brands that offer questionable extra virgin also sell a version called “extra light” — a term that means little but has vague connotations of health. Savvy consumers should understand the first two letters in “EVOO” as an exhortation toward extra vigilance.