The Active Users Association identified imitations of quality olive oil on the Bulgarian market. The survey includes 28 brands, all of them being bought in supermarkets in Sofia. Of these, 15 are declared as the highest category of "Extra virgin olive oil", 11 are "pomace" or another category, and two are represented as a "salad mix", which means blending with another vegetable oil such as sunflower oil. The price of the last product is generally the lowest.
In 5 of the brands surveyed, the manufacturer did not specify the category of olive oil. After the analysis, additives were found in them and they were categorized as "anointed". This, according to "Active users," may mislead the customers that the product belongs to the highest category of olive oil.
In 5 out of 11 brands known as "pomes", refined olive oil is found. In 4 of the 11 brands "pomes" there is oil of olive oil, which means that the olives of the pressed olives are subjected to further treatment with organic solvents to increase the yield. This lowers the quality of the oil and the risk of residual chemicals being used for solvents in the final product. In 2 of the 11 brands "Pomace", both refined and press cake oil are incorporated.
Dangerous to health
"There are manufacturers who put misleading labels in the form of pictures of olive oil, in which olive oil is actually 20%, and in three of the laboratories tested, olive oil is found to be inconsistencies in the component oil composition Two of these fake may be dangerous to the health of consumers because they have chemicals chloroform and carbon tetrachloride in about 11 times the permitted limit, "wrote Active Users in their analysis.
In 2 cases of inconsistency, the cause is deliberate counterfeiting of brands by manufacturers.
"The Active Users survey is the first proof of the presence of the Bulgarian olive oil market, and consumers need to know that olive oil, wherever it is produced, may not be beneficial to health and to make informed choices in the marketing Control bodies should be aware of the risks to the quality and safety of olive oil It is necessary to develop and implement a realistic monitoring program for olive oil brands and remember that this food product one of the first places in the deliberate falsification in Europe, "sums up the association.
Kremena Stoeva, from the Bulgarian Food Safety Agency, told bTV that it will not comment on the results but will review the information of Active Users.