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It will just be flat in your mouth; it will just be filmy," she said. "Grocery-store olive oil can have a real coating in your mouth, or aftertaste, whereas you won't so much feel it with a fresh juice."Robbins, who owns Pinch & Pour in downtown Fargo with her husband, Gregg, is well-acquainted with the differences between the oils in her shop and those sold in grocery stores, some of which aren't olive oil at all. Numerous news reports, including a "60 Minutes" segment earlier this year, highlighted the problem of olive oil fraud, especially in Italy, where it is linked to the mafia. Sometimes olive oil is mixed with other oils, such as canola, to cut costs, or it's labeled "extra virgin" when it's not. Extra virgin olive oil is unrefined, meaning it's higher in antioxidants than refined oils, and it is the highest grade of olive oil by U.S. Department of Agriculture standards, with "excellent flavor and odor."Not up to standardA study conducted at the University of California, Davis Olive Center in 2010 revealed that 69 percent of imported "extra virgin" olive oils were not up to the standard for that label, which suggests they had been adulterated, oxidized, or made from damaged or overripe olives."This is a serious consumer issue," said Dan Flynn, executive director of the Olive Center. |
