An Olive Tree Doesn't Mean Olive Oil

I’ve come to accept the hoodwinking so prevalent on food packages, but I encountered an example of deception this weekend that really ticked me off.

I was cooking with people and we started using their jug of Sevilla Mia olive oil. At first glance, the oil seemed legitimate, thanks to the huge image of an olive tree and the words “Extra Virgin Olive Oil” in large, bright green type on the tin.

But when I poured the oil, I knew something was amiss, as its color was the pale yellow common to cheaper vegetable oils.

A closer look at the tin revealed the trickery employed by the makers of the oil.

Underneath “Extra Virgin Olive Oil” was the phrase “Enriched with Vegetable Oil.” Uh oh. I checked the ingredients, and, sure enough, the product was 80 percent vegetable oil and 20 percent Spanish olive oil.

I’ll never be happy with Doritos and Froot Loops, but most people understand that those products are junk food. But this really made me upset because many, many people are buying this oil thinking they are getting olive oil.

Instead, they are getting a cheaper, unhealthier and less flavorful product. It’s difficult to fathom that this packaging was anything but a shameful, planned deception by its producers.

Don’t let this happen to you; read your labels carefully!