4. Conclusion

Olive oils are among the most adulterated food products, through the addition of poor-quality oils and deliberate deception by those responsible, as the financial stakes can be very lucrative [as profitable as cocaine trafficking...].

Common falsification practices consist of adding inexpensive substitutes (rapeseed oil), adding colorants (a 50/50 mixture of β-carotene and chlorophyll to adjust the color), making false statements about the treatment applied (refining method), or producing false declarations.

In 2020, the DGCCRF carried out numerous checks on various samples of olive oil: oil quality, labeling compliance, and claims about the oil's origin. A total of 97 samples were taken and 180 establishments inspected... The results of these checks were not good! 48% of the olive oils tested did not comply with what was stated on the label....