And some of those have been deemed unfit for human consumption.
Olive oil fraud typically happens in two main ways: producers mislabeling lower-quality oils as premium products, such as extra virgin olive oil, or mixing olive oil with inexpensive neutral oils like sunflower or grapeseed oil.
In some cases, cheap oils are even dyed with chlorophyll and carotenes to mimic the appearance of olive oil.
The rise in olive oil prices can be attributed to a series of poor harvests over recent years, more than doubling since 2018.
Kyle Holland, an analyst at market research group Mintec, told CNBC that extreme weather has “significantly impacted” olive oil production in Mediterranean countries such as Spain, Italy and Greece.
“Some players we speak to that have been doing this for many years wonder how they are going to carry on,” Holland said.
Others have begun selling off fake olive oil.
According to professor Maurizio Servili from the University of Perugia, this has created lucrative opportunities for fraudsters.
“Olive oil is not a cheap product. It’s easier and more economical to make frauds of an expensive product than a cheap product,” he told the Daily Mail .
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