All Olive Oils are Not Created Equal
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Chefs on television cooking shows are likely to mention Extra Virgin Olive Oil or “EEOO” as popular foodie star Rachael Ray calls it, and extoll its virtues in culinary dishes. But, did you know that olive oil has therapeutic health benefits, as well? Here are a few of the benefits of olive oil in your diet:
According to Paul Miller from the Australian Olive Association, Australia has become a sort of dumping ground for the old, stale olive oils unwanted by Spain and Italy. “We need to clean up that marketplace,” said Miller. “Australians are massive consumers of olive oil. Apart from Mediterraneans, we buy more than any other country---44,000 tonnes of extra virgin olive oil. But many olive oils being flogged in the supermarkets' discount war are overpriced, inferior stock.” It seems that Australian consumers have been duped for a long time with old, stale, overly refined and substandard olive oils. These oils are made from inferior grades of olives, usually imported from other countries and unloaded on unsuspecting Australians that have no idea they are buying outright fakes. But it looks like the party is over for those who try to dump anymore low grade olive oil on the Australian market. Standards Australia have put new rules into effect that will ban deceptive product labels and guarantee that when you buy authentic, pure olive oil...that is what you will get. What to Look For in Olive Oil The new rules set by Standards Australia require that olive oil is marked as extra virgin or clearly marked as refined, which is of lesser quality. Extra virgin olive oil (OOEE) must be derived from true, high quality olives and be the purest, first cold pressed, without using any excessive heat or chemicals. It should contain no more than 0.8% free fatty acids. This is not to say that there is not a place for refined, lower grade olive oil. The thing is, though, that you should be offered a very clear choice between true EEOO and refined olive oils. Paul Miller has this to say: “Consumers are being a little misled with terms like 'extra light', which some people think is low fat extra virgin olive oil, when in fact it's the lowest grade of oil you can buy.” Admittedly, the term “extra light” would tend to make one think that the olive oil was low fat instead of low quality. Standards Australia will also see to it that olive oils are tested to determine their quality. Choice, the People's Watchdog for Australia, tested olive oils and found that Australian extra virgin oils were of high quality but many imported Spanish, Greek and Italian oils failed to meet the international standards for extra virgin olive oil. The oils that didn't pass muster were old, rancid or heat-treated. Here is a partial list of the oils that failed the Choice tests:
Sounds like pretty sound advice! Extra virgin olive oil is a healthy choice, but make sure that you are getting the real thing!
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