The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has fined a Kensington, South Australia, olive oil manufacturer a total of A$13,200 for marketing its products as “extra virgin” even though they purportedly did not meet international grade standards. According to a May 18, 2012, ACCC press release, The Big Olive Company Pty Ltd over a four-month period “supplied nearly three thousand 500ml bottles of ‘Oz Olio’ oil with a representation of extra virgin olive oil on the front label.” The commission has since alleged that some of these oils contained “more free fatty acids than permitted by olive oil trade standards,” indicating that the “olives used to make the oil were old, damaged or otherwise of poor quality and the oil was not extra virgin olive oil at the time of bottling.”
ACCC apparently decided to test four imported oils and three domestic labels after receiving complaints from the Australian Olive Association (AOA) about lower-quality oils being dubbed “extra virgin.” Although the other product samples reportedly met voluntary standards for extra virgin oil, the commission has pledged to continue working with AOA to address its “broader concerns” about olive oil claims and to “ensure greater clarity in labeling.”
“The term ‘extra virgin’ is widely understood by consumers to mean a premium product. Consumers should be able to trust that what’s on the label is what’s in the bottle,” said ACCC Chair Rod Sims. “Misleading ‘extra virgin’ claims trick consumers into paying a premium for an inferior product. Traders who abuse the trust of Australian consumers in this way expose themselves to enforcement action.”
