The Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock (Mapa) ordered all traders, retailers or wholesalers, to remove ten brands of extra virgin olive oil from their shelves.
According to the determination published last Friday (15), the following brands must be removed from circulation: Terra de Óbidos; Serra Morena; From Alcântara; Vincenzo; Az Olive Oil; Almazara; Escarpa das Oliveiras; Don Alejandro; Mezzano; and Uberaba.
To consumers, Mapa advises them to immediately stop consuming the product, “being able to request its replacement in the manner determined by the Consumer Protection Code. You can also communicate the Map through the official channel Fala.BRinforming the establishment and address where the product was purchased.”
The consumer can be reimbursed even if they have already opened and consumed the product. To do this, you must bring the invoice proving that the product was sold when it was already on the list of products that should not be sold. Those affected can also file a complaint with the health surveillance department of their municipality.
Illicit scheme
The measures taken by the Ministry of Agriculture and Livestock are precautionary in nature and are consequences of Operation Gethsemane, which identified an illicit scheme for the importation, adulteration and distribution of fraudulent olive oil.
The operation was carried out on the 6th, 7th and 8th of March in the capitals São Paulo (SP), Recife (PE) and Natal (RN), and in the municipality of Saquarema, in the Lagos Region (RJ). In the action, more than 104 thousand liters of fraudulent olive oil were seized, as well as packaging and labels.
This was not the first seizure of fraudulent olive oil of the year. At the beginning of January, 24.5 thousand liters of olive oil were withdrawn from circulation in supermarket chains in municipalities in the center-west of São Paulo, due to poor quality and falsified labels.
According to Mapa, “olive oil is the second most fraudulent food product in the world, behind only fish.” The ministry advises consumers before purchasing to check the list of irregular products already seized; do not buy in bulk; choose products with the most recent packaging date; note the expiration date and time of the ingredients contained (the olive harvest time for extra virgin olive oils is six months).
The Consumer Protection Institute (Idec) also recommends observing whether the oil is cloudy and whether the packaging contains information about mixing oils (addition of another vegetable oil).
Another tip is to be wary of prices well below the market average. The price of olive oil has remained high in recent years and is expected to continue under pressure this year due to the historic decline in global production, especially in European countries – responsible for two-thirds of global olive oil production.
According to Embrapa, Brazil is the third largest importer of olive oil in the world. The country also produces olive oil, with “quality recognized by international awards won in recent years”, but local production is still incipient. “Started in the last decade, it reached 503 tons in 2022, which represents just 0.24% of national consumption.”