Know thy Importer - Know thy Source

by Giannakos Estate December 13, 2020 2 min read 0 Comments

What Edible Ottawa says about Ilias and Sons Greek Olive Oil

“Many olive oil scams involve straightforward mixing of low-grade vegetable oils, flavoured and coloured with plant extracts and sold in tins and bottles emblazoned with Italian flags or paintings of Mount Vesuvius, together with the folksy names of imaginary producers”. (Tom Mueller, Extra Virginity: The Sublime and Scandalous World of Olive Oil). This observation was made 8 years ago but the olive oil market is still sadly plagued by substandard products.

The last few years, the problem is even more dire than ever. Extreme weather and bacterial diseases, among other things, led to a dramatic decrease in olive harvest in several Mediterraneancountries. The poor crops that the major olive-producing countries experienced has gravely reduced the supply, causing a shortage of quality olive oil and a spike in the prices. As a result, fake extra virgin olive oil mixed with cheap substitutes but sold at an exorbitant cost has become more and more widespread. The frauds are so massive and serious that the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has carried out an extensive program to identify dishonest producers and protect the law-abiding ones. Earlier this year, Ilias and Sons Extra Virgin olive oil productswere among the first to undergo rigorous tests given by CFIA. The results verified them as pure and authentic.

But not all producers follow the same strict standards as Ilias and Sons, meaning that the war on fake extra virgin olive oil still has a long way to go. Just a few weeks ago, European police authorities made two record seizures of fake olive oil in Germany and Italy. The quantity of the fake oil that was made from low quality olive and sunflower oils reached up to 150,000 liters. It belonged to a criminal network that sold the oil mostly on the German market as well as shops and supermarkets throughout Italy. Though the fake oil didn’t result in any direct health problems, the gang was estimated to earn an annual profit of at least €8 million ($8.9 million) from the fraud.

Such conduct is non-existent in our code of ethics. In fact, Edible Ottawa, a Canadian cuisine magazine, hails Ilias and Sons Greek Olive Oil as an excellent example of quality and reputation. In a story entitled “Know thy importer”, Ilias and Sons is shown as one of the pioneers of change and innovation in the degraded extra virgin olive oil industry. By upholding the family tradition of making oil from our own olive grove back in Greece, we can always ensure the most satisfactory quality for our products. Instead of relying on middlemen, a hassle that potentially compromises the olive oil quality and adds extra costs to the customers, we deliver Extra Virgin olive oil directly to customers. That is how we can control the product quality and ensure that customers only pay for what is worth their money. Besides extra virgin olive oil for cooking,

“Know thy importer” also introduces other products from Ilias and Sons, including olive-oil soaps and olive oil infused with black garlic.