WhatEdible Ottawasays aboutIliasand Sons Greek Olive Oil
“Many olive oil scams involve straightforward mixing of low-grade vegetable oils,flavouredandcolouredwith 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 severalMediterraneancountries. 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,Iliasand Sons Extra Virgin olive oil productswere among the first to undergorigorous tests given by CFIA. The results verified them as pure and authentic.
But not all producers follow the same strict standards asIliasand 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 authoritiesmade two record seizures of fake olive oil in Germany and Italy.The quantity of the fake oil that was made fromlow quality olive and sunflower oilsreached up to 150,000 liters. It belonged toa criminal networkthat sold the oil mostlyon the German marketas well asshops 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 thefraud.
Such conduct is non-existent in our code of ethics. In fact,Edible Ottawa, a Canadian cuisine magazine, hailsIliasand Sons Greek Olive Oilas an excellent example of quality and reputation.In astory entitled “Know thy importer”,Iliasand Sonsis shown as one of the pioneers of change and innovation inthe 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 onmiddlemen, a hassle that potentially compromises the olive oil quality and adds extra costs to the customers,wedeliver Extra Virgin olive oil directlyto 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,
“Knowthy importer” also introduces other products fromIliasand Sons, including olive-oil soaps and olive oil infused with black garlic.
