Greek Family Charged with Producing, Selling Fake Olive Oil
This week, seven people—all belonging to the same family—were arrested and accused of selling adulterated sunflower oil and calling it extra virgin olive oil. They were selling it for half off the market price and claiming that it was directly from legit olive oil producers.
The fraudulent activity was uncovered in Thessaly—a province in Greece. The family had used dye to alter the color of sunflower oil, transforming it from yellow to the greenish hue that natural olive oil possesses. The dye, according to The Hellenic Food Authority (HFA)—who sets quality standards in the area—underwent testing and was reportedly safe to use. However, there are reports of a different dye that had been used earlier in the family’s operation that may have contained carcinogenic chemicals.