Olive oil fraud and mislabelling cases hit record high in EU

The EU had a record number of potential olive oil fraud and mislabelling cases in the first quarter of this year as inflationary pressures fuelled an increase in the hidden market for the kitchen staple. The cost of olive oil has more than doubled since 2018 with production hit by extreme weather caused by the climate crisis and other factors. As the price has spiked, so has the number of “cross-border EU notifications”, which include mislabelling, potential fraud, and safety cases involving contaminated oils. In the first quarter of 2018, just 15 such cases were recorded by the EU. That rose to a record 50 cases in the first three months of this year, more than a threefold increase, according to data released to the Guardian under freedom of information laws. However, these cases are only those to have been detected and reported by member states to the EU directorate general for health. The figure omits domestic cases and the true scale of the fraud is probably much higher. The ...