ACCC chairman, Rod Sims, said: “The term ‘extra virgin’ is widely understood by consumers to mean a premium product. Consumers should be able to trust that what’s on the label is what’s in the bottle.
“Misleading ‘extra virgin’ claims trick consumers into paying a premium for an inferior product. Traders who abuse the trust of Australian consumers in this way expose themselves to enforcement action.”
The Big Olive Company is an Australian company that produces, bottles and supplies edible oil under a number of brand names including Oz Olio.
Between December 2010 and March 2011, The Big Olive Company supplied nearly three thousand 500ml bottles of Oz Olio oil with a representation of extra virgin olive oil on the front label.
Although there is no mandatory standard for extra virgin olive oil in Australia, it is widely accepted that it is the highest grade oil obtained from the first press of the best quality olives, that it is not blended with other oil and that there are no solvents or refining in the manufacturing process.
This action by the ACCC follows complaints from the Australian Olive Association that numerous oils being sold in Australia as extra virgin olive oil are not of this quality.
Source: ACCC
© FoodBev Media Ltd 2024