Neighbor News
Make Sure Your Olive Oil Is The Real Thing
There is unfortunate amount of deception in the food industry.
Recently the Honest company was under fire for having potentially toxic ingredients in their products that were not supposed to be there.
Deception can occur when some produce may be labeled as "organic" that is actually conventional.
Farmed salmon is often sold as "wild caught".
Find out what's happening in Ramseyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
What exactly does "free range" and "cage free" mean when it comes to chickens and eggs?
Many times grass fed beef is grain finished. How does that change the quality of the beef?
Find out what's happening in Ramseyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.
Chicken packaging may boast of "No Added Hormones", but it is illegal in the United States to add hormones to the chicken anyway, so that statement tells you nothing.
On top of all of that, there is now widespread counterfeit extra virgin olive oil out there too.
"60 Minutes" did a story earlier this year about the large amount of oil that is sold in the United States, as "extra virgin olive oil" that is not even olive oil!
Olives and olive oil have been staples of the Mediterranean diet for centuries:
There are hundreds of varieties of olives. Olive trees tend to live for hundreds of years. The world record for an olive tree is about 2,000 years old.
Olives and olive oil have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant qualities. They contain healthy mono-unsaturated fats, such as oleic acid. They also are considered to contain anti-cancer compounds, have anti--aging benefits, can help to increase bone mass and can slow down the progression of osteoporosis.
When it comes to food, to the buyer beware. Try to know your source. The best way to do this is to grow it yourself, but this isn't practical for most of us.
The next best thing is to buy as close to the source of the food as possible. You can buy directly from the fisherman, the farmer, the rancher or at the farmers' market. If you buy from a store, try to find one who buys directly from the farmer or the source of the food. If you follow this advice, there is much less of a chance that deception and fraud has taken place.
There is a reputable store right here in Ramsey that specializes in olive oil.It is called Olive Branch & Grape Vine.