Contaminated olive oils according to the association 60 million consumers

The many benefits of olive oil have been studied and is considered the central element of themediterranean diet, recognized as a healthy diet by nutrition experts. Because of its health benefits, the French consume it nearly 110,000 tons each year. Faced with this massive use, the experts of 60 million consumers have chosen to evaluate 24 olive oils among the most sold on the market. Among these are conventional and organic oils, oils from major brands such as Carapelli, Puget, Tramier and Terra Delyssa, as well as private label oils such as Lidl, Carrefour, E. Leclerc and Naturalia. Their conclusions, published in the June 2023 issuereveal that the majority of these oils are still polluted by plasticizers or hydrocarbons.

Of the 24 oils tested, 23 contain plasticizers. The main plasticizers detected are di-isononyl phthalate (DINP), followed by diethylhexyl phthalate (DEHP), which is classified asproven endocrine disruptor and reprotoxic by the European Chemicals Agencyand finally the dibutyl phthalate (DBP). In addition to their endocrine disrupting and reprotoxic effects, it is suspected that the latter is persistent and bioaccumulative, underline the experts of the magazine.

60 million consumers draws particular attention to 4 olive oils containing the two most problematic phthalates (DEHP and DBP): Naturalia Extra Virgin Like a Virgin, La Vie Claire Extra Virgin, Cauvin bio La bio and Terra Delyssa Extra Virgin. Some bottles of olive oil also contain mineral oil hydrocarbons, in particular MOSH (mineral oil saturated hydrocarbons) and MOAH (mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons), known for their carcinogenic and genotoxic properties. These residues are present in particular in Simply good and organic oils (Aldi) “Extra virgin”, Bio Village (brand mark E. Leclerc) “Extra virgin” and organic Carapelli “Extra virgin classico” (source 1).

According to the ranking published in the magazine, conventional “Primadonna” olive oil from Spain and sold at Lidl obtains the highest mark (16/20). In addition to being affordable (6.99€/L), it is the only one to contain no pollutant. In second position in this ranking, we find another private label: Carrefour oil “Reflet de France” oil from Provence AOPwhich scores 15/20, but is close to 5 times more expensive (31.30€/L).