What would life be without olive oil? “Liquid gold” is absolutely indispensable in many kitchens. Whether for cooking, frying, baking – olive oil is an all-rounder. And very healthy. It is rich in unsaturated fatty acids and has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. Olive oil is good for the liver, good for the cardiovascular system and can help lower cholesterol levels.
Now the bad news: things are not going well for olive oil. This is particularly evident in the test laboratory. The quality of olive oil has deteriorated significantly over the past two years, according to Stiftung Warentest’s assessment in its olive oil test published on Thursday.
According to Stiftung Warentest, the loss of quality is primarily due to one thing: climate change. “For the first time we have the impression that the climate crisis is reflected in a food test,” said food chemist Jochen Wettach, project manager for the olive oil test. Heat waves, droughts, water shortages and pests have led to crop failures in the Mediterranean region and shortages in the EU in recent years. According to Stiftung Warentest, production in the EU fell by an estimated 40 percent in the 2022/2023 season.
Many oils taste “rancid or pungent”
Of the 23 oils now tested by Stiftung Warentest – 19 of them from the highest quality “extra virgin” quality class and four frying olive oils – only four received an overall rating of “good”. Six products failed completely. For comparison: just two years ago, two thirds of the oils tested received a “good” grade.
In the highest quality class “extra virgin” the testers were only impressed by two products: “Cosmo di Russo Caieta” from Italy (available online for 46 euros per liter) and the organic oil from Rapunzel from Crete for 34 euros. “Both are outstanding in terms of taste,” says Stiftung Warentest. The two frying oils from the organic brands Alnatura (18.70 euros) and Byodo (20 euros) also received good reviews.
Six oils of the highest quality, on the other hand, tasted “more often rancid or pungent” and were therefore rated “poor” by the testers. According to Stiftung Warentest, these oils should not have been sold as “extra virgin” in the first place. The EU olive oil regulation states that olive oil of this quality class must not have a single “sensory defect”. Rancid notes in the oil are due to contact with oxygen, “sometimes due to damaged raw materials such as damaged olives,” the report says.
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Strong price increase
The testers also found a noticeable number of pollutants in three supermarket oils that are suspected of being carcinogenic. Stiftung Warentest therefore awarded the pollutant rating “sufficient”.
At the same time as the observed decline in quality, prices have continued to rise, according to Stiftung Warentest. Hardly any other food has become as expensive in Germany as olive oil in the past two years. While the average price for a liter of olive oil was 10.30 euros two years ago, it is 15.70 euros in the current test.
As an environmental tip, the product tester generally recommends buying organic oils, as this supports sustainable agriculture. The extra virgin olive oil from Rewe Ja has the best price-performance ratio for 10.70 euros per liter (grade satisfactory).
According to Stiftung Warentest, poor olive harvests could increase in the future due to climate change. This in turn could further reduce the proportion of high-quality oils, meaning more oil would be used as frying oil.
Carlotta Roch Published/Updated: Recommendations: 14 Christian Schubert and Hans-Christian Rößler, Rome/Madrid Published/Updated: Recommendations: 108 Oliver Maria Schmitt Published/Updated:
Olive oil lives up to its nickname “liquid gold”. In Spain alone – one of the hotbeds of olive production – the annual olive yield fell to less than half (665,000 tons) in the last harvest season. The result? Olive oil theft is on the rise in Spain.