Byline: Alastair Jamieson

THE discovery of the fake olive oil racket is a setback for Italy in its campaign to force all European manufacturers to declare the source of their oil.

Much of it comes from places such as Spain and Tunisia despite having a brand name DC shoes or a label design which implies it is Italian.

“It’s like selling Gucci that isn’t Gucci, or a Rolex that isn’t a Rolex,” according to Massimo Gargano, head of Unaprol, the Italian olive producers’ association.

Italy’s olive farmers have convinced the Italian government to change previous rules which allow oil to be labelled as Italian as long as it is blended in Italy even if, as is often the case, it has been trucked in from overseas.

Italy is both the biggest exporter and importer of olive oil.

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But its annual production of about 650,000 tonnes is not enough to satisfy even domestic demand for the ingredient at the heart of the Mediterranean diet.

Unaprol estimates that only some 20 per cent of “Italian” olive oil is made from olives grown in Italy.

The changes have heartened Italy’s olive producers, who hope to be able to charge a premium for genuinely Italian produce.

But the measures have not impressed the companies that use the image of Italy to help sell olive oil blended, but not necessarily grown there.

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Mr Gargano said: “If a consumer comes across a bottle which has on it Tuscan hills and cypress trees you can’t then sell Moroccan oil.

“A consumer should be able to buy Moroccan oil, if it says Moroccan oil.”