Brazilian Government Suspends Sale of 33 Fraudulently Mislabeled Olive Oil Brands

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – The Ministry of Agriculture announced on Wednesday, October 2nd, the suspension of the sale of 33 brands of olive oil due to product mislabeling.

According to the ministry, the brands that have practiced fraud were:

Aldeia da Serra
Barcelona
Casa Medeiros
Casalberto
Conde de Torres
Dom Gamiero
Donana
Flor de Espanha
Galo de Barcelos
Imperador
La Valenciana
Lisboa
Malaguenza
Olivaz
Oliveiras do Conde
Olivenza
One
Paschoeto
Porto Real
Porto Valencia
Pramesa
Quinta da Boa Vista
Rioliva
San Domingos
Serra das Oliveiras
Serra de Montejunto
Temperatta
Torezani
Tradição
Tradição Brasileira
Três Pastores
Vale do Madero
Vale Fértil

The government claims that most of the frauds consisted in mislabeling, as the “olive” oils were in fact a blend of soybean oil and oils of unknown origin.

The inspections that uncovered the 33 irregular brands are the result of Operation Isis, which began in 2016. Regarding these brands, the ministry collected the products for analysis between 2017 and 2018.

According to the government, the process is slow, since it involves laboratory tests, notification of fraudsters, inspections, deadlines for presenting a defense (two appeals may be lodged) and judgments of such appeals in two administrative instances.

According to the Ministry’s Vegetable Products Coordination, there is virtually no more stock left in the market of these batches that were disapproved, since the remaining ones were destroyed following the judgment of the administrative proceedings.

However, the Ministry of Agriculture alerts that it is possible that consumers will find other batches of the same brands.

“Although supermarkets have been alerted to the brands which systematically produce fraudulent olive oil, many traders still insist on selling this type of product because of the low price,” says the ministry in a note.

The Ministry of Agriculture says that fraudsters usually have no known address. As a result, the government has started to fine supermarkets and expects that this will reduce the supply of fraudulent products.

Origin

The government also alerts traders to check the origin of the oil before building up stocks that will be put up for sale, ensuring that they are not buying batches of brands that have committed the frauds uncovered by the Ministry.

“If the supermarkets buy and offer irregular products, they will be penalized,” Cid Rozo, coordinator of the Agriculture Ministry’s plant product inspection, said in a statement.

According to the Ministry of Agriculture, olive oil is defined as “the product obtained only from the fruit of the olive tree, excluding any and all oils obtained by the use of solvent, or by blending it with other oils, regardless of its proportions”.

In other words, the use of any other product in the oil constitutes fraud.

If consumers bought an oil that was taken out of circulation by the Ministry of Agriculture, the Consumer Protection Agency, PROCON, advises them to ask for a refund directly at the establishment where they made the purchase, submitting the invoice and the unused product.

PROCON recommends that consumers look for its regional office or use the website consumidor.gov.br.

Source: G1