Food fraud is widespread, especially with olive oils and avocado oil. Dr. Mercola stated recently that some brands may be 100% fake. (That’s pretty high deception!) I reached out to Natural Grocers market, which has markets in about seven states, to tell them about the fraud, and ask why the green and white label, La Tourangelle brand (at roughly $17-20/bottle) does not smell or taste like avocado. Here’s what they said:
Producers have to label the food as it actually is in the bottle. (It would be nice if this was true. There is often no FDA standard for several foods that I can think of. Well, we know from some people testing foods that someone out there is lying about their products.) They said they would pull any product found guilty of fraudulent labelling. I believe them – I have friends who work there and there are many products that are not allowed.
The Natural Grocers rep said that avocados are not strong smelling to begin with, and the cold press process can lessen the smell even more. And this oil is more prone to faster spoilage. They recommend storing some oils in the refrigerator.
I asked if they wanted to test the avocado oils to make sure they are actually that oil inside the bottle. (Why you care about this? Would you want to pay $17-20 for a small bottle of oil that is supposed to be healthier, but is really corn oil or soybean oil, that usually retails for $2-3 per liter, and causes health problems like inflammation and trans fats?? No –) Here’s what Natural Grocers said:
La Tourangelle are intentional about sourcing directly from farms they know and work with and manufacturing the oil from the traditional methods used by artisanal French oil producers as well as their clear dedication to regenerative agriculture.
La Tourangelle has multiple third party certifications including products that are certified organic, Project Non-GMO Verified, Kosher, etc. which means the ingredients in their raw form are inspected and verified. So yes, they are “tested” because they are verified from the farm all the way to the package.
So there you have it – They are pretty confident in the quality of this brand, and I’m impressed with the third party certifications and sourcing tracing that goes back to the farm. Yay! I hope this info helps you.
Did you enjoy this article? Then check out this one about Fake Olive Oil: Imported Olive Oil is Largely Fake or Rancid, Experts Say. And you might like this one, Six Sources of Healthy Fats.
