Comments on: What to Buy? Organic Olive Oil?

By: Raleigh Myers

Raleigh Myers — Fri, 06 Aug 2010 19:13:49 +0000

Thanks for addressing this subject. From EWG’s Shopper’s Guide to Pesticides FAQ http://www.foodnews.org/faq.php:
“EWG’s Shopper’s Guide is based on laboratory tests done by the US Department of Agriculture Pesticide Testing Program. The program tests several kinds of foods for types and amount of pesticide residue.”

On the USDA Agricultural Marketing Service website, which is linked to by the above webpage, is a list of all commodities (fruits and vegetables) tested from 1991-2009. Olives are not listed. http://www.ams.usda.gov/AMSv1.0/getfile?dDocName=STELDEV3003972

To me, this indicates that we cannot conclude that olives (or olive oil) do not have a high concentration of pesticides. Olives are not on the EWG list because they aren’t one of the commodities tested by the USDA. The fact is we don’t know how contaminated olives and olive oil are. Therefore, I buy organic olive oil.

By: Lynn

Lynn — Fri, 30 Apr 2010 00:21:02 +0000

Thanks so much for weighing in on this issue and sharing your thoughts. I wrote this a long time ago, but I often think about the olive oil issue!

By: R Flood

R Flood — Thu, 29 Apr 2010 18:04:53 +0000

I once thought organic was unimportant for olive oils, too. Then a couple of friends came back from a long trip working in european farms (mostly organic). Their report was that many non-organic growers spray the s**t out of their trees. Since in reality, you can find organic EVOO at very competitive prices if you look hard enough, I would stick to organic. As someone above pointed out, many toxins love oils. And while the “dirty dozen” is helpful, I would not take it as the final word on food safety. Personally, I take the eyewitness report of “lots or spray” as good enough to mandate “organic”.

By: Jodi

Jodi — Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:48:58 +0000

I just ran across this blog today. In olive oils, it is the brand you need to watch out for many imported olive oils are notorious for being only partially made out of olives, and sometimes made out of other fatty nuts and toxic chemicals to make them resemble olive oil. Big name brands too, such as Bertolli, Sasso, and Cirio. It is best to do your homework on olive oil.

“A 1996 study by the FDA found that 96 percent of the olive oils they tested, while being labeled 100 percent olive oil, had been diluted with other oils. A study in Italy found that only 40 percent of the olive oil brands labeled “extra-virgin” actually met those standards. Italy produces 400,000 tons of olive oil for domestic consumption, but 750,000 tons are sold. The difference is made up with highly refined nut and seed oils.”

http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2007/08/13/070813fa_fact_mueller

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2008/apr/23/italy.fooddrinks

By: CARNIVAL OF THE GREEN #125! « The Conservation Report

CARNIVAL OF THE GREEN #125! « The Conservation Report — Fri, 12 Jun 2009 16:36:20 +0000

[...] some of her best discussions like the four factors to consider when trying to go organic or not and the practicality of going organic when considering certain factors. Furthermore, she brings to light the ethical dilemma of choice: Maybe the current crisis is an [...]

By: Organic and Green Mom Blog | Organic Savings on the Fly: Organic Milk & Organic Berries at Organic Mania

Sat, 11 Oct 2008 13:11:31 +0000

[...] a huge savings compared to the $4.19 a half gallon some supermarkets command, as we discussed here. (When you consider that post was written back in January, the price now is surely above $4.19 in [...]

By: Allison

Allison — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 22:40:46 +0000

Thanks~ Sorry I missed Sue’s link the first time!
ps- I do like this blog an awful lot!!

I’m glad you like it, Allison! Please pass the word along to your friends! — Lynn

By: Sue

Sue — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 20:14:14 +0000

Hey Allison,

I found this website helpful in evaluating organic milk labels:

http://cornucopia.org/dairysurvey/index.html

It does seem to indicate that TJs organic milk is slightly better than Horizon but this may be a sliding scale.

Sue – thanks for passing along the tip to Allison! — Lynn

By: Nicholas

Nicholas — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:39:40 +0000

Speaking of Whole Foods, not all Whole Foods sell local produce when they claim they do.

“Tuscaloosa farmer sues Whole Foods over local supplier campaign”
http://www.al.com/business/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/business/1200475053208030.xml&coll=2

Hi Nicholas, thanks for stopping by. Well, I read the article, which discusses how a farmer claims pictures were taken of his farm and posted on the Whole Foods site but Whole Foods allegedly never purchased his crops. I find it hard to believe that WF would intentionally risk their brand image over something like this. If in fact this is true, my bet is that it was a (gasp) mistake in the WF marketing department that caused the pix to be posted before the deals were consummated to buy his crops. — Lynn

By: Allison

Allison — Wed, 16 Jan 2008 17:38:27 +0000

Hey~ Speaking of organic milk— Trader Joe’s sells a gallon of organic whole milk for $5.69 (a right bargain compared to Horizon half-gallons); any thoughts/reviews/reasons why TJ’s brand may not be as good as Horizon (or any other name brand)?

Hi, Allison, thanks for stopping by. Actually, as Sue pointed out – boy, it’s EXCITING to see that readers are responding to each others comments!! – TJ’s house brand ranks higher than Horizon on the Cornucopia Institute’s Organic Dairy Report. See: http://cornucopia.org/dairysurvey/index.html . For me, the choice between TJ’s and Giant often boils down to the traffic patterns on our clogged local roads. I had been going to MOM’s for organic milk – there’s was the best deal at $4.99 per gallon, but recently the price was raised to the same $5.69 level (give or take a dime) that you found at TJ’s. — Lynn