Inspectors in a Milan supermarket took some containers of what was labeled “Tuscan Extra-virgin Olive Olive” back to the lab to test, which revealed that the contents were actually inedible lamp oil. They subsequently visited the Tuscan estate where the product was packaged in Ginestra Fiorentina, a suburb of Lastra a Signa, and confiscated 5,400 bottles of bogus olive oil, which again was lamp oil, with an acidity of over 2% (extra-virgin olive oil can have a maximum acidity of .08%).
The same inspectors have often found that what passes as for “extra-virgin” olive oil by famous brands is actually “virgin olive oil,” characterized by an acidity under 2%. To read more in Italian, visit Florence’s La Repubblica news site.