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> one study found that 69 percent of imported olive oil labeled "extra virgin" did not meet, in an expert taste and smell test, the standard for that label

Wat. Can't we do some more quantitative method to figure out if the oil comes from a completely different species?

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>completely different species?

My understanding is that 'extra virgin' is process, not species. My understanding is that the first press is 'extra virgin' and the much cheaper "pure" olive oil comes from processing the same seeds- "Extra Virgin" is just the first press, while 'pure' uses more advanced chemical engineering to get all of the oil (and less of the more volatile compounds that give 'extra virgin' it's taste) out of what is left over.

That would make sense - the previous slides talk about adulteration/faking the "olive" part, which had me confused.

A side effect of this is that the "pure" olive oil is much more stable and has a higher smoke point. Wikipedia lists "Extra Virgin" at 160C and "Refined" up to 243C. So if you're trying to create a non-stick surface on something, pure olive oil is better than virgin olive oil.

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