Global Times Special Correspondent Liu Haoran] The British newspaper The Guardian reported on the 29th that due to the plummeting production of olive oil and soaring prices, frequent incidents of edible olive oil counterfeiting have occurred in Europe in recent years, triggering public opinion's concern about food safety in Europe.

According to the report, British media cited EU statistics that 50 cases involving olive oil quality and safety appeared in the EU region in the first quarter of 2024, more than three times as many as in the same period in 2018, setting a new record in recent years. Relevant incident reports show that some of the so-called "extra virgin olive oil" products are actually cheap "mixed oil", and there are also merchants labeling ordinary olive oil products as "extra virgin". In February this year, a typical case was exposed in Germany: an Israeli businessman labeled unrefined and counterfeit products that did not meet food standards as "extra virgin olive oil" and sold them to European countries. There were also reports that mineral oil and pesticides were detected in some of the products, and that broken glass was detected in some of the poor-quality products.

According to the report, the above cases are only the EU member states in cross-border trade transactions detected and reported to the EU Directorate General of Health, and does not include the EU member states of their respective "domestic sales" of edible oil products, the media speculated that the actual problem in the European olive oil market is much more serious. According to CNN (CNN), Italian police recently uncovered a major case of olive oil counterfeiting in the south of the country, confiscating a total of 42 tons of "fake oil," with a market value of about $1 million. Euronews had already reminded consumers earlier this year to double-check the trademark of "Premium Oil", saying that the sale of fake oil has become a "routine operation" in the European market. 

According to reports, by the drought led to the plummeting of olive oil production, as well as the impact of inflation, olive oil has been called "liquid gold". For example, a kind of Spanish olive oil 5 years ago, the price of 100 kilograms of 262.50 euros (1 euro is about 7.85 yuan), in November 2023 has risen to 787 euros. Experts believe that a similar situation could occur in the chocolate and coffee markets, as the raw materials for these two products are also directly affected by climate change, and "the more processed the food industry, the more likely to attract fraudsters".