[masraum]

And most of the OO out there is crap. A bunch of it isn't even OO.

I read a bunch of articles about OO a while back. It's amazing how much cheap, crappy OO is being sold as EVOO and how much of it isn't even OO. Apparently, high grade EVOO should tickle your throat and make you cough if you drink it. I wrote down a few brands of the stuff that tested good in the UC Davis report below and have been looking for them in grocery stores for a few years (not actively searching, just checking when I found myself in a new store with an extensive range of product). I finally found one of the good California growers' brands when I was in FL. I definitely has the chemicals to tickle your throat.

I got some arbequina oil made by "California Olive Ranch. Some of the other brands that I wrote down were Pianogrillo from Sicily, Vicopisano from Tuscany and La Mozza from Mario Batali. I think, IIRC, that the last one is a good one, but not a great one.

Lab tests cast doubt on olive oil's virginity - Los Angeles Times
the report

More than two-thirds of common brands of extra-virgin olive oil found in California grocery stores aren't what they claim to be, according to a report by researchers at UC Davis.

The result: 69% of the imported oils sampled and one of the 10 California-produced samples failed to meet internationally accepted standards for extra-virgin olive oil.

"Our laboratory tests found that samples of imported olive oil labeled as 'extra-virgin' and sold at retail locations in California often did not meet international and U.S. standards," the authors wrote in the report. The samples failed because of a variety of factors: heat, light exposure, age, adulteration with cheaper, refined olive oil, oils made from damaged or overripe olives, processing flaws and improper storage.

The report.
http://olivecenter.ucdavis.edu/news-events/news/files/olive%20oil%20final%20071410%20.pdf

Slimy Business: Counterfeit Olive Oil Ring Busted in Central Italy | Andrea Vogt

17 people and six commercial operations were brought under investigation on fraud-related charges Monday after approximately 5 tons of olive oil was confiscated by Carabinieri officials in Tuscany, Emilia Romagna and Lazio regions.

. In fact the 5,000 liters of counterfeit oil confiscated by authorities was nothing more than low-grade sunflower oil with chlorophyll and beta-carotene added. Once chemically doctored to give it color, flavor and the right smell, it was being sold to producers for distribution to restaurants, door-to-door sales and other large scale commercial operations. It is unclear how many producers (if any) were aware that the oil they were being sold had been doctored. Approximately 2,500 liters were found in garages in Tuscany and Lazio, where the fraudulent oil was being bottled. Another 5000 litres was located in silos. According to the Caribinieri news release about the operation, police also confiscated 73 kilograms of Chlorophyll and 4 jars of beta-carotene, enough to doctor 500,000 liters of oil that could have gone into circulation, for an estimated market value of over 500,000 euros.

A similar bust in southern Italy in 2008 led to the arrest of 60 people and closure of 90 farms and plants. But it is a scam present across the Mediterranean. Two Spaniards were sentenced to prison time in Cordoba late last year for selling hundreds of thousands of litres of “extra virgin” olive oil that actually was 70-80% sunflower oil. In today’s case, Caribinieri officials confirmed a link to Spain and northern Africa, where the chlorophyll and beta-carotene originated. In Italy, many of the top brands advertise their olive oil is made with “100%” olives of Italian origin, since quality controls may be different in Greece, Spain and other olive-producing Mediterranean countries. But where there is potential for profit, there’s potential for corruption.