Alnatura’s Extra Virgin Olive Oil doesn’t live up to its “mildly fruity” promise. Consumer magazine “Öko-Test” rated the product as “unsatisfactory” and wrote: “The taste is spoiled, the overall impression is defective.”
Natoura has now pulled the olive oil from sale, according to “Öko-Test.” According to the magazine, it shouldn’t have ended up on the store shelf in the first place.
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Because: The product does not do justice to the “extra original” merchandise category. The taste and aroma of an oil bearing this designation should be free from defects. Instead, this belongs Natura product It is in the “Lamante” category and should not be sold as an edible oil at all.
The European Commission says: “Lampante oil is not intended for retail marketing. It is refined and used for industrial purposes.” This refers to low-quality olive oils with “significant sensory defects”. Stiftung Warentest has already rated the 2021 Alnatura product as unsatisfactory. It was ranked last out of a total of 27 oils tested.
Exposure to stored mineral oils
According to testers, the pungent or muddy taste is caused by poor harvest conditions or poor machinery cleaning. This not only makes the oils inedible – they can also be unhealthy.
Natura oil contains a deposit of mineral oils that contaminate the product. Of particular concern are aromatic mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOAH), some of which are carcinogenic. However, Natura is not alone in this. Contaminants were detected in a third of the tested products, “Öko-Test” writes.
A possible explanation for this may be the lubricant on the olive harvest, according to Consumer magazine. Little has changed since the last test in 2019.
Most olive oils are deficient.
Öko-Test regularly tests commercially available products. In the current issue 5/2022, 19 different olive oils were examined. The majority of oils scored “poor” or “unsatisfactory” on the test.
A total of 16 products did not pass the “environmental test”. Only one “very good” olive oil according to testers: Rapunzel Crete Extra Virgin Olive Oil.