The Controversy Behind Extra-Virgin Olive Oil Greek olive oil bottles on display in an Athens supermarket. We have an oil problem on our hands, and it has nothing to do with renewable energy and carbon emissions. When experts convened recently at the 104th American Oil Chemists" Society annual meeting, there was heated debate over what to do about olive oil. Even though concerns over poor quality, mislabeling and downright fraud surfaced a few years ago, olive oil continues to be plagued with credibility issues, even as it finds its way into more American homes and even as countries around the globe attempt to set quality-control standards. The state of extra-virgin olive oil - which is oil extracted from olives via mechanical means, not chemicals or heat - has been particularly controversial. While some industry insiders insist that stories of rampant adulteration are greatly exaggerated, others beg to differ. MORE: It's the Olive Oil: Mediterranean Diet Lowers Risk of Heart Attack and Stroke, Study Finds Among the conference participants was Dan Flynn, executive director of the Olive Center at the University of California, Davis, who had, a few years before, assessed the quality of extra-virgin olive oils in supermarkets based on standards set (but not enforced) by the U.N.-chartered International Olive Council as well as two additional chemical criteria. Shockingly, he found that 69% of imported olive-oil samples and 10% of California samples failed to meet sensory standards such as having more than zero fruitiness and not being rancid. Thirty-one percent were also deemed oxidized and/or of poor chemical quality. This year, Flynn followed up with more bad news. Among 15 extra-virgin-olive-oil restaurant-supplier samples, one was, in fact, adulterated with canola oil, and a whopping 60% failed to reach sensory and chemical standards defined by the term extra-virgin. Last spring, the USDA hoped to improve matters by inviting olive-oil brands to comply voluntarily with its Quality Monitoring Program. But as of yet, only one company - Pompeian, the second largest olive-oil bottler in the U.S. - has chosen to participate. To do so, Pompeian officials say they have had to triple the size of their quality-control department, spending "several million dollars" to manage the extra administrative work. Some industry groups argue that monitoring simply isn't feasible. The vast majority of the olive-oil brands in supermarkets don't own a single olive tree. They obtain the oil from middlemen, who don't necessarily get it directly from the grower (or in most cases, growers). With so many hands in the vat, it's tough to know when and where the adulteration or spoilage occurs unless there's an inspection at every step of the way. And let's not forget about the shippers and retailers involved before that bottle ends up in your pantry - even the best oils will deteriorate if left in a hot truck or near a sunny window. MORE: The Forgotten Benefits of Chinese Food Then there is the problem that there are, in fact, several certification programs besides the USDA's and that test results don't seem replicable, even when similar standards are being used. For example, even though Bertolli and 365 100% Italian both earned an NAOOA seal, and Pompeian earned USDA and NAOOA seals, 33% of the 45 samples tested from the three brands failed to meet chemical standards, and 84% failed to meet sensory standards when assessed by the Olive Center at the University of California, Davis. Eryn Balch at the NAOOA argues that taste can be subjective, will change over time and, in this case, has "nothing to do with adulteration." She also claims that the reports out of UC Davis are funded by California olive-oil companies and that the panelists were partial to promoting domestically based olive oils. Flynn responds that the criticisms of the panelists are irrelevant, since they are professionally trained, and that fustiness and mustiness are not results of mishandling in shipping or storage but of the quality of the olive itself. Meanwhile, the California Olive Oil Council, which has its own seal program and requires local brands to participate, reports that the imported olive oils that it samples randomly off shelves "come in at about 75% not extra-virgin grade." While we're waiting (and waiting) for the various factions to stop pointing fingers and start working for the good of olive oil as a whole, remember this: as long as we keeping thinking of olive oil as a shelf-stable condiment instead of the perishable product that it is, somewhere along the supply line, someone might try to dupe us - and we might not even know the difference. Fossil fuels may be more finite, but olive oil still has an expiration date.