A newly released report from the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) shows why knowing more about your olive oil still matters.
In its 2024–2025 Food Fraud Annual Report, released in July 2026, the CFIA reported that olive oil had the lowest compliance rate for authenticity testing among the food categories included in its targeted inspectorate sampling.
What Did the CFIA Find?
The agency tested 85 imported olive oil samples for adulteration with lower-value oils and for misrepresentation of claims including:
- Extra virgin
- Virgin
- Cold pressed
- Unrefined
Of those 85 samples, 57 were satisfactory and 28 were unsatisfactory — a 33% unsatisfactory rate.
That number deserves attention, but it also needs context.
These were targeted samples, meaning CFIA inspectors focused on areas considered at greater risk based on factors such as previous non-compliance, unusual trading patterns and gaps in preventive controls. The CFIA specifically cautions that the results should not be interpreted as representing all olive oil sold in the Canadian marketplace.
Even with that qualification, olive oil had the lowest satisfactory rate among the commodities subjected to this type of authenticity testing.
And the issue wasn't merely theoretical. During the 2024–2025 fiscal year, the CFIA reports preventing 7,245 liters of adulterated olive oil from being sold in Canada.
Why Does Olive Oil Authenticity Matter?
Extra virgin olive oil isn't simply another cooking oil.
The term “extra virgin” represents a quality classification, and consumers often pay a premium because they expect the product they purchase to meet that standard.
When a lower-value oil is substituted, blended into a product without proper disclosure, or an oil is represented as extra virgin when it doesn't meet the applicable standard, the consumer isn't getting what they believe they're buying.
That's why we believe the information behind the bottle matters.
What We Do Differently at The Anointed Olive
At The Anointed Olive, we don't expect you to choose an extra virgin olive oil based solely on a pretty bottle, a country on the label, or the words extra virgin.
Our Ultra Premium Extra Virgin Olive Oils come with information you can actually evaluate.
We provide the harvest date, country of origin, olive variety, tasting assessment and chemistry, including measurements such as free fatty acid, peroxide value, DAGs, PPP and biophenols.
Our EVOOs are independently tested, and we rotate between Northern and Southern Hemisphere harvests so we can continually offer oils from the freshest available harvests.
And when you visit us, you can taste before you buy.
For us, those aren't extras. They're part of knowing what we're selling and giving our customers the information to understand what they're buying.
The Bigger Lesson Isn't “Don't Trust Olive Oil”
The takeaway from this report shouldn't be that every bottle of olive oil on a grocery-store shelf is fraudulent. The CFIA data doesn't support that conclusion.
The better takeaway is much simpler:
Don't rely on the words “extra virgin” alone.
Ask questions.
When was it harvested?
Where was it produced?
Has it been independently tested?
Is the chemistry available?
Can the seller tell you something meaningful about the oil beyond what's printed on the front label?
The more transparency you have, the more confidently you can choose your olive oil.
At The Anointed Olive, that's exactly what we want: not simply to sell you a bottle of olive oil, but to help you understand what makes a great one.
Source: Canadian Food Inspection Agency, Food Fraud Annual Report 2024–2025, released July 2026.
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