chuck_35550 Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Did anyone see the 6o Minutes piece on Italian olive oil and the Mafia? The claim was that 80% of olive oil sold in the States is not pure. How can we tell if our oil is what its supposed to be? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 This has been a problem for years. I learned the hard way when making Castile type soap which is just olive oil. I used a nice grocery store brand (Bertolli extra virgin) and noticed that the soap never hardened as it should, then developed a rusty surface color and stench. It behaved exactly like canola oil. Other soap with that oil had a weird slimy feeling and developed that same rust. After googling a while and comparing notes on another forum i learned it was adulterated with canola (super bad for soap).At the time an independent study was done on a dozen store brands and all were adulterated to some degree except maybe one. Costco olive oil was, possibly still is, pure olive. Soapers rely heavily on it with good luck.I decided when i was having soap failures to go with soapers choice. I can get a certificate of analysis for each batch if i need one to prov the oil is what is states on the label. Spent hours on the phone with them learning about oils and labeling. (Touches wood) i don't have that rusty problem any more. I use their Pomace 99% of the time and have used their Type A successfully. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kandlekrazy Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 I didn't see the show but all the people that make and sell olive oil in our area say the same thing. What you buy in store unless it's imported from Spain is not pure olive oil but a blend.I don't know what to believe anymore. We try to buy from local olive growers that make it right here and guarantee it pure OO or EVOO. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 We try to buy from local olive growers that make it right here and guarantee it pure OO or EVOO.Buying local! Know your grower! (( Wishing i were closer to growers. )) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 Thanks! I also use Soapers Choice. Currently its the evoo but I have used their pomace. Pomace makes my soap trace faster (or so it seems) so I switched back to evoo. They seem to be a reliable company with the best overall prices plus shipping. Wish I had growers in my backyard. Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C Dizzle Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 What websites do you recommend getting pure oils from? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 Soapers Choice, (type in Soapers Choice) click on base oils. Soap Associations are getting ready to meet and taking orders for a co-op. A member volunteers to take everyone's order and pay for the shipment. The goodies get divvied up at the meeting. Wholesale bulk is the best way to save money. It's pretty rare someone offers better bargains. I don't like their m&p bases and buy my lye from Essential Depot. HTH Steve Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 (edited) Thanks! I also use Soapers Choice. Currently its the evoo but I have used their pomace. Pomace makes my soap trace faster (or so it seems) so I switched back to evoo. They seem to be a reliable company with the best overall prices plus shipping. Wish I had growers in my backyard.SteveSoapers Choice type A was a little less spendy than their EVOO when i looked last. It is lighter and can make a whiter bar of soap. I live about an hour from Soapers Choice/Columbus Foods. Mike, the head guy of the soaping oils division, lives close to me. He's a great guy to speak with. And he is a soaper too willing to share anything and everything you could possibly want to know. Edited January 11, 2016 by TallTayl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 Soapers Choice, (type in Soapers Choice) click on base oils. Soap Associations are getting ready to meet and taking orders for a co-op. A member volunteers to take everyone's order and pay for the shipment. The goodies get divvied up at the meeting. Wholesale bulk is the best way to save money. It's pretty rare someone offers better bargains. I don't like their m&p bases and buy my lye from Essential Depot. HTH SteveCo-ops can be good, but man are they a pain to host! The last one i did took several days to bottle and wotta MESS! Lol. If you have other soapers near you, split orders. It saves time and money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chuck_35550 Posted January 11, 2016 Author Share Posted January 11, 2016 Oooh thanks for the info TT. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 I use Soaper's Choice for the majority of my oils and butters with the exception of olive. I still buy mine from Walmart and Martin's (Giant) and have no problems with it. I buy the regular cooking OO and not the extra virgin. I prefer the golden color and the soap always comes out nice. When I try another brand then I run into problems. Re OO blending I saw a TV program about it a few years ago so it is an ongoing problem. On that show they mentioned 85% of the olive oil sold in the US was a blend of some veggie oil and olive. Many of the so-called popular brands are blends. But they all say pure olive oil on the label. Wish the FDA would require disclosure on the labels so we know exactly what we are getting. If you have ever had pure olive oil you would know. It tastes incredible compared to a blended one but the cost is also outrageous. I find it difficult to believe when some soaper tells me they are positive and know for a fact that their olive oil is pure olive oil. Yet they got it at for $12 or $15 a gallon at their discount store. Really?!! Pure olive oil is expensive. Maybe a 10oz bottle of pure olive oil for $12 but not a gallon. No way its pure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TallTayl Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 My bigger beef is with people who use OO for health reasons. Not only allergies, but people who are on a diet plan by a doctor to avoice certain foods and fats. If someone has a soy allergy and eats olive oil adulterated with soy, Houston We Have A Problem.Truth in labeling is such a hot button. Are you following The Dark Act at all? Why all the secrecy? Hmmmmmm. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chefmom Posted January 11, 2016 Share Posted January 11, 2016 I read about this quite a few years ago. Since I don't usually make Castile I have been using the Costco brand that was on the "passed the tests" lists. This year Costco is not on the list any longer...so I may switch my olive to pomace. For the kitchen I use ONLY California Olive Oil. It is grown and produced in the US, and has passed the purity tests every time, every year. It's too high of an expense to use in my soap at this time, so after my Costco oil is gone I will look into ordering pomace. I just can't get how it can be put on the label as 100% olive oil and it isn't...truth in labeling...grumble grumble... 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Where is this list of passed the test olive oils? I'd like to see it and compare oils. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chefmom Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 I know that a few people have posted links on facebook soap groups...naturally I forgot to bookmark them. I've seen lists that included specific brand names to avoid as well. I did pull this up with recent testing for extra virgin olive oil tests. It's becoming more well known, and I think more tests are being run. http://www.nclnet.org/evoo Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candybee Posted January 12, 2016 Share Posted January 12, 2016 Dang! the link is not working for me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TAH Posted January 14, 2016 Share Posted January 14, 2016 I've been using BJ's brand olive oil Wellsley Farms. Its been making a pretty nice and very white castile that get nice and hard as it ages. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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