Farchioni's Il Casolare Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil Is No Counterfeit - CBS News Network's 60 Minutes Tested & Approved

Here in the US we import a lot of goods, and don't always get a chance to check those products for authenticity. All exporters claim that what they send us is the real deal, but that claim is sometimes proven false after taking a closer look. 

When discussing counterfeit products no one really mentions food; most people think of clothing, apparel or accessories like watches and sunglasses. However, certain food products such as caviar, fish meat, honey, spices, vinegar are very prone to counterfeiting and false claims of authenticity. This is especially true for extra virgin olive oil. 

No food product has been so easily and historically counterfeited as extra virgin olive oil. Historians believe the process of diluting and cheapening true EVOO in order to increase profit has been going on for thousands of years, tracing back to ancient Roman and Greek societies. More recently, the Italian Mafia has been in control of the counterfeiting, generating billions of dollars for their criminal organization solely off the sale of fake EVOO.

So, when an investigative news program such as 60 Minutes says that up to 80% of the extra virgin olive oil sold in the US is phony or mislabeled, it becomes clear that that most Americans are unknowingly falling victim to food crime. It can be very difficult to separate the real EVOO from fake, but getting it right from the source is always the safest way to know the product hasn't been tampered with.

Caviar Star gets all its products from reliable and trustworthy sources. The olive farms that provide our olive oils only use processes that meet "extra virgin" standards, and do not add any impurities to the finalized product. We import a certain unfiltered extra-virgin olive oil from Farchioni that made an appearance on national television last year.

Il Casolare Italian Extra Virgin Olive Oil was inconspicuously featured in the 60 minutes special about EVOO counterfeit: Agro Mafia. It was one of oils that they tested for authenticity around the 8:30 mark of the video below:

60 Minutes Agro Mafia - Full 14 minute story from Corto-Olive Co. on Vimeo.

Later, Farchioni olive oil was confirmed as the only one (of the three tested) to pass as true extra virgin olive oil. Here is the follow up where 60 Minutes gave Farchioni a shout-out:

The Farchioni family of Umbria has one of the longest running traditions of olive oil procurement, dating back to the early 1800's when they first began grinding olives near Spoleto. The company has always remained family-run, a indispensable quality for ensuring continuity across generations.

This 100% authentic extra-virgin olive oil is obtained directly from freshly harvested olives in Southern Italy. The dark and think olive oil is created from a variety of olives known for their green color and decidedly fruity-yet-spicy taste. The olives are grown using no chemical products, fertilizers, herbicides or anti-parasitic agents. 

In order to really appreciate its fruity taste, it is best used to season salads, legumes, and toasted bread.