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Have you ever wondered why imported “Extra Virgin” olive oil in the supermarket is so cheap compared to top quality local, Australian oil? Here is an article from The Telegraph (UK) which might help to explain why. The original article is available here:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8978053/Four-out-of-five-bottles-of-Italian-olive-oil-debased.html

ITALY FACES MIXED OLIVE OIL SCANDAL
Four out of five bottles of Italian olive oil are being adulterated with lower quality oil from other Mediterranean countries, a police investigation has discovered.
Producers have been accused of meeting greater worldwide demand by mixing in cheaper oil from Greece, Spain, Morocco and Tunisia and passing it off as top-end extra virgin oil.
Investigators became suspicious when they noticed that Italy, Europe’s second largest producer of olive oil behind Spain, was importing more than it was exporting – 470,000 tonnes against 250,000 tonnes. The investigation involved the Italian customs service and the Guardia Finanza, or fraud squad, with the encouragement of Coldiretti, an agricultural organisation.
A spokesman for Coldiretti said there was an “agro-mafia” of dishonest producers and manufacturers. “It involves 13 of the biggest olive oil producers – there are some very famous names,” Stefano Masini, the organisation’s spokesman said.
He said the fraud was being organised by a “cartel” of importing and distributing companies. The stakes are high – the Italian olive oil sector is worth an estimated €5 billion (£4.2 billion, A$6.2 billion) a year.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/newsbysector/retailandconsumer/8978053/Four-out-of-five-bottles-of-Italian-olive-oil-debased.html