Trust Genoa Olive Oil Importers™.
Posted on 02/12/2006 7:54:45 PM PST by Coleus
Federal agents who raided a Clifton warehouse Thursday weren't looking for the typical heroin mill or pile of laundered money.
They were after a more slippery stash.
The agents seized about 22,700 gallons of oil after the Food and Drug Administration found that the Hermes and San Giovanni brands had been substituting soybean oil for some of their extra virgin and pomace olive oil.
Olive oil is approximately five or six times more expensive than soybean oil, according to the FDA, which estimated the profit of the swap at $105,600.
"We will not permit New Jersey consumers to be defrauded," said U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie. "We should all have confidence that the products we purchase are what they purport to be."
The labels on the 3-liter tins of oil in 4,855 cases represented that each contained extra virgin olive oil or pomace olive oil, when in fact the tins contained quantities of soybean oil or a similar substance, federal authorities said.
In addition, the Hermes label states that its oil was imported from Greece, while a federal seizure warrant states it was packed in Italy, they said. The oil will remain at the warehouse, belonging to Quivican Trucking Corp. on River Road in Clifton, while the U.S. Attorney's Office seeks a court order to have it destroyed.
"We're working with the company to rectify the situation," said FDA spokeswoman Cathy McDermott. "The FDA and Department of Justice will be working with the company to bring it to closure." Prior to the seizure by U.S. marshals, the oil had been held at the warehouse under a state-ordered embargo that was requested by the FDA, McDermott said.
According to several online stores, a three-liter tin of Hermes extra virgin olive oil sells for about $17. Hermes is owned and distributed by Krinos Foods, which is headquartered in Long Island City, N.Y. San Giovanni olive oil is distributed by DMK Marketing, LLC, based in East Moriches, N.Y.
It's not the first time Krinos Foods has been accused of adulterating its olive oil. In 1997, a similar seizure warrant was filed in New York for more than 1,700 cases of Hermes olive oil that had been mislabeled. The president of Krinos did not return calls for comment Thursday. McDermott said the FDA learned about Krinos' latest apparent attempt to substitute another oil in its Hermes brand from a media report that exposed the alleged fraud.
This is sacrilege. Olive oil is one of the staples of a long, healthy life. That some olive oil purveyors would subsitute soybean oil and call it olive oil is an abomination. Soybean oil is not that good for you. It's analagous to a beer brewery using putting rice into a brew that should only contain water, yeast, hops and barley.
Love your tagline.
Any idea whether this stuff made it outside NJ, perhaps under a different label?
LOL!
The head of these companies comitting this fraud shoud be elected to office by the geniuses who vote in Jersey. They'd get a cleaner gubmint.
Looks like the "Great Olive Oil Caper" got busted. LOL
Trust Genoa Olive Oil Importers™.
Genco.
What are you, a Wise Guy?
< |:)~
It is sacrilege, but I wouldn't say that soybean oil is not that good for you. It's been substituted in some very fine restaurants in place of butter when serving bread for the very reason that it is healthier.
It's got no cholesterol as well. It's a great frying oil. Obviously it doesn't have all the properties of olive oil however.
Perhaps we could initiate a "Food for Oil" program whereas we exchange hops for oil. We could then secretly substitute rice for hops and in return we would likely get soybean for olive oil. Wow, talk about a slippery slope!
Sheesh, and I have some Hermes ties, could they be polyester?
Nah.
Huh?
There are some oils that are able to take high temperatures better than others, olive oil being one and peanut the other. Another issue with substituting oils is allergic reactions; some people are sensitive to soy. Deliberately mislabeling something can be a real health hazard.
I can tell you're from the the south, you said, "It's got no." not, "It has no..." That's ok, I'm from the South as well.
Hermes is an upper end tie, made of exquisite silk.
You missed the correlation.
To confound your further, the olive oil, allegedly, was fugazzi.
It's part of the Fool for Oil program. Corzine was hoping to use the proceeds to avoid raising every tax in the state to the tune of 5 billion dollars.
I LOVE your tag line!!!
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