According to the New York Times, the North American Olive Oil Association, a trade group that represents the olive oil business in the United States and Canada, is suing Kangadis Food over falsely labeling its Capatriti brand as olive oil when the product is a fat from leftover olive skins and pits.
Themis Kangadis, an executive with the company, stated “I had no idea.”
The lawsuit seeks to prevent Kangadis from selling any pomace product that is not labeled as such, and to also notify retailers and other buyers that they were actually buying an adulterated product. The suit was filed on Feb. 27 in the United States District Court for the Southern District of New York.
According to the NY Times, Ms. Balch said Capatriti’s price was one-third to one-half that of competitive brands, so the association hired an independent contractor to buy nine tins of Capatriti 100% Pure Olive Oil product from three lots. Identifying materials were removed from the samples, and were shipped to a lab in Spain that is certified by the International Olive Council, an organization based in Spain that sets the standards for olive oil purity and quality.
“When the results came back, they clearly confirmed that none of the samples were olive oil, instead, they were some type of pomace oil and seed oils.” Ms. Balch stated.
Capatriti bottles and cans are labeled Extra Virgin Olive Oil, 100% Pure Olive Oil, and Light Olive Oil. Its website says it is proud to introduce a new line of all natural blended olive oil.
“This is a very, very clear-cut case of false advertising,” highlighted Timothy J. Treanor, a lawyer at Sidley Austin who is representing the association. The association also contends that Kangadis was obliged to be aware of its products’ adulteration.
Kangadis tried to stop the Connecticut Department of Consumer Protection from enforcing the state’s law on olive oil, saying the company’s “reputation and business relationships have already been harmed by adoption of the state olive oil standards”, the New York Times reported.
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