Olive oil and cancer.....part 2!?

Question

Further to a recent post I went and checked up some facts.
Pure extra virgin olive oil is no more carcinogenic than any other oil, the key is not to overheat it. Here in Italy people use light sunflower or corn oils to fry, keeping the extra virgin for drizzles. The problem is with things like pizza and focaccia that contain low grade oils and are baked at high temperatures. Another problem is with the dubious quality of oil. What passes off as virgin olive oil in Britain is very often low grade oil mixed with some vrigin oil.
Real extra virgin fresh from the press is opaque and greenish-yellow with a very strong and bitter taste- use sparingly (this is how my girlfriend's dad makes it in his olive groves in Puglia!!!). He told me that most commercial olive oil is lampante (lit. lamp oil) unfit for anything!!!! Spanish olive oil was banned a couple of years ago for containing benzinate hydrocarbons. Anyway, most Italians will tell you not to fry with oil because of these risks...!

World

Saudi Arabia Bans Import of Spanish Olive Oil
Saudi Arabia on Saturday banned the import of Spanish olive oil over fears that it might contain cancerous chemicals.

An official of the Saudi Ministry of Trade said that orders were given to bar any Spanish olive oil cargoes from entering the kingdom, the official Saudi Press Agency, monitored here, reported.

The ministry also ordered Spanish olive oil be withdrawn from the shops, the official said.

The Spanish government has reportedly banned the sale of a brand of olive oil on food security grounds after finding high levels of aromatic hydrocarbon in the oil.

This also happened in the Far East

I have been to many pizzerie in the south of Italy and watched them smear oil on the dough before adding the sugo (sauce)!!!
Anyway, this message is more for people who DO NOT come from the traditional olive consuming countries and do NOT know....

Answer 1

Hi,

obviously you are italian, so I can forgive your attack (?) on Spanish Olive Oils.

The truth is that Spanish Olive oil has NEVER been 'banned' except by local commercial competitors (Italy for a while, and Greece) Spanish olive oil, extra virgin or not sells far more than Italy and Greece put together. The production of olive oil here is pretty universal and it is grown and produced all over Spain, even in the north, where it is cooler.

The best Extra Virgin Oil, campares very favourably with any oil from anywhere in the world and, correspondingly, as the quality comes down to the more commercial levels of 'ordinary' olive oils the quality still compares favourably with that from Italy and Greece.

Olive Oil, as you are obviously quite aware, 'burns' at a fairly low temerature and, as you rightly say, if you are frying at high temperature you would be well advised to use other vegetable oils which have a higher melting point (i.e. burn point)

The various colours of olive oil, including virgin oils straight from the press, vary between yellow and green and, as you state, is usually quite opaque. There are methods of filtering which can give a more pleasing appearance (as far as the consumer goes) without heating or treating the oil in any other way, so it IS possible to have extra virgin oil which is quite clear.

I think your girlfriend's dad is quite typical of all oil producers, when looking at the mass produced quantities when compared to his own, more labour intensive and 'personal' production. I live 500M from an olive mill, and they, just like you girlfriend's dad, claim that most commercial oils are 'rubbish'.

I buy mine direct from the mill and always have the very first press only. It comes out as a greenish, milky liquid, which is absolutely wonderful for drizzling...A habit here, I don't know about Italy, is to drizzle it onto fresh crusty bread...nothing else! Wonderful!

Incidentally, the benzinate hydrocarbon 'debate' was a non-starter, ALL olive oils when 'burned' produce these hydrocarbons and the resultant 'banning' by lobbyists in Italy was proved groundless when it was realised that the Italian oils did exactly the same..Oops!

There was never, and never would be, any 'additions' to Spanish oils, just like there would never be any 'additions' to Italian (or Greek) oils.

Cheers,

BobSpain

Answer 2

Oils of all kinds not just Olive Oils can be used in the same ways in cooking, sauteing vegetables, frying or adding to sauces. You can make a simple saute by adding a tablespoon or two in a pan and mixing in vegetables for saute. You can mix equal parts oil and balsamic vinegar, with a little ground or minced fresh garlic, oregano, thyme, basil, cilantro, red pepper and powdered sesame, and lemon juice and make a nice dressing. The oil is far better for you but costs a great deal I would seriously avoid baking with it however it is far better as a dressing oil rather than a baking oil. You can mix oil, lemon juice, egg, and a few other ingredients of your choice and make your own Mayonnaise even. Basically just be creative, using oils is fun and can give a great deal of flavor to foods. I once used olive oil and some re-hydrated red pepper and Habanero pepper as a spicy oil, simply you just soak the peppers, then drain for 30 minutes on a towelette. Then on a cutting board or in a processor you blend the peppers together, then mix in 1 part peppers and 4 parts oil. Then allow to rest in a covered jar, bowl, or container or even a vinegar and oil bottle. This will release the oils in the peppers into the oil and you will truly have a very hot oil infused with the flavors. The same goes for other flavored oils, you can mix fresh herbs, fruits and many other seasonings into the oils to get a specialty oil that will set food off with flavors, try orange coriander, rosemary, thyme, garlic and star anise with a few sprigs of mint.

Answer 3

Finally a more objective view on the matter (at least on the first part; I disagree about spanish oil); I just want to add than pizza is not baked with olive oil; on a true Italian pizza there's NO oil (of any kind) in the dough and oil *on* the pizza itself must be put *after* cooking it, just before serving. That's the way pizza are done in Italy.
Anyway when baking temperature is lower than when frying: generally (for pizza, foccia, bread) no more than 220/240 centigrads, compared to 280 for frying oil.

Answer 4

Very interesting information! Thanks. We use a LOT of olive oil in place of other oils especially on focaccia meals we throw together now and again.

Answer 5

Thank you we will stop using olive oil for frying~~

Answer 6

Cancer is caused by genetics - carcinogens occur all the time.