The Pomace Olive Oil: Pour It
In Your Salad, for Your Health
A caricature
that went with an opinion article in the New York Times by Nicholas Blechman
not long ago, depicts an olive in a black circle with the traditional crossbones underneath, and another one with
an olive holding a gun to its head, all of which pointing to the conclusion
that pomace olive oil is ‘poisonous’ if not suicidal. This, of course, and
another article written about this type of oil in Olive Oil Times reveal a kind
of journalism which is irresponsible and far from factual!
In its New York
section of Opinion, the New York Times on January 26 2014 printed this series
of caricatures by Blechman dubbing the purchase of olive oil from Italy as
‘Extra Virgin Suicide’ and cautioned that “while Olives that are used in
substandard oil are typically taken to mills days, weeks or even months after
being picked — not “within hours.”
“The graphic
“continues the item in the NY Times, “conflated two dubious practices that can
be found in parts of the olive oil industry. Some producers mix olive oil with soybean or other cheap
oils, while others mix vegetable oils with beta carotene and chlorophyll to
produce fake olive oil; the two practices are not usually combined.”
“Olive oil bottled
in Italy and sold in the United States may be labeled “packed in Italy” or
“imported from Italy” — not “produced in Italy” — even if the oil does not come
from Italy. (However, the source countries are supposed to be listed on the
label.)”
“A 2010 study by
researchers” concludes the article “at the University of California, Davis,
found that 69 percent of imported olive oil labeled “extra virgin” did not
meet, in an expert taste and smell test, the standard for that label. The study
suggested that the substandard samples had been oxidized; had been adulterated
with cheaper refined olive oil; or were of poor quality because they were made
from damaged or overripe olives, or olives that had been improperly stored or
processed — or some combination of these flaws. It did not conclude that 69
percent of olive oil for sale in the United States was doctored.”
We wonder where
the New York Times got hold of this information as late as this year, when in
2012, the executive order of the European Committee looking into irregularities
in the trade presented its findings and set the rules by which the Trade must
abide by, a seven-page document signed in Brussels by the president of the
committee, none other than Jose Manuel Barroso and strictly enforced.
But what is the
reason behind this vicious campaign against the process called Pomace, a process employed not only in
the production of every type of oil in existence, but which offers benefits
which are hardly present in Virgin and Extra Virgin Olive oil. To begin with, the word impostor referring to
the pomace olive oil is unfair and downright libelous and these publications
who dared write such inaccuracies should be held responsible for their
erroneous ‘facts.’
Also outrageous
is the claim of Olive Oil Times that ‘although human exposure to PAHs is
something of the quotidian-as they also created with the combustion of fossil
fuels, burning trash, agricultural fires industrial processes, tobacco smoke
and vehicle exhaust emissions-our exposure to PAHs should be as limited as much
as possible, especially when ingesting food.’ In the same sentence however,
Olive Oil Times explains how ‘specific standards have been set in various
regions of the world limiting the allowable amount of benzoperenes in pomace
olive oil. ‘ And continuing, the article itself states that ‘within the
European Union and in member states of the IOC, the limit is 2 parts per
billion, or 2 micrograms per kilogram, as decided in Resolution RES-1/93-IV /05
Madrid in November of 2005, [6].’
Which in few
words is self-explanatory providing proof that even if there were sporadic
problems perpetrated by some unscrupulous merchants and manufacturers, the
resolution of 2005 has eliminated them once and for all! So far as the
quotidian, everyone knows that these hazards will be with us as long as there
is humanity.
If the public
was aware of how do you process corn, sunflower, soy, cottonseed and canola to produce the oil that put on
your dinner table, they would not give the ‘reports’ by newspapers, magazines
and newsletters a second look , since they’d know how bogus these ‘accounts
about pomace Olive oil are.
Is this a
shocking revelation? Not really. Everyone knows that in order to extract oil
from these products you must use the pomace Process. So if you buy corn,
sunflower, soy, cottonseed or canola oil for your salad, why won’t you buy the
olive oil which is produced by the same method? How can possibly olive oil
extracted in this fashion be dangerous when every other kind of FDA-approved
oil in the market is good for consumption? There’s only one kind of pomace
Process and the leading European producers of this type olive oil, Spain, Italy
and Greece, adhere to the strict rules imposed by the European Union.
In fact, instead
of downgrading talk about pomace olive oil by some adversaries who call it
unfit for the kitchen table, they should be writing about the many benefits one
can derive from this oil as long as the rules of its production are strictly
observed. And it is widely known that the Mediterranean countries that grow the
olive and process it into oil are very well versed in its production and
distribution. One only has to listen to one of the world’s foremost authorities
on the subject to be convinced of the very good qualities of the product and
the benefits it provides to the consumer provides, health-wise and otherwise.
The worldwide
authority on such matters is Nikos Katsaros, former president of the Hellenic
Food Authority and current Scientific Collaborator of NCRS Demokritos. He can
explain better than anyone the entire production of the oil, from the gathering
of the fruit to the production of the initial oil extracted in the first
process which assumes the name Virgin (0.8% < acidity < 2.0%) or Extra
Virgin oil, (acidity < 0.8%) or as
Lampante (acidity > 2.0%.)
It has been
scientifically proven that since the pomace olive oil has been extracted in the
very same process as the cooking oils mentioned in the preceding sentence, it
is advantageous to rather use the olive oil of the same process since it
features benefits over the other oils. It is a fact that pomace olive oil
retains the olive oil’s basic lipid profile and therefore can boast high levels
of oleanolic acid, an agent proven to relieve states of hypertension and high
blood pressure, advantages absent in the rest of the oils.
In order however
to remove its high acidity
(neutralization,) its color (decoloration,) and its odor
(deodorization,) and call it Refined Olive Oil, we must follow the pomace
process, the same process followed in
any refineries that process corn, sunflower, soy, cottonseed and canola oils.
What then are
the critics of pomace-processed olive oil are talking about? Why are they so
vehemently criticizing a method of processing, knowing fully well that the
solid residue that remains after the extraction of the Virgin and Extra Virgin
oils contains contains as much as 10% of the very oil which has been extracted.
To briefly
describe the process called pomace, we must illustrate how refineries dry the
solid residue that contains the rest of the oil in high temperatures to remove
the remaining water and following this step, they carry out a solvent
extraction method by which they obtain the rest of the oil. The product that
emerges from this process is called crude pomace olive oil. Then comes the
process to make the crude olive oil fit for consumption, which is the process
by which the high acidity is eliminated, its coloring is also removed and it is
deodorized. This is the product that assumes the name pomace olive oil.
It is then
obvious that, if this is a product that derives from the olive fruit, (its
flesh, kernel and skin as in the case of the Virgin or Lampante oil) it is
nothing else but olive oil, produced by the process called pomace. But let’s
find out once and for all what is the pomace method. It is a method by which
the solid remains of the olive, including the skin, pulp, seed and stem are
first extracted by a solvent (hexane) following which the product is heated so
the solvent evaporates totally and cleanly, without leaving any traces or
harmful residue. The hitch here is that the heating method employed does not
ever exceed 90 degrees Celcius (or 194 degrees Farenheit.) The use of this
system assures that the final product does not contain any polycyclic aromatic
hydrocarbons or PAHs.
The risk of
benzopyrene (PAH) contamination occurs only when the heating method used to
evaporate the solvent (hexane) exceeds 300 degrees Celcius (572 degrees
Farenheit) which is almost unthinkable in the controlled conditions under which
the pomace method is undertaken. But theoretically speaking, if that happens
and temperatures rise to such degree, it can cause a rapid accumulation of
PAHs, which could possibly be mutagenic and carcinogenic substances.
However, as we
explained earlier, the European Union along with the International Oil Council
(IOC) anticipating such improbable situations by their olive oil-producing
member nations, have set standards, with limits set to two parts per
billion or two micrograms per kilogram,
as decided by the resolution RES
1/93-IV/05 Madrid on November 2005.
Apropos, let’s examine
some of the myths surrounding olive oil of any kind, vs. seed oil.
1)
Olive
oil of any kind contains more calories compared to seed oil.
Not true! Olive
oil and seed oil of any kind contain almost the same number of calories.
2)
Olive oil of any kind is not so easily
digested as seed oil.
Not true! Olive
oil of any kind is digested than seed oil. Also, olive oil of any kind is
digested almost to an extent of 98% and, as a result of that, the fatty acids
absorbed stimulate the secretion of bile from the gall bladder among other
benefits
3)
Seed
oil of any kind is better for frying than any kind of Olive oil.
Not true! In
olive oil of any kind, the presence of more monounsaturated fatty acids makes them more stable to heat as opposed to polyunsaturated
fatty acids present in seed oil. In addition, olive oil of any kind contains
more antioxidants and vitamin E that increase their resistance to oxidation as
opposed to seed oil that is oxidized upon heating to produce oxidized compounds
responsible for arterial, heart problems, high blood pressure etc.
Olive oil
contains more monounsaturated fatty acids, more antioxidants, more vitamin E
and vitamin K and more trace metals needed for our body as opposed to seed oil
of any kind. The above-mentioned substances present in olive oil of any kind
assist in:
·
The
reduction of bad cholesterol (LDL) in the blood.
·
Stabilize
the levels of good cholesterol (HDL) in the blood.
·
Reducing
the triglyceride level in the blood.
·
Preventing
arteriosclerosis and heart problems.
·
Regulating
blood sugar level in diabetic people.
·
The
therapy of people with ulcers of the stomach and the duodenum.
·
The
prevention of cancer.
Finally, olive oil of any kind is not
genetically modified neither is contaminated with genetically modified
residues. In Greece, not even one acre of land is used to produce GMOs.
To repeat one more time, the above are
not only the property of Virgin or Extra Virgin olive oil. The include oil
processed in the pomace method which proves that all olive oils are equally fit
for consumption without any fear.
