Quebec olive oil leads to fraud charges

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has laid a charge of false and misleading labeling against a Quebec company marketing a product it called Aurum extra virgin olive oil.

The charge alleges that Aliments Gaudium violated subsection 5(1) of the Food and Drugs Act which the CFIA enforces.

The company is scheduled to appear in court in Montreal on Feb. 27.

There have been many reports of cheating in the “virgin olive oil” market, in the species of fish and the meat content of sausages.

The University of Guelph has been using its world-leading bar-code genetic research system to detect these types of fraud.