Why the Swiss suddenly switched to ‘rancid’ olive oil from Palestine

The project gives hope in times of war. For twenty years, a Swiss association, founded by people with a Jewish and Palestinian background, has been importing olive oil from farming families in the West Bank. The project is a success. When the association first offered the product at a stand on Bahnhofstrasse in Zurich in 2003, a total of nine tons of oil had been imported. This year that is 23 tons. Imports are now handled by the Zurich company Gebana. It specializes in ecologically and socially responsible products.

At the end of October, a letter from the authorities was received at Gebana’s headquarters. With far-reaching consequences.

The Cantonal Laboratory of the Zurich Health Directorate informs in the letter that the Swiss Olive Oil Panel, based at the University of Applied Sciences of Zurich in Wädenswil, has tested a sample of the oil. The find is devastating.

The official German says somewhat cryptically: “The investigation resulted in a classification in the quality class ‘Lampantöl’ due to the intensity of the defect found.” And further: “Virgin olive oil of the Lampante type may not be sold to consumers.”

That means in plain language: The “extra virgin olive oil” indicated by Gebana is so “rancid” that it is only suitable for lamp oil. The cantonal laboratory therefore ordered that the olive oil be immediately withdrawn from the market. According to Gebana, there are 2,400 half-liter bottles.

The cantonal laboratory must decide in advance whether the olive oil can later be sold to light lamps, the letter continues. In addition, Gebana had to pay the cost of the olive oil sample amounting to 506.15 francs.

Olive oil importers in Gebana are shocked by the “big message” from the authorities. Head of marketing Philippe Schenkel says the oil has a loyal fan community and is already being praised by top restaurants. He is outraged that a panel can determine what olive oil should taste like and ban its sale. “It’s about whether our customers like the oil,” says Schenkel.

In a newsletter sent on Tuesday, Gebana defended olive oil. An internal blind tasting with ten employees unanimously concluded that the oil met the “usual high quality”. They immediately objected to the order of the cantonal authorities.

As long as the call remains, the oil will continue to be sold. Gebana calls for action before the oil has to be drained.

Then the amazing thing happened: Customers immediately flocked to the olive oil, which had just been classified as rancid lamp oil by the Swiss Olive Oil Panel. That same Tuesday, 2,063 bottles were sold via the virtual counter. The orders came from more than 1,000 customers. On Wednesday the last 300 bottles finally went away. Currently there are only three liter jerry cans of the oil available, but they come from a different batch that was not complained about.

Gebana customers apparently completely distrust the ruling of the Swiss olive oil panel. The question remains why the Palestinian product caused so much anger there. “We suspect that the members of the panel mainly taste oils from Italy, Greece and Spain,” says Gebana. Due to different soil conditions, olive varieties and climate, oil from Palestine tastes “naturally hotter and more intense” than that from Europe.

Annette Bongartz of the Swiss Olive Oil Panel rejects this assumption. Due to the contractual relationship with the canton, she cannot comment on individual results. However, she rejects Gebana’s “assumption that we are generally not sufficiently educated or trained, that we have no experience or comparison with other olive oil panels” and describes her institution’s high standards.

The testing of the oil was based on EU guidelines, which in turn were based on International Olive Oil Council specifications. The expert panel for the assessment of olive oil consists of specially trained, regularly trained test persons who are integrated into an internal monitoring system. In addition, the Swiss Olive Oil Panel is recognized by the IOC Madrid and participates in a proficiency test with approximately 100 other olive oil panels worldwide for quality assurance purposes.

Gebana informs its customers that they can return olive oil if they have any doubts about its quality. The Zurich cantonal laboratory declined to comment. (aargauerzeitung.ch)