From "rancid" to "tastes like old nuts": Stiftung Warentest fails organic olive oils with a bang

Created: 09/29/2022, 18:30

By: Maria Wendel

Stiftung Warentest has again examined extra virgin olive oil.

Four oils failed the test with "inadequate".

But there is good news for bargain hunters.

Stiftung Warentest took a close look at 19 olive oils this time, including well-known brands such as Bertolli and organic oils, but also inexpensive discounter products such as those from Aldi and Lidl.

The price range for the oils in the test ranged from 5.75 euros to 36 euros per liter.

Interesting for consumers is therefore the question of whether good olive oil has to dig deep into your pocket or whether a cheaper oil from the supermarket can also be of good quality.

After all, 13 of the 19 oils examined performed well overall.

However, four products only received the verdict "poor" because they were rancid and had a high content of mineral oil components - which brands failed and who was chosen as the test winner can be found below.

Also read if you really shouldn't use olive oil for frying.

Spoiled for choice: When shopping, you will find many different olive oil brands.

Which one did best in the 2022 Stiftung Warentest comparison?

© agefotostock/Imago

Olive oil test 2022 by Stiftung Warentest: Four oils fail with a “poor” rating

Twelve of the oils examined in the test carry an organic seal, which means that they support sustainable agriculture and chemical-synthetic pesticides are prohibited.

According to

, however, they are not automatically recommended.

Sensory errors were found in four tested organic olive oils, which actually means, according to the EU Olive Oil Regulation, that they can no longer be sold as "extra virgin".

According to the test, these four oils tasted rancid and only received the grade “poor”:

• Bio-Zentrale extra virgin olive oil

  – poor (5.0)

• Denns Biomarkt Dennree extra virgin olive oil – poor (5.0)

• Corovita Premium Organic Olive Oil extra virgin olive oil – deficient (5.1)

• Müller Bio Primo Spanish extra virgin olive oil – poor (5.5)

also discovered a high level of mineral oil components (MOAH and MOSH)

in the products from Corovita and Müller .

This is a common problem with food, as tests by

and

regularly show, for example with spaghetti and nut nougat creams.

Experts suspect that lubricating oils come into contact with the products at various points in the harvesting, processing and transport process and that this is how the traces of mineral oil in processed and unprocessed foods come about.

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Olive oil at Stiftung Warentest: test winner comes from southern Italy

• The olive oil test winner is the Crudo brand with "Sei Cinque Zero Olio extra vergine d'oliva": according to

  Stiftung Warentest

  it is "the best and only sensory very good olive oil".

  However, the product from Bari has a steep price: 36 euros per liter.

  You can get it from delicatessen portals on the Internet.

• But you can also get good oil for less money from discounters: “Primadonna” from Lidl and “Cantinelle” from Aldi only cost 5.75 euros per liter.

• Stiftung Warentest

  also recommends organic oils such as Bertolli Bio (10.90 euros) or Edeka Bio (11 euros), which promote organic olive cultivation.

You can find all the results of the olive oil test on

(behind the payment barrier)

Don't miss anything: You can find everything to do with cooking and baking in the regular Merkur.de gourmet newsletter

Incidentally, "Lidl Primadonna" and "Bertolli Originale" were among the test winners in the olive oil test by

in 2021 .

So you can summarize: For good olive oil you don't have to buy the most expensive branded product, you can also find it in the discounter.