Olive Oil Industry Group Sues Dr. Oz
The North American Olive Oil Association (NAOOA) has filed a lawsuit against Mehmet Oz of “The Dr. Oz Show” alleging he falsely told his audience in a May 2016 episode that 80 percent of olive oil sold in supermarkets is fraudulent. N. Am. Olive Oil Ass’n v. Oz, No. 283156 (Ga. Super. Ct., Fulton Cty., filed November 29, 2016).
The complaint asserts that Oz told viewers: “So how does it become fake, if it’s just fresh olive juice? . . . Adulterated oil . . . takes some of the real oil and mixes it with fake olive oil substitute. To make the fake olive oil, you take an oil with no flavor or color like sunflower oil, add some coloring in there like chlorophyll to give it that rich green hue, then you mix that in with some of the real stuff, into extra virgin olive oil, and then, here’s the key, it’ll slap a little label on there saying ‘packed in Italy’ and then you ship it to U.S. supermarkets.” Oz further implied that a shipment of 7,000 tons of olive oil seized by Italian police was tainted by non-olive oils despite the fact that none of the olive oil was alleged to have come from non-olive sources, according to the complaint.
NAOOA argues that it tests random samples of olive oil each year and has found that about 95 percent meet or exceed the International Olive Council’s quality and purity standards, while the “non-compliant olive oils represent less than two percent (2%) of the United States retail market share for olive oil.” The organization’s claims against Oz include tortious interference with business relations and negligent misrepresentation as well as a claim under Georgia law creating an action for disparagement of perishable food products.
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