11 OLIVE OILS To AVOID And 7 That Are Actually Olive Oil

11 Olive Oil Brands to Avoid—and 7 Better Choices Worth Buying

11. Botticelli

Botticelli may look like a straightforward choice for shoppers searching for an affordable Italian-style olive oil.

Its familiar presentation and lower price can make it attractive next to premium bottles costing considerably more.

But sensory testing has raised concerns about the quality of some Botticelli samples.

A trained tasting panel described characteristics associated with old or degraded oil, including a barnyard-like quality.

Other consumer testing has also found that only a small fraction of sampled bottles across major brands met the full sensory standard expected of extra virgin olive oil.

Fresh olive oil should generally have noticeable green, grassy, fruity, or peppery characteristics.

A flat or stale aroma can be a warning that the oil has lost some of the qualities shoppers expect from fresh extra virgin olive oil.

The problem is therefore not simply price.

A bargain stops being a bargain when the product fails to deliver the freshness and character consumers thought they were paying for.

10. Great Value

Great Value occupies the role of the supermarket workhorse: inexpensive, familiar, and easy to grab without much thought.

The brand itself has not been the focus of the same specific olive-oil allegations highlighted elsewhere in the liSt. However, legal disputes involving Walmart’s broader cooking-oil products have raised questions about the company’s quality-control systems, including allegations concerning whether cheaper oils were substituted for products advertised as pure.

Those cases involved avocado oil rather than establishing that Great Value olive oil was adulterated.

That distinction matters. Still, shoppers buying a store-brand olive oil are effectively trusting the retailer’s sourcing and quality controls.

Without clear harvest information or strong independent verification, that trust can be difficult to evaluate from the bottle alone.

9. Star

Star has a long American history, dating back to 1898, and its connection to Italian-American food traditions gives it substantial recognition.

One persistent problem in the olive-oil world is the use of the refrigerator teSt. Some shoppers believe authentic olive oil should become cloudy or solid when refrigerated, while adulterated oil supposedly remains liquid.

That is not a reliable authenticity teSt. Different olive oils solidify at different temperatures, and oils blended with other fats can sometimes behave similarly.

In other words, the kitchen experiment cannot replace laboratory analysis.

Star has not been singled out by the recalls or lawsuits highlighted elsewhere in this ranking.

Its appearance on the list is instead a reminder that consumers cannot determine authenticity simply by putting a bottle in the refrigerator.

8. Pompeian

Pompeian has cultivated an image strongly associated with growers and agricultural heritage, but its sourcing story is more complicated than that image might suggeSt.

The company has used certification from the North American Olive Oil Association, while its supply relationships have included international olive growers and cooperatives.

Being supplied by a growers’ cooperative is not necessarily the same as being owned by one.

Another issue is harvest dating. Olive oil is not a wine that generally improves with age.

Freshness matters enormously, and a bottle without a clear harvest date makes it much harder for shoppers to determine how long ago the olives were actually picked.

Pompeian has also been involved in industry litigation surrounding olive-oil quality and labeling, although those disputes should not automatically be interpreted as proof that every Pompeian bottle is defective.

7. Safeway Select

Olive oil is sensitive to light, which makes packaging an important part of quality.

Safeway Select oils became the subject of a class-action settlement concerning labeling that suggested an Italian origin even though the olives could come from multiple Mediterranean countries and the oil was bottled in Italy.

Safeway did not admit liability, but it agreed to modify the relevant labeling and move away from clear glass for a period of time.

That packaging issue matters because clear glass allows light to reach the oil.

Over time, light exposure can accelerate oxidation and degrade quality.

A dark bottle or tin does not automatically guarantee excellent olive oil, but it removes one obvious environmental threat.

For shoppers evaluating store-brand oils, packaging deserves nearly as much attention as the name on the front.

6. Carapelli

Carapelli has leaned heavily on Italian heritage, using its name, design, and presentation to create a premium Mediterranean identity.

The difficulty is that Italian bottling and Italian olive growing are not necessarily the same thing.

Some Carapelli products have listed multiple possible countries of origin, meaning the olives can come from different locations before the finished oil reaches consumers.

That can complicate freshness and traceability. Carapelli is also part of Deoleo, the same corporate group associated with other major olive-oil brands.

For shoppers who assume different labels necessarily represent independent companies, that ownership structure can be surprising.

The lesson is not that international sourcing is automatically bad.

It is that shoppers should distinguish between a brand’s heritage story and the specific origin and harvest information printed on the bottle.

5. Newman’s Own

Newman’s Own is difficult to criticize because its charitable mission is central to its identity.

But charitable giving and olive-oil quality are two separate questions.

Organic certification can tell consumers about agricultural practices, but it does not automatically tell them whether an oil is fresh, how long it sat before reaching the shelf, or whether the finished oil passed a particular sensory or chemical quality teSt.

The concern here is therefore a lack of publicly available product-specific information rather than proof of adulteration or contamination.

For shoppers choosing olive oil, a good cause can be admirable without being a substitute for a harvest date, transparent sourcing, and independent testing.

4. Colavita

Colavita has a legitimate family-business story and a long association with Italian olive oil.

That makes its labeling especially worth examining.

Some Colavita products can contain olive oil sourced from multiple countries, including Italy, Greece, Portugal, or Spain.

A blend is not inherently inferior, but the more complicated the sourcing, the harder it becomes for consumers to know precisely when and where the olives were harvested.

Colavita has also been named in litigation concerning olive-oil quality, although allegations in a lawsuit should not be treated as established findings against the company.

The more useful takeaway is found directly on the bottle: check the best-by date, country-of-origin statement, and whether a harvest date is available.

Family ownership may establish independence, but independence does not automatically establish freshness.

3. Filippo Berio

Filippo Berio is one of the most recognizable imported olive-oil brands in American supermarkets.

Its Italian name gives it an immediate aura of European authenticity.

Yet the brand has faced controversies involving both testing and labeling.

European consumer testing has raised concerns about mineral-oil residues in particular samples, although the exact products tested may not have been identical to the versions sold in the United States.

The brand has also faced litigation concerning “imported from Italy” labeling, with allegations that olives came from other Mediterranean countries.

There is an important counterpoint: different Filippo Berio products can perform differently in testing.

One organic product, for example, has received favorable results in separate contaminant testing.

That inconsistency makes one rule especially important: judge the individual bottle, not simply the brand name.

2. 365 Whole Foods Market

The 365 label carries a powerful promise.

Shoppers often assume that a Whole Foods house brand has already passed an extra layer of scrutiny.

An independent consumer testing project reported lead in a sample of 365 Organic Extra Virgin Olive Oil in 2024.

However, the result came from a single sample and was not equivalent to a government finding or broad scientific survey.

That limitation is important. One positive result cannot establish that every bottle contains lead.

The broader concern is transparency. Organic certification primarily addresses how the olives are grown; it does not by itself establish that the finished oil is fresh or independently tested for every possible contaminant.

1. Bertolli

Bertolli is arguably the biggest name on this liSt. It has been a fixture in American kitchens for generations, making it easy to purchase automatically.

But its history includes significant quality-control controversies.

In 2016, certain Bertolli extra-light tasting and classical pure olive-oil products were recalled after pesticide residues were detected.

Earlier, products from the same lines had also been pulled over premature oxidation.

Those recalls did not involve Bertolli’s extra virgin line, a distinction that should not be overlooked.

The company has also faced litigation over “imported from Italy” labeling and best-by dating.

A settlement ultimately included changes involving harvest-date disclosure.

The most important lesson from Bertolli is therefore not that every bottle is bad.

It is that even the most recognizable brand deserves the same scrutiny as an unfamiliar one.

Here are 7 Better Choices.

7. Terra Delyssa

Terra Delyssa puts Tunisian sourcing prominently into its identity instead of relying on European imagery to create an impression of origin.

The brand emphasizes traceability and has received recognition in international olive-oil competitions.

Its dark packaging also helps protect the oil from light exposure.

It is not necessarily supported by every type of independent laboratory testing a consumer might want, but its clear sourcing and traceability make it a more transparent choice.

6. Graza

Graza takes a modern approach by emphasizing single-source Spanish olive oil and harvest-season information.

Its squeeze bottle is unusual, but the opaque packaging helps protect the oil from light.

The company also participated in industry purity testing.

Its biggest limitation is its relative youth as a brand.

A shorter operating history means consumers have less long-term performance data to examine.

5. Trader Joe’s California Estate

Trader Joe’s California Estate stands out because it is domestically sourced, single-origin olive oil packaged in dark glass.

Consumer Reports previously identified the California Estate product as a Best Buy, giving it an additional layer of credibility beyond the Trader Joe’s name itself.

The key is selecting the specific California Estate product rather than assuming every olive oil sold by Trader Joe’s shares the same sourcing or quality profile.

4. Kirkland Signature

Kirkland Signature provides an interesting reversal: the warehouse-store brand can be one of the stronger options when consumers choose the right bottle.

Certain Kirkland olive oils have received favorable consumer testing results and third-party certification.

Some products also provide harvest information and traceability details.

The important caveat is that Kirkland sells multiple olive oils from different origins.

A large container can also become a disadvantage for households that use olive oil slowly, because an opened bottle can gradually oxidize.

3. Lucini Italia

Lucini earns attention through more specific geographic designations on certain products, including DOP status, which ties an oil to defined production regions and standards.

The brand also uses harvest information and dark packaging on qualifying products.

It has participated in purity testing, providing another reason for consumers to take a closer look.

The main drawback is price. Premium sourcing and specialty positioning can make Lucini significantly more expensive than basic supermarket oils.

2. Cobram Estate

Cobram Estate emphasizes freshness and transparency by publishing harvest information and, on some products, polyphenol levels.

Its Australian origins also matter because Australia has developed a reputation for relatively rigorous olive-oil standards.

The tradeoff is cost.

Cobram Estate can be considerably more expensive than store brands, but shoppers are paying for information and freshness rather than simply a more elaborate bottle.

1. California Olive Ranch

California Olive Ranch takes the top position because California has a more structured system for verifying olive-oil quality than much of the U.S.

Market. Covered producers can participate in a state-regulated system involving testing of olive-oil lots for characteristics such as acidity and peroxide value.

California Olive Oil Council certification also provides consumers with a finished-oil quality signal rather than merely an agricultural certification.

California Olive Ranch products can vary, however, and not every bottle is exclusively Californian.

Some are blends involving imported oils. That makes the final rule more important than any individual brand: read the specific bottle.

The Olive Oil Rule That Changes Everything

The easiest starting point is the harvest date.

A best-by date tells shoppers when a producer expects the product to remain within its intended shelf life.

A harvest date tells them something much more useful: when the olives were actually picked.

From there, shoppers can check the country of origin, favor dark glass or tins over clear bottles, and look for meaningful third-party certification of the finished oil.

The refrigerator test is not a reliable authenticity teSt. Neither is a prestigious-sounding Italian name.

The most useful signals are traceability, freshness, packaging, and credible testing.

Good olive oil does not necessarily require a luxury price tag.

Many of the stronger choices cost roughly what shoppers already spend on mainstream brands.

The real upgrade is not paying more.

It is knowing what the bottle is actually telling them.