Last week, Greek police raided a warehouse in Thessaloniki where they found a total of 13 tons of oil: about half was counterfeit olive oil, while the other half was still regular sunflower oil.
Two men, an 80-year-old man and his 36-year-old son, were arrested on suspicion of violating food laws. After questioning, they were released provisionally.
The two men operated in the same way each time. They purchased sunflower oil in Bulgaria, then added dye to give it the typical greenish color of olive oil. Afterwards, they stuck a label stating 'extra virgin olive oil' on the barrels, claiming the oil was produced in Greece.
Thousands of empty cans were found in the warehouse. The counterfeit olive oil was sold both in Greece and Bulgaria.
Greece, which together with Italy and Spain is among the five largest olive producers in the world, had a very poor year last year. Due to heatwaves and drought, farmers harvested only half of the usual olive crop.
Prices also rose by no less than 110 percent compared to the previous year. Besides forgeries, there were also break-ins and thefts at warehouses to steal oil and/or olives. In early October last year, Spanish police in Seville seized 74 tons of stolen olives, and thieves in Greece made off with 37,000 liters of olive oil.