Claims of oil fraud are tough to validate, since there's no industrywide testing program. But impostors show up even in prestigious competitions, said Darrell Corti, who runs Corti Brothers Market in Sacramento and is the chief judge of the Los Angeles International Extra Virgin Olive Oil Competition, the nation's biggest olive oil event.
In this year's contest, held last week, 118 of the 396 entrants didn't meet the extra-virgin grade's basic standards, Corti said.