In the operation, carried out in a warehouse and an industrial unit, “82,819 labels mentioning olive oil and 16,500 litres of cooking oil were seized, much of which was already labelled as olive oil”, ASAE added in a statement.

The foodstuff warehouse and the oil and olive oil packaging industrial unit are identified for “fraudulent practices, with the labelling of bottles of edible oil as olive oil of different categories”.

The two units did not present “any proof of acquisition of genuine olive oil”, with the intention of “misleading the consumer regarding the characteristics of the product”, reads the note from that authority.

ASAE said it will continue to intensify investigation and inspection actions throughout the national territory, within its competences, with the aim of guaranteeing compliance with market rules and defending free and healthy competition.