For decades nutritionists have been advising people to use olive oil in their diet instead of other oils. This is excellent advice except for one very serious problem. It is almost impossible for the average unsuspecting consumer in the United States to find real extra virgin olive oil. Almost impossible, because 95% of the olive oils available in supermarket selves in the US are of inferior quali
ty and of questionable origin and composition. Olive oil has been used as part of the human diet for more than 5000 years. The ancient Greeks had recognized long time ago the health benefits of olive oil consumption. The writings of Hippocrates, the long human experience with olive oil through the centuries as well as modem research performed in universities and research institutions around the world indicate that olive oil is beneficial to health and that we should definitely include it in our diet. Olive oil has been determined to be the ingredient in Greek diet that contributes more than anything else to the excellent health of Greeks. However, in order to get the same health benefits as most Greeks do due to their significant consumption of true extra virgin olive oil, the consumer must be able to find and buy the same kind of oil. This is very difficult, because most olive oil brands available on a typical supermarket shelf do not come even close to the true extra virgin olive oil produced by a typical Greek farmer and consumed by a typical Greek family. Even though these products are labeled that way, they do not contain the nutrients that are so essential to health because these nutrients have been removed or neutralized as a result of the way the oil has been processed and due to tampering and dilution of the extra virgin olive oil with oils produced from other sources (canola, hazelnut, etc.), olive oils of other grades, refined olive oils and generally oils of much lower quality, price and nutritional value. This is happening with olive oils labeled as "Cold-Pressed Extra Virgin". The label therefore of "Cold-Pressed Extra Virgin" is not a guarantee of quality. There is nothing in US laws that govern the production and labeling of olive oil that says that olive oil labeled as "Extra Virgin" has to be 100% Extra Virgin. As a result of these very loose regulations, we have an olive oil market in the US that is full of fraud and deception. We have a situation where highly refined and filtered products such as those labeled as "Light Olive Oil" and "Extra Light Olive Oil" are being sold to the consumer as quality products when they are the lowest of the low-quality olive oils available on this planet. Agnos Olive Oil is 100% Extra Virgin Olive Oil from the Island of Crete, Greece. It is made from the Koroneiki olive variety. Koroneiki olive trees flourish in the warm Mediterranean climate found in Crete. In Greece, the Koroneiki is considered ‘the queen of olives’ and is recognized globally as one of the preferred varietals for oil production. The Koroneiki tree has grown there for more than 3,000 years and is a prolific producer. While the olives themselves are very small, they contain very high levels of poly-phenols, the natural antioxidants found in plants that may reduce the risk of heart disease and cancer. Poly-phenols and other antioxidants found in olives can protect the human body against free radical damage. Agnos Olive Oil is pure and high in quality. Agnos Olive Oil is available in America, and will continue to educate the American consumer on what extra virgin olive oil truly is.
