After various inspections being conducted in Portalegre and in the south margin of the river Tejo, fraudulent oil goods have been taken off the market. In addition, the ASAE also seized hundreds of labels, a goods vehicle, and other suggestive and evidence documents, all of which had an estimated combined value of 29.000 euros.


18 samples of every single fraudulent product detected were taken for analysis in order for them to undertake physical-chemical analysis. A product marked as “virgin olive oil”, was also marked as counterfeit as there was a strong intuition that it could be edible oil, with a five-litre package costing around 30/40 euros. This mission, conducted by the Évora Operational Unit, aims to protect the quality and authenticity of Portuguese products. To the suspects in the case, an Identity and Residence Term has been issued until further notice.

ASAE alerts customers to beware of offers of these types of products at a reduced price than anticipated, as it may be used to deceive customers into purchasing other oleic products. As emphasised by the ASAE, this procedure took place “following investigative steps, various inspection actions aimed at the olive oil value chain, to identify potential non-conformities regarding the authenticity and quality of the product, and also unfair competition practices.”