What’s in your jar of dried oregano?
If you answered “dried oregano, duh!” you’d be forgiven, because that’s what you would expect to be in your jar of dried oregano. Unfortunately, you might be a victim of oregano fraud!
The oregano vigilantes over at CHOICE have uncovered the shocking truth about what is lurking in your spice rack.
They conducted tests on twelve different dried oregano samples and found that seven of them contained other ingredients, such as olive and sumac leaves.
CHOICE says it decided to test oregano in Australia after a study in the UK last year reported 25% of dried oregano samples were unadulterated. Concerned that Aussie shoppers might be being similarly duped, they carried out a spot check of the authenticity of oregano being sold in our supermarkets.
A selection of dried oregano products were obtained from supermarkets, delis and grocers in Melbourne, Sydney and Perth. A total of 12 different brands were purchased and a single sample of each was analysed.
The brand with the least actual oregano was Master of Spices which only contained 10% of the herb. This was followed by Hoyt’s with 11% and Aldi’s Stonemill with just 26% oregano. Both Spice & Co and Menora’s oregano contained just a third actual oregano. Spencer’s had 40% and G Fresh had 50%. All of these products claimed on their packaging that there was just one ingredient: oregano.
MasterFoods, Woolworths Select, Coles and Herbies Spices products were found to contain 100% dried oregano leaves.
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CHOICE contacted the companies to ask why their products weren’t passing muster, and received feedback that it seems to be a supply chain issue and the companies themselves are being duped.
Spice & Co claimed to have been shocked and disappointed at being supplied this product to sell and notified retailers advising it wouldn’t re-supply dried oregano until they “have absolute assurance of the integrity of the oregano”.
Aldi has launched its own investigations with its supplier, and has put up signs offering a refund on Stonemill dried oregano and mixed herbs sold between January 2015 and March 2016.
CHOICE is calling for an ACCC crackdown on these shonky oregano practices:
But with the results of our spot check indicating potential breaches of the Australian Consumer Law for misleading or deceptive conduct and false or misleading representations about a product, we referred the matter to the ACCC and it has since initiated an investigation. The results also point to a substantial issue with the adulteration of oregano supplies in Australia, so CHOICE thinks it’s imperative the ACCC gets to the bottom of the problem and takes appropriate action.
Why the oregano is being swapped out for other ingredients isn’t known at this stage. CHOICE says that someone at some stage along the supply chain has made a decision to do so, but they can only speculate why.
It could be for profit, it could be because of supply issues. The bottom line is if you’re not getting what you’re paying for and what they claim is in the jar, that’s a problem.
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