Teach Soap

Trader Joe's has a 33.8oz bottle of EVOO for $4.99 (4 bottles = $19.96 and you would get 135.20oz of EVOO)

I posted this on another forum, and it seemed only one person was using Trader Joe's Olive Oil.

Anyone here use it?
I haven't been back to the store to get some, BUT. I did get an official response from Trader Joe's Customer Relations in regards to the EVOO being 100% pure, uncut.



John,

Thank you for bringing your concerns to our attention. Trader Joe's works very closing with our suppliers to assure that we are receiving quality products and that our labels are meeting the 100 percent of their claims.

Every bottle of Extra Virgin Olive Oil at Trader Joe's is form the first crush first press of the current crop. Our Olive Oil Buyer personally selects every olive oil blend on our shelves. She travels to Italy, Spain, Greece and Australia's olive groves during the harvest season, meeting suppliers and taking part in the process of putting together each of our high quality olive oils. This is an integral part of how we buy our olive oil. By being involved at this level we can ensure the quality of our Olive Oils.

In addition, we subject our olive oils to testing by an independent lab to ensure that their level of acidity equals that of Extra Virgin Olive Oil as Determined by the International Olive Oil Council Standards. Plus, We also do our own testing on a quarterly basis.

At Trader Joe's we require FDA regulated GMP (Good Manufacturing Practices) and HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point) program of our vendors. HACCP is a systematic approach to identifying, evaluating and controlling food safety hazards. In addition, our Quality Assurance Team audits our vendors on random and scheduled visits to monitor their facilities and practices on an ongoing basis.

We believe that quality along with price is essential to the value of our products and we got to extreme measures to make sure we are bringing you the best of both.

Sincerely,
Amy
Trader Joe's
Customer Relations

That's a veiled answer. "they select every olive oil blend". That blend could already have other oils besides olive. They check for acidity levels, but not for pureness. FDA is not applicable in other countries other then the US. Food safety hazards are not as stringent in other countries. I don't see any "extreme measures" that would quantify that the oil is truly 100% pure olive. Meeting the suppliers is nice, but no one checks their oils for purity right there either.

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.

When I buy I look for "100% Pure" or something similar on the label, and also check for an ingredients list if there is one. Haven't had any issues yet. I like to go to places that sell closeout and overflow merchandise, like Big Lots or Ollie's Bargain Outlet. They almost always seem to have something suitable (in my area[S.E. Ohio] at least!). I got 48oz. of Pompeian brand from Ollies yesterday for about $7. Awesomeness!!

Just be sure to check your "use by" or expiration date if you shop closeout places!

I get my olive oil at Costco (Kirtland Brand). It's 19.99 for 6 liters and in studies testing OO purity, this brand has come back as pure and unadulterated.

It's not extra virgin but I prefer basic OO for soap.

_________________
Irena
Closed minds are like faulty parachutes; they refuse to open.