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byNicolas Hulscher, MPHAnewly published studyout of UC Davis has uncovered a stunning problem hiding inside foods marketed as being made with avocado oil:89% of avocado-oil-labeled products tested had chemical profiles inconsistent with authentic avocado oil.They analyzed oils extracted from 74 commercially sold chips, salad dressings, and mayonnaise products labeled as containing avocado or olive oil, using fatty-acid and sterol markers referenced against Codex Alimentarius standards.The results were especially striking for avocado oil. Among avocado-oil-labeled products,93% of chip samples failed authenticity criteria, 100% of salad dressings failed, and 71% of mayonnaise samples failed.In total, just 6 of 54 avocado-oil-labeled samples were classified as compositionally consistent with authentic avocado oil.The product identities below come from theUC Davis-linked product list corresponding to the study’s numbered samples. Each product was represented by two separately purchased lots. For readability, I label lots that were compositionally consistent with authentic avocado oil asREAL AVOCADO OILand lots that were compositionally inconsistent asADULTERATED:Boulder Canyon — Avocado Oil Classic Sea Salt Kettle Style Potato Chips:ADULTERATED— both lotsLesser Evil — Moonions Intergalactic Onion Made with Organic Avocado Oil:1 REAL / 1 ADULTERATEDSimply Tostitos — Sea Salt & Avocado Oil Tortilla Chips:1 REAL / 1 ADULTERATEDSiete — Kettle Cooked Sea Salt Potato Chips Made with Avocado Oil:ADULTERATED— both lotsSiete — Maiz Sea Salt Corn Tortilla Chips Made with Avocado Oil:ADULTERATED— both lotsKettle Brand — Sea Salt with a Hint of Pink Peppercorn Chips Made with Avocado Oil:ADULTERATED— both lotsKettle Brand — Apple Cider Vinegar Chips Made with Avocado Oil:ADULTERATED— both lotsJackson’s — Avocado Oil Sweet Potato Chips:ADULTERATED— both lotsJackson’s — Kettle Cooked Sea Salt Potato Chips Only with Avocado Oil:ADULTERATED— both lotsSprouts — Organic Sea Salt & A Hint of Lime Tortilla Chips Made with Avocado Oil:ADULTERATED— both lotsSprouts — Kettle Style Potato Chips Made with 100% Avocado Oil Sea Salt:ADULTERATED— both lotsSensible Portions — Garden Veggie Straws Made with Avocado Oil Sea Salt:ADULTERATED— both lotsBettergoods — Hatch Chile Tortilla Chips Fried in 100% Avocado Oil:ADULTERATED— both lotsGood Health — Kettle Style Avocado Oil Potato Chips Sea Salt:ADULTERATED— both lotsSprouts — Balsamic Vinaigrette with Avocado Oil:ADULTERATED— both lotsPrimal Kitchen — Avocado Oil & Vinegar Vinaigrette & Marinade:ADULTERATED— both lotsPrimal Kitchen — Italian Dressing & Marinade Made with Avocado Oil:ADULTERATED— both lotsChosen Foods — Lemon Garlic Dressing & Marinade Made with 100% Pure Avocado Oil:ADULTERATED— both lotsChosen Foods — Zesty Italian Dressing & Marinade Made with 100% Pure Avocado Oil:ADULTERATED— both lotsBriannas — Classic Balsamic Vinaigrette Made with 100% Avocado Oil:ADULTERATED— both lotsChosen Foods — Vegan Mayo Made with 100% Pure Avocado Oil:ADULTERATED— both lotsChosen Foods — Classic Mayo Made with 100% Pure Avocado Oil:ADULTERATED— both lotsPrimal Kitchen — Real Mayonnaise Made with Avocado Oil:ADULTERATED— both lotsSir Kensington’s — Avocado Oil Mayonnaise:ADULTERATED— both lotsBetterBody Foods — 100% Avocado Oil Mayo:ADULTERATED— both lotsGrove AvoYeah! — Mayo Sauce Made with Avocado Oil:REAL AVOCADO OIL— both lotsGrove AvoYeah! — Garlic Aioli Sauce Made with Avocado Oil:REAL AVOCADO OIL— both lotsThe study physically extracted the oils from the finished foods and analyzed their fatty-acid and sterol composition using gas chromatography with flame-ionization detection (GC-FID). Many avocado-oil products showed profiles inconsistent with authentic avocado oil, including low palmitic and palmitoleic acids and elevated sterol markers associated with other vegetable oils. The authors said these patterns were consistent withsubstitution or dilution with vegetable oils.One sample was particularly remarkable: its fatty-acid profile contained 52.5% linoleic acid and 6.5% alpha-linolenic acid, while oleic acid was only 24.8%—a pattern investigators said was consistent with soybean oil composition. Many other avocado-oil-labeled samples clustered chemically near comparator products containing canola, corn, soybean, and/or sunflower oils rather than authentic avocado oil.The contrast with olive oil was dramatic.90% of olive-oil chip samples and 100% of the olive-oil salad dressings and mayonnaise samples were classified as consistent with authentic olive oil.The authors noted that olive oil has more established standards and considerably more developed regulatory oversight than avocado oil.Those paying a premium for processed foods prominently marketed as containing avocado oil appear to have been seriously duped.Nicolas Hulscher, MPHEpidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough FoundationSupport our mission:mcculloughfnd.orgPlease consider following both theMcCullough Foundationandmy personal accountonX(formerly Twitter) for further content.FOCAL POINTS (Courageous Discourse™) is a reader-supported publication. 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