As olive oil prices increase due to a global shortage caused by extreme weather in olive growing regions, many Kiwis are pressing alternatives into domestic service. But are they as good for you?
Foodstuffs North Island said it has noticed significant increases to the price of olive oil over the past year.
“We’re looking at between 50 and 60%,” said head of grocery edible and frozen categories Jocelyn McCallum.
Suppliers have also noticed a change in consumer habits — the most “dramatic decrease” in five to 10 years, said Natural Sugars head of retail Dwayne Pitman.
"We’ve seen a reduction of more than 10% in olive oil consumption, that has actually been superseded by canola oil."
The good news was that Pitman said the next Mediterranean harvest was “looking very promising.”
“We hope next year we can see some reduced prices but that won’t be until probably March or April.”
Meanwhile, a nutritionist advised that many seed oil alternatives had fewer nutrients and antioxidants.
“All those sort of options tend to be quite refined, processed and cheaper, so we really want people to be thinking about, where they can, perhaps getting an olive oil in there or a good quality oil, but that might not be achievable for everyone,” said Heart Foundation chief food and nutrition adviser Dave Munro.
He also warned some oils should not be used for cooking as heat could cause them to break down and form "undesirable compounds".
"Ones like sunflower oil and flaxseed oil, you leave those more for your cold uses," he said.
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