The healthiest olive oil at the lowest supermarket price in France has been identified in a study by a leading consumer group, as prices for the liquid gold continue to soar.
Consumer association 60 Millions de Consommateurs identified the choice in its comparative study of 24 different brands of olive oil most commonly available in supermarkets.
The study considered:
Which oil offers the best value for money while being beneficial to health
Price per litre
A number of health criteria, including polyphenol and antioxidant content, and healthy fatty acid quality (which help to prevent cardiovascular disease, and to maintain good overall health)
Olive oil is considered to be healthier than many other oils due to its monounsaturated fatty acid and antioxidant content; while extra virgin is made without chemical treatment or heating, and rich in polyphenols (which play a key anti-aging role and help to prevent certain diseases).
And the winner of the study? Primadonna extra virgin olive oil from Lidl, sold at €7.99 per litre.
This oil was found to be rich in antioxidants, and outperformed several more expensive brands in terms of health and quality - as well as price.
The winner was Primadonna extra virgin olive oil from LidlYtje Veenstra / RVillalon / Shutterstock
Less healthy options
In contrast, the study also found that 23 out of the 24 oils studied contain “between one and three sulphates”.
Five contained hydrocarbons, chemical compounds that can be dangerous to health.
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Soaring food prices
At the same time, the cost of olive oil has particularly increased over the past three years. It is now increasingly rare to find a litre of good-quality olive oil for less than €10 (which is another reason that the Lidl bottle performed so well in the study).
Figures from INSEE show that prices of olive oil - which is central to most Mediterranean-style, healthy cooking - have risen by 77% in the past three years.
Drought in the main producing countries has also contributed to the rise. In Spain, production fell from 1.6 million tonnes to just 750,000 tonnes last year (2023). French and Italian production was also affected.
Olive oil from France is often more expensive than its Italian or Spanish equivalents, often because olive trees in the country tend to produce fewer olives. There are also strict AOP criteria, and more artisanal production methods, which mean that the oil typically ends up costing more than €10 per litre, at least.
As a result of such soaring prices, shoppers have often been forced to choose lower quality oil or forego it altogether.
This is despite people in France consuming around 110,000 tonnes of olive oil per year, with lower quality oils used in cooking, and extra virgin favoured for salad dressing.
How to choose a healthy olive oil
The consumer magazine recommends that for optimum health, shoppers choose:
Extra virgin oil for salads and non-cooking use, obtained by first cold pressing, as it retains more of its nutrients (in contrast to processes that include chemical treatment or heating)
An acidity level of less than 0.8% to guarantee quality
