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WASHINGTON — It's a pressing matter for the tiny U.S. olive oil industry: American shop- pers more often are going for European imports, which are cheaper and viewed as more authen- tic. And that's pitting U.S. producers against importers of the Euro- pean oil, with some likening the battle to the California wine indus- try's struggles to gain acceptance decades ago. The tiny California olive industry says Euro- pean olive oil filling U.S. shelves often is misla- beled and lower-grade oil, and they're pushing the federal government to give more scrutiny to imported varieties. One c o n g r e s s m a n - f a r m e r even goes so far as sug- gesting labels on import- ed oil say "extra rancid" rather than "extra virgin." Imposing stricter stan- dards might help Ameri- can producers grab more market share from the Europeans, who produce in bulk and now have 97 percent of the U.S. mar- ket. Olive oil production is growing steadily. The domestic industry, with mostly high-end special- ty brands, has gone from 1 percent of the national olive oil market five years ago to 3 percent today. Most of the pro- duction is in California, although there are small- er operations in Texas, Georgia and a few other states. Seeking to build on that, the domestic indus- try has mounted an aggressive push in Wash- ington, holding olive oil tastings for members of Congress and lobbying them to put stricter stan- dards on imports. The strategy almost worked last year when industry- proposed language became part of a massive farm bill passed out of the House Agriculture Committee. The provision backed by California lawmakers would have allowed the Agriculture Department to extend mandatory quality controls for the domestic industry to imports. The bill's lan- guage would have allowed government test- ing of domestic and imported olive oil to ensure that it was labeled correctly. That testing, intended to prevent labeling lower- grade olive oil as "extra virgin" or fraudulently cutting in other types of oil, would be much more comprehensive than what imported oils are subject- ed to now. But the language was stripped from the bill when it reached the House floor, an effort led by lawmakers from New York, where many of the country's olive oil importers are based. They had the backing of food companies and gro- cery stores that use and sell olive oil. The floor fight broke down to one between East Coast and West Coast lawmakers. Repub- lican Rep. Doug LaMal- fa, a farmer from North- ern California, suggested that labels for imported oil should say "extra ran- cid." "What we're after here is not to cause problems for our friends who would like to market it. It's more just the truth in advertising that's neces- sary," LaMalfa said. New York Republi- cans said new testing standards would cost importers millions of dol- lars. Republican Rep. Michael Grimm of Staten Island, N.Y., said his Greek-American and Italian-American con- stituents know good oil and haven't had prob- lems. "It's not rancid," he said. "There is always going to be a problem in every industry, but this is nothing more than a mul- timillion-dollar ear- mark," he added, using the term for special pro- visions that sometimes are inserted into legisla- tion. In the end, the final farm bill signed by Presi- dent Barack Obama earli- er this month was silent on olive oil. But a nonbinding statement accompanying the bill encouraged the Agriculture Department, the U.S. Trade Represen- tative and the Food and Drug Administration to "remove the obstacles that are preventing the U.S. olive oil industry from reaching its poten- tial." It cited a 2013 U.S. International Trade Com- mission report that said international standards are widely unenforced and allow many varieties to be mislabeled and pos- sibly even adulterated. The report also cited subsidies for European olive oil producers and tariffs as barriers to the domestic industry's suc- cess. The California olive oil industry widely pro- moted that report and even boasted of helping to influence it. According to the American Olive Oil Producers Associa- tion, California produc- ers arranged farm tours for federal investigators, arranged for witnesses to testify to the group, and even held an olive-oil tasting on Capitol Hill for lawmakers and adminis- tration officials. For now, the domestic industry says it will keep pushing. Kimberly Houlding, executive director of the American Olive Oil Producers Association, says pro- ducers are still consider- ing petitioning the USDA for an order to establish mandatory quality stan- dards, including frequent testing. Ideally the order would apply to the entire domestic industry, including importers, Houlding says. Eryn Balch of the North American Olive Oil Association, which represents the importers, says they would like to work with the domestic industry to grow the olive oil market in the United States. There's still a lot of the market to grab — only around 40 percent of U.S. consumers use olive oil right now, and olive oil has only about 15 per- cent of the volume share compared with other cooking oils. But that market is growing along with increased awareness of olive oil's health bene- fits compared with other oils. Extra virgin olive oil is often rich in polyphe- nols, nutrients that are thought to be helpful in preventing heart disease and other illnesses. "If the industry pro- moted the key proven benefits with a common voice and positive mes- sage, the growth potential could be almost limit- less," Balch said. The United States now consumes the third largest amount of olive oil of any nation, behind Italy and Spain, accord- ing to the trade commis- sion report. The report said consumption has risen by more than 50 percent since 2001 but said most U.S. consumers aren't able to distinguish good olive oil from bad, so they gravitate toward the least costly. Patricia Darragh, director of the California Olive Oil Council, says the domestic industry wouldn't have the capac- ity to supply all of the country's olive oil, but it is a grassroots industry that is continuing to grow. And in another decade or two, Ameri- cans may be more famil- iar with the domestic variety. "We're where the Cal- ifornia wine industry was 20 or 30 years ago," Dar- ragh says. 8A Daily News – Wednesday, February 19, 2014 HAD A SMASHING WEEK? 530.527.2649 We understand you have a choice and thank you for choosing us as Tehama County's BEST Body Shop since 1950 705 Mill Street (Next To Walmart) Red Bluff, CA 96080 WE WILL STRAIGHTEN IT OUT. VOTE FOR US: BEST OF TEHAMA COUNTY - NEW & USED CAR DEALERSHIP California olive industry: European extra virgin olive oil may be a lie