Food Adulteration

The same adulteration fraud found in bottled avocado oil also occurs in avocado oil cosmetics, where avocado oil appears only in trace amounts. A study of 22 avocado oil samples found soy oil and canola oil present in bottles labeled as avocado oil. Fast food restaurant guacamole frequently contains less than 5% avocado, and sometimes none at all. Cheaper oils such as soy and canola are used to adulterate products sold as avocado oil to increase profit margins. Adulteration of avocado oil is undetectable by consumers because deodorization eliminates the flavor and smell markers that would reveal substitution. Avocado creates a marketing halo on product labels while constituting a negligible fraction of the actual formula.