Oregano – Are You Getting The Real Thing?

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olive leaf

Olive leaves, pictured above, are often adulterating oregano.

Many are aware of the extraordinary health benefits of regular consumption of the herb, oregano. Scientific studies are constantly discovering that oregano and its various properties including carvacrol, thymol, and other active ingredients can prevent or reduce the risk of some diseases, while also helping those who are sick, to get better.

Recently however, there has been some disturbing news about widespread oregano fraud. It is quite possible that the package that you purchased that was labeled as oregano did not have much genuine oregano in it.

A paper that will be published in January 2018 in the journal Food Chemistry, described the findings of a United Kingdom study that tested oregano samples available for sale. Using various techniques to analyze 54 samples, the researchers discovered that 90 percent of the samples contained bulking agents such as olive leaf, sumac and other leaf material not related to oregano.

The research team headed up by E. Wielogorska of Queen’s University in Belfast, Northern Ireland, reported:

“An assessment of 54 suspected adulterated oregano samples revealed that almost 90% of them contained at least one bulking agent, with a median level of adulteration of 50%. Such innovative methodologies need to be established as routine testing procedures to detect and ultimately deter food fraud.”

The research team also concluded that,

“Even though the platform developed presented good analytical performance in detecting selected non-culinary bulking agents, oregano samples have been also reported to be substituted with other, volatile species such as marjoram and winter savory which highlights the need for further method development.”

Danish Research Also Discovers Fake Oregano

The study conducted by the team at Queen’s University is not the only report of adulterated oregano. Food Quality News reports that a Danish consumer watchdog agency tested various brands of oregano sold in supermarkets in the Danish capital of Copenhagen. Using Fourier Transform Infrared (FT-IR) spectroscopy, the agency found that 4 out of 10 samples were adulterated, with one brand containing a whopping 70% ingredients that was not oregano!

Most of the contaminating ingredients found by the Danes were olive and myrtle leaf. While myrtle leaf may have its own medicinal qualities, it is usually cultivated as an ornamental hedge and its berries are occasionally used as a culinary ingredient, sometimes as a substitute for pepper.

Sumac Substituted For Oregano

Other parts of the world have also discovered high oregano fraud. The same Food Quality News outlet reports that in 2015, an Australian consumer watchdog agency purchased 12 different samples of supposed oregano in shops throughout Sydney, Melbourne, and Perth. Seven of those samples contained an excessive amount of olive leaf, and sumac leaves were found in two of the adulterated samples.

Dried sumac berries are often found in middle eastern food as a spice when ground up, and the leaf, due to its high tannin content, is sometimes used as a tanning agent for both vegetables and leather.

Oregano In North America

Much of the oregano in Canada and the USA has been reported to be common marjoram. Some of the high-quality brands import oregano from Turkey, but this is where much of the oregano contamination occurs. Some of the oregano sold in North America is of such poor quality that it really ought not to be sold as such.

We recently conducted a taste test of inexpensive oregano purchased from a bulk food retailer in Ontario. What was being sold as oregano was something that had very little scent and the taste was nothing like true Greek oregano. While it was inexpensive, it left only a bitter taste and had none of the characteristics that true oregano should have. It would actually be a sin to use this product in any recipe that called for the herb.

The Preferred Oregano – From Greece

Many chefs and culinary experts agree that the best oregano (Origanum vulgare hirtum), is grown in the mountains of Greece. The harvesting of wild oregano in Greece is illegal except for small amounts for personal use. Commercial growers of oregano in Greece must be certified and hence the product quality is much higher – it is not inexpensive to be certified and contaminating the crop would be a risky venture. In addition, the entire plant is dried and used and harvesting takes place when essential oils are at their peak. This ensures a herb that is much more flavourful and aromatic – as anyone who has used genuine Greek oregano can tell you.

With harvesting taking place when essential oils are their peak, the health benefits of using true Greek oregano are also increased. Purchasing the genuine product may be more expensive than other oreganos, but your taste and smell senses will thank you for spending a little more. In addition, it’s possible the health benefits from this oregano will be greatly increased.

Cautions When Purchasing Greek Oregano

As discussed above, the harvesting of wild oregano is strictly regulated in Greece, although people will illegally obtain it for the purpose of exporting to other countries. Recently, some Albanians were arrested and charged after they crossed the Greece border for the purposes of harvesting wild oregano and other herbs growing on the Greek side of the mountains.

Greece is concerned about the sustainability of its wild herbs and botanicals with this type of harvesting that occurs. If you come across oregano that is labeled as being wild and from Greece, you may want to be very cautious about purchasing it. You may unwittingly be a part of causing less sustainability of wild oregano.

Certified cultivation carries with it the same great characteristics and health benefits, and will also go along way to protecting the wild plants that the Ancient Greeks called “the joy (or radiance) of the mountains.”

Genuine Greek Oregano Source

Interested in genuine Greek oregano that has been sustainably grown and produced? It’s a great time to get on the KirIan Oregano announcement list! They are also giving away two free Ebooks – one on the health benefits of this herb, and an Ebook with ten Greek recipes. Be sure to use genuine Greek oregano when it’s listed as an ingredient!

 

 

 

References:

Wielogorska, E., Chevallier, O., Black, C., Galvin-King, P., Delêtre, M., Kelleher, C.T., Haughey, S.A., Elliot, C.T., Development of a comprehensive analytical platform for the detection and quantitation of food fraud using a biomarker approach. The oregano adulteration case study., Food Chemistry (2017), doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.06.083

40% of oregano tested was adulterated – Forbrugerrådet Tænk
HTTPS://WWW.FOODQUALITYNEWS.COM/ARTICLE/2017/10/19/DANISH-TESTING-FINDS-OREGANO-FRAUD

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16 Comments

  1. Jim Sullivan on November 4, 2017 at 7:21 pm

    We bought some oregano recently that was horrible! It was probably that bulk food stuff mentioned. Had no taste except bitterness. That stuff went into the compost.

  2. Jan Stiles on November 4, 2017 at 8:00 pm

    Wow… sumac leaf being substituted for oregano? I thought sumac was poisonous. That is pretty scary.

    I have noticed that the taste of oregano in the brand I usually buy has not been as good.

    • Oregano Lover on November 4, 2017 at 8:11 pm

      Jan, don’t worry about the sumac. the stuff that might be in oregano is not the poisonous variety – sumac is quite edible and won’t harm you. but it is surprising there can be so much of it in a package of oregano.

    • admin on November 4, 2017 at 9:02 pm

      Hi Jan,

      “Oregano Lover” is correct: Poison sumac is not the same as the sumac that would be grown in areas where oregano is. It’s just a shame that some suppliers are adding sumac leaf to “bulk up” their oregano.

  3. G. Banelopoulos on November 4, 2017 at 8:16 pm

    I’ll second that! Oregano in Greece is way better than the junk we get here. And probably guaranteed to be more pure than the turkish stuff too.

    • admin on November 4, 2017 at 9:03 pm

      Absolutely agree with you! The oregano I had in Greece was just amazing. Beats what we have here, hands down.

  4. Mary on November 4, 2017 at 8:24 pm

    Thank you for sending the newsletter to let us know about the fake oregano.

    • admin on November 4, 2017 at 9:04 pm

      You’re welcome, Mary. Glad it was of interest to you.

  5. Eleni Horvath on November 4, 2017 at 11:02 pm

    I am very angry after reading this. My husband loves oregano, and I have been making sure that he has oregano every day, sprinkled on salads and seasoning his meat. He has been suffering from some things and oregano is supposed to help. Now I find out I might have been ripped off when I buy it.

    How do I find these certified growers?

    • admin on November 5, 2017 at 3:34 pm

      Eleni, I hear your pain. We enjoy real oregano here as well – and the health benefits that we hope we are getting is an added bonus.

      Hopefully more news for you soon on a source of certified grown oregano!

  6. Julie McGovern on November 5, 2017 at 12:07 pm

    OMG! The oregano in Greece is just amazing! It is absolutely nothing like what we get here in the USA.

    No wonder if our oregano is laced with other stuff. Who knows what we are getting exactly?

    • admin on November 5, 2017 at 3:34 pm

      You’ve enjoyed the oregano in Greece, Julie? 🙂 It’s amazing, isn’t it?

  7. George Robinson on November 5, 2017 at 2:49 pm

    Greetings from Northern Ireland!

    That study on the fake oregano was done here in Ireland! Good catch, indeed. This Greek oregano you mentioned, will it be available over here?

    • admin on November 5, 2017 at 3:36 pm

      Thank you for the visit and comment, George!

      Not sure if the product we know about will be available in Northern Ireland. I believe it will be focusing on US & Canadian market, but you can go and sign up for the news!

  8. Sandra Piccini on November 11, 2017 at 1:50 am

    Oh my goodness! I had been buying some oregano lately that – to me, tasted like basically bitter grass or even bitter saw dust.

    Now I know why. This is disgusting news.

  9. Karen on January 25, 2018 at 11:02 am

    If I buy fresh oregano is it the quality necessary to reap the benefits?

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