Shark Treasures 201 



Samples of the suspected olive oil blend were turned over to a Food 

 and Drug Administration laboratory. The FDA, long the nemesis of 

 the olive oil racketeers, had developed an irrefutable test to prove the 

 percentage of olive oil in a blend. The test had been devised by Dr. 

 Jacob Fitelson, chief food chemist of the FDA's New York laboratories. 

 Fitelson's test was based on his knowledge of squalene, that odd organic 

 chemical found in shark liver oil. Squalene is also found in animal 

 and vegetable oils— especially olive oil. Fitelson determined that there 

 was more squalene in olive oil than in any other oil with which it was 

 blended.* So, by testing for the squalene present, the actual olive oil 

 content could be discovered. The test had exposed several frauds and had 

 been upheld in court, where convictions had been obtained. 



Yet, when the olive oil blends that did not taste or smell of olive 

 oil were now brought into the FDA labs, the scientists were startled to 

 find that the blends were passing the test. "Exactly as labeled, a blend 

 of 20 per cent olive oil," said a chemist's report. The report added pri- 

 vately: "That's what the analysis shows, but we can't believe it." 



FDA chemists, swamped by complaints from legitimate dealers, were 

 baffled. Then Fitelson, while talking to a former colleague at a scientific 

 convention, picked up a clue. The ex-FDA chemist told Fitelson that 

 the chemical and drug firm he worked for was extracting vitamins 

 from shark liver oil. A by-product-squalene-had been considered 

 worthless. Suddenly, however, a demand had started for squalene. That 

 was it! Fitelson surmised that the racketeers, taking advantage of the 

 squalene test, were simply mixing the squalene with cheap vegetable 

 oils. By adding the precise amount of shark-originated squalene into the 

 blend, the oil would test out as if it contained 20 per cent olive oil. 

 The fact that the squalene came from a shark and not an olive made 

 no difference; it appeared to be the same under the Fitelson test. 



Fitelson realized that the only way he could prove his theory was 

 to mark the squalene in some way before it found its way into the 

 blend, and then seek the marked squalene again in labeled products on 

 the market. The marker Fitelson needed was a chemical that was harm- 

 less, stable, and soluble in squalene, and not obviously detectable to 

 anyone who looked at, smelled or tasted the oil. Also, it had to be able 

 to show up in dilutions of one part to ten million parts of oil. The chemi- 

 cal used was anthranilic acid, a white crystalline powder used industrially 

 as a starting point for the manufacture of dyes. The squalene supplier 

 allowed the FDA to put this marker in his product. Then the FDA 

 just waited. 



Shortly after the next large purchase of the marked squalene, hun- 



* The average squalene content of olive oil was about 330 mg./lOO Gm. of oil, 

 while the average squalene content of other edible vegetable oils varied from 11 for 

 soya bean oil to 28 for peanut oil. 



