Is Avocado Oil Really Pure? UC Davis Finds 89% Contained Other Oils

US consumers are increasingly choosing healthier food options at the grocery store. Shoppers are willing to pay higher prices for healthier alternatives to their usual snacks. This trend towards health and wellness has led to “healtheir” snack options made with avocado oil as opposed to palm, sunflower, or canola oil. However, a recent study by UC Davis may shed some new light on the growing trend.

Is Avocado Oil Really Pure? A recent 2026 UC Davis study found that 89% of the tested products labeled as containing avocado oil also contained other oils. This study followed the famous 2020 UC Davis study that found 82% of avocado oil bottles were either rancid or contained other oils.

Overview

• A recent UC Davis study looked at popular chips, mayonnaise, and salad dressings containing Avocado Oil
• Out of 54 products tested, 48 contained other oils
• Only 6 products passed the test
• Avocado Oil chips containing other oils: 93%
• Mayonnaise containing other oils: 71%
• Salad dressings containing other oils: 100%
• UC Davis also tested products containing Olive Oil and found significantly better results

Unfortunetly not all labels tell the full story, and large companies often choose cheaper, more convenient production methods and ingredients. Read below to find out more about the UC Davis study and why Olive Oil snacks performed so much better!

What’s The Downside of Avocado Oil?

Avocado Oil, in its pure form, is a healthy alternative to other oils. It is rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats like oleic acid.

Avocado oil is also full of Vitamin E and antioxidants. It has a very high smoke point, which also makes it perfect for high-heat cooking.

In recent years, brands have been turning to alternatives to seed oils like sunflower and canola oil and choosing to use avocado oil instead. So popular snacks like chips and healthier mayonnaise or salad dressing options have been popping up with avocado oil as the main or only oil used.

For people choosing to avoid seed oils, avocado oil has been a major marketing angle.

However, in 2020, UC Davis found that most avocado oil bottles were either rancid or adulterated, meaning they contained other oils. Unfortunately, it seems that the industry as a whole has been slow to respond since a 2026 UC Davis study found similar results.

Researchers looked at chips, mayonnaise, and salad dressings purchased in 2025 and 2026 to find out how many of them actually contained pure avocado oil, and the results were disappointing.

Results of the UC Davis Avocado Oil Study

The recent UC Davis study on foods labelecd as containing avocado oil is as disappointing as the previous study. Of the 54 processed foods tested, researchers found that 48 of them contained oils other than avocado oil.

Approximately 89% of the overall products tested were adulterated and contained other oils. Only 6 of the 54 tested foods were completely authentic, meaning they only had avocado oil.

Salad dressings had the worst results, with 100% containing other oils. Next were avocado oil chips, of which 93% contained other oils, and finally, mayonnaise, with 71% of the tested products containing other ingredients.

UC Davis also tested processed foods that contained olive oil.

In a positive turn of events, of the 20 olive oil products tested, only one failed the purity test. These results may indicate that olive oil snacks and products could potentially be more trustworthy when making decisions at the grocery store.

According to the study, “The gap between avocado and olive oil results reflects the fact that olive oil authenticity has been studied, tested, and scrutinized for decades”.

Why Are So Many Avocado Oils Fake?

There may be several underlying reasons why so many tested products and avocado oils were rancid or contained other oils. For the most part, companies may not even intentionally try to lie to consumers, but the results may be due to a lack of global ingredient oversight, testing, or regulation.

The following are potential explanations for these findings, but they remain speculative and should not be interpreted as claims about the intentions, practices, or sourcing decisions of any particular company.

Ingredient Origins Matter

We talk a lot about why ingredient sourcing impacts product quality. This is true for both skincare and food.

Ingredient origin may be one of the factors as to why so many avocado oils and avocado oil-containing products are rancid or adulterated. Companies may choose cheaper suppliers and sourcing partners with less regulation and oversight.

Many countries have poor agricultural and production practices and minimal regulation or third-party testing. You can learn more about why ingredient sourcing impacts quality here.

This is the primary reason why we source our ingredients from countries with the highest agricultural and manufacturing practices, including Switzerland, Austria, France, and the US. Check out where we source our ingredients from.

Choosing Cost Over Quality

When profit is the most important motivation, companies may be less inclined to spend more on higher-quality ingredients.

Ingredients like sunflower, canola, or palm oil are significantly cheaper than expensive oils like avocado or olive oil, so companies have a huge financial incentive to cut ingredient costs and save millions on the bottom line.

At Lucin Organics, we always put quality first. It’s exactly why we avoid these 3 Natural Ingredients commonly found in skincare.

Not Enough Public Opinion and Oversight

One of the largest contributors to the issue may be consumer knowledge. For instance, the UC Davis study found that only one olive oil-containing product was adulterated and contained other oils.

According to the study, “Avocado oil is a relatively new and expensive product category and has not been monitored at the same level. As a result, consumers have less protection against misleading labels.”

Public knowledge plays a huge role in regulations and oversight.

This is exactly the reason why we have chosen to pursue the Ecocert COSMOS ORGANIC standard with our skincare products. This cosmetic-grade organic certification ensures ingredients, raw materials, production processes, and finished products are natural, organic, non-GMO, and cruelty-free.

The COSMOS ORGANIC certification is not a self-reported claim; it is a comprehensive third-party verification process involving detailed audits, inspections, and ongoing compliance reviews.

Currently, our Best Seller Hair Mask and Body Butter are both certified organic according to the standard, with more products in the lineup to be certified next.

At Lucin Organics, we are committed to our standards of excellence when it comes to skincare. We create products that truly care for your skin. Which is why we ban over 1000 ingredients from our products.