Greek police have arrested seven people allegedly involved in fraudulently selling large quantities of adulterated sunflower oil as olive oil in Greece and abroad.

A family of four and three of their relatives were found operating a workshop where they added a dye to turn the yellow sunflower seed oil into a green hue resembling olive oil.

The arrests took place Sunday near the city of Larissa, in the Greek province of Thessaly, about 150 kilometres (95 miles) south of the northern Greek city of Thessaloniki.

The adulterated oil was sold in five-litre (1.32-gallon) cans to Greek consumers and exported, in one-ton pallets, mainly to Germany.

The product was peddled as “extra-virgin olive oil, straight from the producer.” Its domestic price was about 50 per cent cheaper than the real thing.

(AP)