That Avocado Oil Snack May Not Be as Healthy as You Think

If you’ve been reaching for chips, mayo, or salad dressing because they’re made with avocado oil, there’s a good chance the oil is part of the appeal. Avocado oil is rich in heart-healthy monounsaturated fats, and products made with it are often positioned as a better choice than the standard version sitting next to them.

But new research raises an uncomfortable question: What if avocado oil isn’t actually the only oil you’re getting?

Researchers at UC Davis tested 54 processed foods that listed avocado oil as their only oil. They found that 48 of them, or 89%, contained other oils.

So does that mean you should stop buying foods made with avocado oil? Not necessarily. But it does make the health picture more complicated.

What’s Actually in That Bag?

The researchers tested chips, mayonnaise, and salad dressings purchased from California stores and online retailers in 2025 and 2026.

Other oils were detected in 93% of the chips, 71% of the mayonnaises, and every salad dressing tested.

For comparison, researchers analyzed 20 processed foods made with olive oil, and only one failed the same purity testing.

This was a relatively small sample, so we can’t assume the same percentages apply to every avocado oil product at the grocery store. But the findings are significant enough to make that avocado oil claim on the front of the package a little less reassuring.

Does a Different Oil Make the Food Less Healthy?

This is where things get tricky.

Avocado oil gets much of its healthy reputation from its high concentration of monounsaturated fats, particularly oleic acid. Diets that replace saturated fats with unsaturated fats are associated with better cardiovascular health.

But if a product contains other oils that aren’t disclosed, you don’t know exactly what fatty-acid profile you’re getting instead.

That doesn’t automatically mean it’s worse. Some commonly used vegetable oils are also high in unsaturated fats and can be part of a healthy diet. The problem is that without knowing which oil was substituted and how much of it was used, there’s no way to say whether the swap meaningfully changes the nutritional value of the food.

That’s an important distinction. This research isn’t evidence that avocado oil chips are suddenly unhealthy. It’s evidence that the avocado oil on the label may not tell you as much about the food as you thought it did.

You Can’t Necessarily Catch It on the Ingredient List

Usually, one of the easiest ways to make a better choice at the grocery store is to ignore the marketing on the front and flip the package over.

That wouldn’t have helped here.

The products researchers tested listed avocado oil as their oil ingredient. The other oils detected by testing weren’t disclosed.

Researchers say the issue could happen before the food is even manufactured. Companies may purchase avocado oil through suppliers or brokers, meaning the oil could potentially be mixed or mislabeled somewhere along the supply chain.

Avocado oil is also a newer category than olive oil and doesn’t yet have the same established standards for determining purity and quality.

So Should You Still Buy Avocado Oil Products?

There’s no reason to automatically avoid them based on this study.

But there’s also good reason not to choose a food solely because “avocado oil” is splashed across the package.

If you’re deciding between two bags of chips, look at the entire nutrition profile rather than assuming the avocado oil version wins. Check the saturated fat, sodium, fiber, and ingredients. The same goes for mayo, salad dressing, and other packaged foods.

And if you’re paying more specifically because you want the nutritional properties of avocado oil, that’s where these findings become particularly relevant. Until there’s better transparency, you can’t always be certain that’s exactly what you’re getting.

Avocado oil is still a healthy source of fat. The question raised by this research isn’t whether avocado oil is good for you. It’s whether the food labeled as being made with it actually contains what you think it does.

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