They do have to say "confites" (I don't know how to say that in English), they can't call them just "olives noires", but I didn't realize they could write "olives noires" on the package and say "ingredients : olives noires confites". That seems very dishonest.

But in Belgium they can just call them "olives noires / zwarte olijven" and indicate "stabilisator E579" in the ingredients, which I think is even more dishonest.

> but I didn't realize they could write "olives noires" on the package and say "ingredients : olives noires confites". That seems very dishonest.

Exactly, and they also often define the iron gluconate as either a stabilizer or an iron additive, rather than a colorant. They sometimes go as far as putting “enriched with iron” on the front label, suggesting health benefits.

I usually shop for the ones with the most iron. The good ones are 4% RDA per serving.

Colorants can have health benefits.