Business

Food fraud secretly infiltrates kitchens across America — here’s how to avoid it

January 15, 2023
Henry Club

The food in your kitchen cabinet may not be what it looks like.

Larry Olmsted, author of “Real Food/Fake Food,” told CNBC, “I guarantee that any time a product can be passed off as something more expensive, it will be. It’s that simple.”

Counterfeiters motivated by economic gain surreptitiously infiltrate the global food market in a variety of ways, including counterfeiting, dilution, substitution and mislabelling.

Not only does it hit the pocket of consumers, but it also puts public health and safety at risk.

Some estimates say that food fraud affects at least 1% of the global food industry, which is worth $40 billion a year, according to the Food and Drug Administration.

“We may not know the overall impact of food fraud because everything the fraudsters do is hidden from us and has been for centuries.” Kristi Lorvik, senior manager of the food program at the US Pharmacopoeial Convention, told CNBC.

Even the FDA says it cannot estimate how often this fraud occurs or what its economic impact is.

“Be aware of the product that you put on you or plug into the wall,” John Spink, director of the Food Fraud Prevention think tank, told CNBC.

Between 2012 and 2021, the most common types of food fraud were lying about an animal’s origin and dilution or substitution, both ranking at 16% of incidents recorded by food-safety monitor Food Chain ID Was.

For example, an expensive extra virgin olive oil may need to be diluted with a cheaper vegetable oil for dilution.

“If I drink Scotch, I can’t tell you [the] The difference between a $50 bottle and a $5,000 bottle. So, I know I can be duped at that point,” Spink said.

The Food Fraud Prevention think tank suggests five questions consumers can ask themselves to reduce their vulnerability to product fraud.

  1. What type of product is this? Use extra caution with any product you apply to your body, swallow, or plug into the wall.
  2. Can you spot the difference between the products?
  3. Do you know a retailer or supplier? Do you trust them?
  4. Are you shopping online? If so, did you find the online supplier from a reliable source?
  5. report. Is the supplier legit? If so, they would like to know.

see video Head on over to learn more about the different types of food fraud, how the industry is curbing the risk, what consumers can do and where fraud may be lurking in the olive oil, spice and seafood markets.