There has been a sharp increase in reports of food fraud,
according to Dr. Jeffrey Moore of US Pharmacopeial Convention.
The organization collects reports of food fraud and says
that it had about 1,300 on file for the 30 years before 2010, but found 800 new
reports in the last two years.
Increased concerns about food safety may be a factor in the
increase in reports.
Milk, olive oil and spices are the most likely products to
be victims of fraud, usually through dilution.
In India, for example, authorities discovered milk diluted
with hydrogen peroxide, detergent and urea and in South America the fat content
was boosted with vegetable oils.
Olive oil is commonly diluted with lower-quality oil,
including waste cooking oil in China.
Other fraud victims have been seafood, lemon juice and tea.
Canadian investigations have revealed that seafood is often
not the fish species advertised, but a cheaper substitute.
In Britain, tea has been found to be spiced with lawn
clippings or ferns so it seems to be herbal tea.
The most recent food fraud case is Irish meats that are
supposed to be beef, but contain the DNA of horsemeat and pork. One hamburger
sold by a leading supermarket chain was found to have 29 per cent horsemeat.
Canadian meat inspectors have in the past identified
kangaroo meat in shipments of beef from Australia.
Melamine was a big issue in Chinese products imported by a Canadian pet-food manufacturer who was financially-crippled by a huge recall. Melamine has slso been a huge scandal in infant
formulas sold in China.
