Food Fraud Quick Bites
More Than 100 Incident Records of Fresh Produce Fraud

By Karen Everstine, Ph.D.

September 28, 2020

Categories: Compliance, Food Fraud Quick Bites, Food Manufacturing, Foodservice & Retail, RC - Food Fraud

Fraud in fresh produce can occur in several ways, including fraudulent organic certifications, counterfeit branding, misrepresentation of geographic origin, and the use of unapproved ripening agents. Since most fresh produce is visually identifiable, partial dilution or replacement with less expensive substances is usually not possible. Fraud in produce is commonly related to labeling claims about production practices, production location or brand names. In some parts of the world, unapproved substances may be used to speed or enhance ripening or to make fruits look more visually appealing.

In 2019, a company in Canada was charged with misrepresenting broccoli grown in California as “Product of Canada.” In 2018, 500 kg of mangoes were seized from a market in Puducherry, India, for being ripened with calcium carbide.

Figure 1. Geographic distribution of incidents of fraud in fresh produce

There are currently 108 incident records and 54 inference records for fresh produce in the Food Fraud Database. Many of these are related to fraudulent organic certificates, but there are also examples of varietal misrepresentation, falsification of geographic origin, the use of substances such as ethephon, artificial color enhancement, and counterfeit labeling.

Do you work in the fresh produce sector in the U.S. or U.K.? Please consider responding to a survey to collect information about the use of food fraud tools by members of the fresh produce sector. This is an exploratory an anonymous survey that will take six to eight minutes to complete. The results will be used in a P.D. thesis by a student at the University of Central Lancashire in the U.K. A copy of the published research will be available on the University’s website. Experience the survey or copy and paste the following link into your browser: https://uclan.eu.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_3Qcog9H1V09wF01

About The Author

Karen Everstine, Ph.D.

Technical Director, Food Safety Solutions

FoodChain ID

Karen Everstine, Ph.D. is Technical Director, Food Safety Solutions with FoodChain ID, a company that provides services and data solutions for food safety, food contact, consumer labels, testing, regulatory compliance, risk assessment, and product development. Everstine manages and provides technical expertise for food safety data tools, leads food fraud prevention consulting activities, and creates training materials and educational content. She helps clients meet GFSI and regulatory requirements and use food safety data and information effectively to ensure consumer health and brand protection.

Everstine is a graduate of the University of Minnesota, completing both MPH and PhD degrees in public health, where she received Department of Homeland Security Career Development Grant. Previously, she managed food safety and defense research projects at the University-based Food Protection and Defense Institute. As a scientific liaison at USP, Everstine was integral to the development and successful launch of the Food Fraud Database.

Everstine served as Chair of the IAFP Food Fraud Professional Development group for the 2019-21 cycle and has served as a member of food authenticity expert panels at USP and AOAC. She has published numerous peer-reviewed articles and trade journal pieces and recently co-edited a book on food fraud risk mitigation with Elsevier.

Food Fraud Quick Bites More Than 100 Incident Records of Fresh Produce Fraud

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Food Fraud Quick Bites
More Than 100 Incident Records of Fresh Produce Fraud