Tag Archives: food fraud

Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Don’t Open That Sesame

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis

Sesame oil is a popular edible oil in China, with fraudulent sesame oil on the rise. The Chinese government released new guidelines to protect consumers from sesame oil fraud. Consumers are strongly advised to carefully check the nutrition label, purchase from reliable sources and not from unauthorized small vendors, be cautious when purchasing sesame oil online, and investigate the oil’s properties such as color and smell.

Sesame plant
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database, owned and operated by Decernis, a Food Safety Tech advertiser. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Resource

  1. Neo, P. (August 23, 2021) “Food oil fraud: China issues warning about adulterated and blended sesame oils”. Food Navigator-Asia.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Sergeant Pepper On Duty

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Pepper, food fraud
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database, owned and operated by Decernis, a Food Safety Tech advertiser. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

A Northern Ireland-based analytical lab added white pepper to its portfolio of food authenticity tests based on spectroscopy with chemometric analysis. White pepper, the ripe berries of the piper nigrum plant, is undergoing an additional production step, fetches a higher price than black pepper and therefore is a target for fraudsters. Often, bulking substances like skins, flour, husks and spent materials are used, but in some cases of pepper fraud, the substances used were hazardous to human health.

Resource

  1. Taylor, P. (August 24, 2021). “With white pepper fraud on the up, Bia unveils authenticity test”. Securing Industry.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

If Fish Could Talk

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Seafood fraud
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database, owned and operated by Decernis, a Food Safety Tech advertiser. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne.

Seafood fraud is still on an almost unchanged high level in Canada. Based on a 2021 investigation by Oceana Canada, 46% of 94 DNA tested seafood samples were not what the label claimed them to be. The Oceana report describes seafood traceability in Canada, the 2021 seafood fraud investigation and results, what consumers can do, and suggestions for the federal government on how to mitigate seafood fraud. These recommendations include setting up a traceability system, labeling standards, improving testing standards and better documentation in the supply chain.

Resource

  1. Oceana. (August 2021). “Seafood Fraud in Canada: 2021 Testing Results Report”.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

A Tea Party For Fakes

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Fake tea
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database, owned and operated by Decernis, a Food Safety Tech advertiser. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne.

Tea is becoming a more and more popular target for fraudsters due to growing demand, complex supply chains, supply issues due to crop failure, sustainability problems, and underdeveloped analytical methods. Professor Chris Elliott (Director of the Institute for Global Food Security, Queen’s University Belfast) and his team are developing an analytical method based on chemical fingerprinting to determine fraud. Tea fraud can show as mislabeling of the geographical origins or type of a tea, or the addition of sometimes hazardous bulking agents like pigments or gypsum.

Resource

  1. Elliott, C. (August 10, 2021) “The challenges and necessity of tea authenticity”. New Food Magazine.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

It’s in Their DNA

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Pepper, food fraud, DNA
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database, owned and operated by Decernis, a Food Safety Tech advertiser. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne.

Spices have been an ongoing hot target for fraudulent activity, whether it is the addition of inedible substances like dyes, or bulking agents, such as brick powder, other plant material, sawdust and many other, potentially hazardous substances. A relatively new technology, next-generation sequencing (NGS), enables to analyze the DNA of complex samples such as spices and herbs. The DNA findings are compared to a database and allow to detect many thousands of species in one test. Currently, working groups are developing standardized methods for such authenticity tests.

Resource

  1. Woolfe, M. (July 13, 2021). “NGS (Next Generation Sequencing) is Helping to Prevent Fraud in the Herb and Spice Trade”. Food Authenticity Network.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

An X-tra Trophy for OPSON X

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis

The usual culprits are leading the list of seized feed and food counterfeits in the latest OPSON X Operation: Alcoholic beverages, dietary supplements and grain-based products, followed by produce. In the Operation OPSON activities, Europol and Interpol join forces to combat counterfeit and fake animal feeds, foods and beverages. This year’s operation unearthed 15,000 tons of potentially dangerous products, worth $60 million, an increase in 3,000 tons over the previous year.

Opson X Trophy
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database, owned and operated by Decernis, a Food Safety Tech advertiser.
Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Resource

  1. Whitworth, J. (July 22, 2021). “Crackdown results in seizure of 15,000 tons of illegal foodstuffs”. Food Safety News.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

The Sun Does Not Shine on This Food Staple

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Rice fraud, Australia
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database, owned and operated by Decernis, a Food Safety Tech advertiser. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Organized crime in Eastern Europe has targeted a well-known top-level brand in Australia, shipping counterfeit rice to countries around the world under their brand. Rice grown and processed under uncontrolled conditions can bode a risk to human health due to unsanitary processing conditions and contamination from heavy metals. The affected company has initiated thorough investigations into this matter and indeed seized some counterfeit product in Saudi Arabia.

Resource

  1. Taylor, P. (July 7, 2021). “Criminal gang counterfeits Aussie rice brand SunRice”. Securing Industry.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Arrest These Truffatori Di Bevande!

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Wine fraud
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database, owned and operated by Decernis, a Food Safety Tech advertiser. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Italian law enforcement keeps cracking down on fraudulent and illegal activities, like in this latest case of fake alcoholic beverage distribution and sales. About 5,500 bottles were seized and samples were investigated in the lab, revealing substances unfit for human consumption, and endangering human health. The fraudulent products displayed labels of well-known alcoholic beverage brands.

Resource

  1. Redazione. (June 25, 2021). “Bevande alcoliche con sostanze pericolose: sequestrate 5500 bottiglie a Cerignola, a rischio l’incolumità delle persone” Foggia Today.

 

Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

A Sad Event With A Devastating Ending

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Rice field, Cambodia
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database, owned and operated by Decernis, a Food Safety Tech advertiser. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Adulterated rice wine served at a funeral is suspected to have caused the hospitalization of 76 and the death of eight people in the Pursat Province of Cambodia. The cause of the poisoning is still under investigation by local authorities. Samples of the suspected rice wine and other beverages are being analyzed in a lab. This year, adulterated rice wine was responsible for a multitude of deaths in several Cambodian provinces.

Resource

  1. Chanvireak, M. (June 3, 2021). “8 dead and 76 in hospital for suspected rice wine poisoning”. Khmer Times.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Deter, Identify and Prosecute Food Fraud

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Canada, food fraud
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database, owned and operated by Decernis, a Food Safety Tech advertiser. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

A study from the Canadian Arrell Food Institute lays out the current status of the fight against food fraud and a comprehensive list of interventions for governments, industry, suppliers, consumers, NGOs and academia. The focus is on collaboration along all stages of the food supply chain. Examples are global harmonization of regulations and testing, implementation of traceability systems, raising awareness for food fraud, using science to identify fraud, and much more.

Resource

  1. Hanner, R.H. and Kelly, J. (June 16, 2021). “Food Fraud in Canada – Understanding the Risks and Exploring Opportunities for Leadership”. Arrell Food Institute, Department of Integrative Biology, University of Guelph.