Tag Archives: Ireland

Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Pulling The Plug (Cork) On Wine Fraud

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Wine fraud, Cork, Ireland
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Tax officials in the Irish city of Cork seized almost 25,000 liters of counterfeit wine, the equivalent of 33,000 bottles. The wine is valued at more than $360,000, which also results in a significant loss in alcohol tax revenue. Investigators are looking into whether this is the largest seizure of counterfeit wine in the past five years. The container passed through the terminal in Cork from the Netherlands and was discovered during an official operation that targets illicit alcohol sales.

Resources

  1. Besser, R. (March 23, 2021). “Ireland confiscates illegal wine, but loses $192,000 in alcohol taxes”. Dublin News.
  2. O’Loughlin, C. (March 18, 2021). “Counterfeit wine worth over €300k seized in Cork”. Irish Independent.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

The Horse Is Out of the Barn

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Horse
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Every horse owner (and his or her wallet) know that their equine partner will most likely consume an array of medications over the course of their lifetime, such as anti-inflammatory drugs, joint supplements, antibiotics, topical ointments, pesticides and fly repellents, and many more. Many of these horses are not fit for human consumption, but some ended up in the human food supply, starting in Ireland. The Irish Police Force is investigating this quite lucrative horsemeat fraud, including raiding the suspects’ farms and other property and inspecting the horse microchip tracking system.

Resources

  1. Lally, C. (June 6, 2019). “Gardaí raid farms over claims unsafe horse meat entering food chain”. Irish Times. Retrieved from https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/garda%C3%AD-raid-farms-over-claims-unsafe-horse-meat-entering-food-chain-1.3916827
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Some Booze Is Going to the Dogs

By Susanne Kuehne
No Comments
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud, Dogs drinking cocktail
Records involving fraud can be found in the Food Fraud Database.

It is not really surprising that alcoholic beverages are the target of fraudsters. However, it is certainly not the norm to find counterfeited spirits in the heart of Europe sporting big brand names. Whether the products discovered at an illegal factory in Knockbridge, Ireland contain any adulterants other than ethyl alcohol is not known, however, a warning about potential danger to public health was issued, since the beverages were not made under controlled conditions.

Resource

Hutton, B. (March 30, 2019). “Warning issued about counterfeit alcohol after illegal factory uncovered in Co Louth”. The Irish Times. Accessed March 30, 2019. Retrieved from
https://www.irishtimes.com/news/crime-and-law/warning-issued-about-counterfeit-alcohol-after-illegal-factory-uncovered-in-co-louth-1.3844401#.XKXBLDw3QKU.