Tag Archives: Spain

Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Yellow Is Not Always Golden

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Saffron 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.

Organized crime in Spain laundered millions of euros by selling saffron adulterated with dyes and herbs, some of these adulterants being unfit for human consumption. Spanish police with the assistance of Europol busted an importer who adulterated imported saffron threads and sold them with the high-end La Mancha region designation. The supply chain for the organized crime scheme was operating across the EU, with 17 arrests made in the sting operation.

Resource
1. Interpol and Europol. (April 12, 2020). “Adulterated saffron scam busted in Spain”. Securing Industry.

Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Arrrrr, Rum That Was Not Real

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Counterfeit Rum
Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Blackbeard the Pirate would have refused to drink this: Counterfeit rum worth more than $4 million was seized by the Spanish police, and 24 criminals were arrested. The imitations were so real that the fake rum even made it into Spanish tax warehouses via the Netherlands. No injuries have been reported thus far. However, counterfeit alcohol often contains toxic methanol which can lead to severe injuries and even death.

Resource

  1. Taylor, P. (January 28, 2021). “Spanish police dismantle national fake rum operation”. Securing Industry.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

The Not-So-Green Pistachio

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

Organic produce is a lucrative and growing market and an easy target for food fraud. Mislabeled organically certified pistachios were bringing in up to 80% more revenue than conventional nuts, resulting in a €6 million profit. European officials including Europol uncovered the illegal operation and made 14 arrests in Spain. Forensic analysis showed that the pistachios contained illegal pesticides.

Resource

  1. Europol. (December 18, 2020). “€6 million in illegal profit of fraudulent of fraudulent organic pistachio sales”. Press release. Europol.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Not in Good Spirits

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

Fake brandy based on corn distillate was purchased by a Spanish company based in Georgia and was exported to other EU countries with falsified documentation. Fortunately, this alcohol fraud did not pose a health hazard like many other alcohol fraud cases. However, the economic gain for the fraudulent brandy was going to be huge, since a volume of 4 million liters of “brandy” was exported. EU regulations state that brandy is supposed to be based on wine distillate only, which costs up to four times more than distillate made from corn.

Resources

  1. Herraiz, P. El Mundo (September 16, 2019). “La trama del brandy español falsificado exportó cuatro millones de litros ilegalmente”.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

In France, Appellation Matters, Not Just for Wine

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

The 2013 horse meat and lasagna scandal, and the 2018 kiwi fraud issue are just some of the product traceability cases that are under public scrutiny in France. For the second time in France’s Lot-et-Garonne region, strawberries labeled French turned out to originate in Spain. Part of the harvesting labor was outsourced and was therefore more difficult to track. This makes it easier for mislabeling and food fraud to enter smaller-scale agricultural and agricultural cooperative businesses.

Resource

  1. Annick Berger (June 22, 2019). “Apres les faux kiwis, voici les fausses fraises francaises”. Capital.fr Retrieved from https://www.capital.fr/entreprises-marches/apres-les-faux-kiwis-voici-les-fausses-fraises-francaises-1342718