[A short guide to commonly diluted, adulterated and/or fraudulent
foods.]
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PORTSIDE CULTURE

IN THE SHOPPING CART  
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Lena Beck
October 8, 2023
Modern Farmer [[link removed]]


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_ A short guide to commonly diluted, adulterated and/or fraudulent
foods. _

Even the most common food products may not be what they seem., Rose
Garrett

 

Here are some common examples of food frauds and fakes you could come
into contact with at grocery stores around the world.

Cheese

There are two main types of cheese fraud—cheese degraded with other
ingredients not listed on the label and labeling cheese by the wrong
name. Like other specialty products such as champagne, some cheeses
such as Parmigiano Reggiano and Emmental are given a protected
designation of origin (PDO). A PDO means that a product is only
legitimate if it comes from a certain region. Some cheesemakers are
trying to fight regional misrepresentation through innovative methods,
such as digital tracking.

Cheese can also be adulterated with other ingredients. In 2016, the
president of Castle Cheese was found guilty of selling parmesan cheese
containing non-cheese elements. Bloomberg conducted an investigation
into shredded parmesan sold in stores and found evidence of cellulose
in several different brands. Cellulose is plant fiber, meaning it can
be derived from many different sources. It won’t really harm you,
but it’s not cheese.

Fish

Fraud is rampant in the seafood industry because of the often global
nature of the market and the ease with which one species can be passed
off as something else. This also makes it difficult to know where
along the supply chain the mislabeling is taking place. An
undergraduate class at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill
collected samples of fish sold as red snapper from grocery stores and
restaurants in the counties surrounding the university and found that
90 percent were actually not red snapper at all but often vermilion
snapper or tilapia. These fish sell for a lower price point. Other
examples of fish commonly mislabeled are tuna, halibut and sea bass.

Honey

Honey is one of the most commonly adulterated foods in the world, and
can be diluted with sucrose syrup of some kind (such as corn syrup or
sugar beet). In 2022, the FDA conducted a test and found that 10
percent of imported honey samples were adulterated in some way. An EU
investigation the same year found that 46 percent of the imported
honey samples tested were suspicious and warranted further testing.

Imitation crab*

As its name suggests, imitation crab does not pretend to be authentic
crab. Imitation crab is made from surimi. Surimi is a paste made of
fish (often pollock) and sometimes other additives such as flavorings,
egg whites and sugar. In the US, it’s commonly found in the
California roll, although, in Japan, it’s used for a number of
dishes. There’s no reason to avoid eating surimi, unless you have an
allergy to one of its ingredients. On packaging and at restaurants, it
should be clear that imitation crab is not, in fact, crab.

Juice

Popular fruit juices such as apple juice and pomegranate juice can be
adulterated or diluted to cut costs. This can be done using other
sweeteners, water or cheaper juices. Juice-to-juice adulteration is
difficult to detect. According to research published in the US
National Library of Medicine, grape juice is a common adulterant
because it is low in cost. A noteworthy instance of juice adulteration
was in 1989, when top officials of Bodine’s Inc., in Chicago, were
charged with diluting their 100-percent pure orange juice concentrate
with many other substances, including beet sugar and corn sugar.

Maple syrup

Maple syrup—produced by boiling maple tree sap—is a frequent
target of adulteration, meaning it has been diluted or mixed with
another sweetener. Sugar or corn syrups such as Log Cabin or Mrs.
Butterworth’s are common on the market as cheaper alternatives, and
they are completely legal. But there have been instances of sugar
syrups passed off as authentic maple syrup, driving up the price of
the product. In response to this, researchers at the University of
Guelph have been working on “fluorescent fingerprinting,” which
means using ultraviolet light to determine the chemical composition of
syrup and detect the presence of adulterants.

Olive oil

Olive oil is vulnerable to both outright fraud as well as impurities.
There have been multiple cases of olive oil being diluted with less
expensive oils in order to cut costs. Additionally, a 2010 UC Davis
study found that many grocery store olive oil brands sold in the US
did not meet the sensory standards to be considered “extra
virgin,” even though they were labeled as such.

Spices

Expensive spices are sometimes cut with additives or enhanced with
dyes. Examples include the use of potato starch to bulk up spices such
as turmeric, ginger or paprika. Saffron, one of the most expensive
spices, can be adulterated with any number of other fibers and
filaments. In one notable example, 11 individuals were arrested in
Spain in 2022 for engaging in saffron fraud valued at three million
euros after they were caught passing off pulverized gardenia as
saffron.

Sushi wasabi*

True wasabi is made from grating the stem of the Wasabia Japonica
plant. This fresh-grated wasabi is often different from the green
paste you may find in many sushi restaurants, however. Nearly all of
the wasabi found in stores and restaurants in the US is fake, made
from horseradish and other additives, and made green with food
coloring.

Vanilla*

When it comes to baking and sweets, vanilla is a common flavor
profile. But less than one percent of the vanilla flavoring on the
market actually comes from the true vanilla orchid. Instead, it is
made using synthetic vanillin, often made from petrochemicals.
Taste-wise, many find vanillin suitable for baking purposes, and it is
a more economical option than the expensive true vanilla. However, if
you prefer authentic vanilla, you can always purchase the pods
yourself and make vanilla extract at home.

Milk

Typically, milk fraud occurs when milk is diluted with water for
economic gain. In one incident in 2021, an Italian tanker truck
transporting buffalo milk was found to have an additional compartment
for water, for the purposes of diluting the product. Adulterants and
additives in milk and milk products can also have a harmful effect on
human health. In 2008 in China, six babies died after consuming infant
formula containing melamine—a compound used in the production of
fertilizer, and 300,000 babies were sickened.

* Food Labeling
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* food fraud
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