Europol and Interpol are keeping up their fight against food fraud. Since 2011 the so-called operation OPSON takes place on a yearly basis in cooperation with customs, police and national food regulatory bodies. The number of participating states increased from 10 to 67 within seven years (2011-2018).
Again, the report is shocking. In the most recent OPSON VII, more than 41,000 inspections uncovered 3,630 tons and 9,7 million liters of foodstuffs either fraudulent or unfit for consumption. Rotten meat being sold to consumers, fake baby milk powder, substitution of tuna with cheaper species and also illicit addition of chemical substances to adjust the color are only a few examples of the ideas fraudsters put into practice.
How Tentamus can help?
Still, it has to be kept in mind that many food companies that respectable may also be defrauded by criminals. The Tentamus Group of laboratories combined their capabilities and formed the Tentamus Center for Food Fraud (TCF2) in order to offer a wide range of analytical services to safeguard our clients against food fraud.
If something looks too good to be true, it usually is not true. Whenever a price for a product is much lower than a comparable product of another provider, then there is a good chance that something is wrong. This “rule of thumb” applies to the shopper in the supermarket as well as to the procurement manager of large retailers. Unfortunately, there is not much more consumers can do. In case you want to be sure, it is recommended to get in touch with experts like the ones at the TCF2who will consult you on that topic and could also arrange the analysis of samples.
Would you like to know more?
Do not hesitate to contact us!
Arne Dübecke
Tentamus Center for Food Fraud (TCF2)
T +49 421 596 607 37
arne.duebecke@tentamus.com
Source: https://www.tentamus-web.com/adulterated-food/