Remember the case of the Red Bicyclette? E & J Gallo thought they were purchasing fine pinot noir from France, all the while the producers were actually giving them a wine produced from an inferior grape.
According to a new article from the Washington Post (posted on MSNBC,) these cases of 'food fraud' are on the rise.
It is not clear how many food manufacturers, importers and retailers are testing products, but large companies with valuable brands to protect have been increasingly using the new technology, said Vincent Paez, director of food safety business development at Thermo Fisher Scientific, which sells some of the equipment and performs laboratory analysis, including DNA testing.Still, of the hundreds of customers who bought 10 million pounds of mislabeled Vietnamese catfish — including national chains and top rated restaurants — only one or two caught the deception, said Assistant U.S. Attorney Joseph Johns, who prosecuted the Fairfax fish importer. "It was the rare exception, not the norm," he said.
What can importers of legitimate products do when faced with a fraudulent competitor? Some importers are turning to the FDA to enhance regulations or investigate the safety of the fakes- to limited success:
At the FDA's first public meeting on food fraud last year, groups across the industry complained that it is not doing enough."If it's not going to hurt or kill someone, FDA's resources are limited enough that they can't take time to address it," said Bob Bauer, a spokesman for the National Honey Packers & Dealers Association and the North American Olive Oil Association.
"If it's not going to hurt or kill someone, FDA's resources are limited enough that they can't take time to address it," said Bob Bauer, a spokesman for the National Honey Packers & Dealers Association and the North American Olive Oil Association.Both groups have petitioned the FDA to set standards for honey and olive oil, which would make it possible for companies to sue competitors that sell an adulterated product. The olive oil industry has been waiting for FDA to act on its request since 1991; major honey and beekeeping groups have been waiting since 2006. An agency spokesman said those requests are pending.
Importers are looking to scientific verification to combat the fakes instead of waiting for the FDA to make a move. By creating a surveillance arm of the FDA, companies will be better protected from the imposters. And, with the help of high tech tools, escalating surveillance is not impossible:
The recent development of high-tech tools — including DNA testing — hasmade it easier to detect fraud that might have gone unnoticed a decade ago. DNA can be extracted from cells of fish and meat and from other foods, such as rice and even coffee. Technicians then identify the species by comparing the DNA to a database of samples.Another tool, isotope ratio analysis, can determine subtle differences between food — whether a fish was farmed or wild, for example, or whether caviar came from Finland or a U.S. stream.
The techniques have become so accessible that two New York City high school students, working with scientists at the Rockefeller University and the American Museum of Natural History last year, discovered after analyzing DNA in 11 of 66 foods — including the sheep's milk cheese and caviar — bought randomly at markets in Manhattan were mislabeled.
Read the complete article at: "Fake caviar? Fight against 'food fraud' grows."
