Food fraud is a multi-billion dollar global business with many nuances. Spoiled goods are put into circulation, certificates of origin are falsified, cheap imitations are sold as high-quality goods, and weight is manipulated. The spectrum ranges from meat and fish to honey and wine to olive oil.
The documentary “Food Fraud: An Organized Crime?” (in the original French: “Food fraud: un crime organisee?”) deals with all these types of fraud. As the title suggests, the 52-minute film deals with the topic of food fraud and organized crime in an international context.
An uncontrollable globalized market
“Do we really know what’s in our food?” is the opening question of the documentary. Not really, as the number of food scandals big and small that have been exposed in the last ten years demonstrates. According to the documentation, dizziness is possible in virtually anything, from the cheapest staples to luxurious foods.
It is a “gigantic market through which all our food passes” – globalized and, therefore, uncontrollable. Former food industry employees and scientists have their say; the film tries to give an impression of the fight against organized fraud and to follow the traces of the flow of goods and money.
“100% beef” with horse DNA
In the film, French director Benedicte Delfaut analyzes the great horsemeat scandal of 2013 in relatively detail. It was discovered after horse DNA was discovered in burgers in Britain and Ireland, and later in many other products. In both countries, eating horse meat is considered a social taboo.
ORF.at/Zita Klimek The minced meat didn’t even catch the attention of the food authorities
The former head of the Irish food safety authority Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI), Alan Reilly, initially thought the results of his tests were “impossible” and believed there was an error, as he told the British “Guardian” at the time. However, new samples confirmed the suspicion.
The scope of the fraud only became clear later: products such as burgers, ravioli and lasagne sometimes contained up to 100% horse meat. The scandal reached far beyond Europe; incorrectly declared beef was also on the market in Austria. A trial followed in 2019 with prison sentences for some of the mentors.
Who tests in Austria?
In Austria, the Ministry of Health and Consumer Protection and the Agency for Health and Food Safety (AGES) deal with the issue of food safety together with state testing centers on the basis of the Food Safety and Consumer Protection Act (LMSVG). The objective is to “guarantee protection against mistakes”, as AGES says.
According to the Food Safety Report (LMSB) 2022, around 46,000 companies across the country were audited last year and more than 22,000 samples were examined. According to the report, the overall complaint rate was 15.1% and almost 85% had no detectable defects.
Mislabeling is the most common crime
110 samples (or 0.5 percent) were assessed as harmful to health and 536 (2.4 percent) as unfit for human consumption. The most frequent complaints were defects in labeling and “information that could be misleading” in almost 2,000 samples or nine percent of the total sample. There were also complaints about incorrect composition and other reasons, such as loss.
Getty Images/Francesco Vaninetti Photo Italy is trying to protect its extra virgin olive oil in private
Brazen, inhumane, disgusting
The French documentary also features a former drug dealer who describes how he was forced to buy things he wouldn’t have bought on his own. They were low quality products and yes, they were simply frauds.
“Hunger.Power.Profits”
“Food Fraud: An Organized Crime?” It happened on October 14th. Austrian premiere in Vienna and later shown in the federal states. In addition, three other productions can be seen as part of the film series.
In Poland, journalists documented animal cruelty and a lack of veterinary standards in a slaughterhouse “in the middle of nowhere”. In France, minced meat made from slaughterhouse waste appeared. In the case of tuna, it was discovered that the weight was “helped” and chemicals were used to color it so that the fish could be sold at a higher price.
In Italy, attempts are regularly made to bring cheap olive oil to supermarket shelves as high-quality “extra virgin” olive oil. Rapeseed oil is used for stretching, and this sometimes happens with pumpkin seed oil as well. As with many other products, proof of authenticity is the EU “PG A” (“protected geographical indication”) proof of origin.
The great honey scandal
The results of a review of Honig initiated by the EU Commission were published in the spring. Conclusion: A large part of imports from third countries had never seen a bee. Almost half of the 320 samples from various countries were adulterated, with the proportion of imports from Britain, China and Turkey being particularly high. Syrup and molasses are used to strain the honey.
Getty Images/iStockphoto/Sergey Cherevko Honey doesn’t always come from the bee – at least not entirely
The European Commission has created its own office, the Knowledge Center on Food Fraud and Quality (KC-FFQ), which deals with the issue of food quality and fraud. It was also designed as a kind of early warning system and also publishes a monthly report on food scandals reported around the world.
Fraud around the world
The last report from August alone lists more than 20 cases: illegally produced spirits with dangerous ingredients and adulterated wine, fish and shellfish without or without sufficient proof of origin and expiration date, smuggled melons, powdered milk ready to be relabeled, crabs smuggled, chicken and pork smuggling, all cases practically all over the world.
The documentary “Food Fraud: An Organized Crime?” is available as part of “Hunger.Macht.Profite” from October 14th. and November 23rd. it can be seen in several cinemas in Vienna, Lower and Upper Austria, Styria, Tyrol and Vorarlberg. Other documentaries revolve around the global trade in banned pesticides and sustainability in agriculture. Total executions as of 12:10 p.m. until 11/24. four films in 21 days and 16 locations between Feldkirch and Vienna.