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When it comes to certain foods nowadays, a specific item isn’t necessarily what you’ll get.
According to some scientific examination with a nonprofit food fraud group, U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP), there’s a growing number of fake ingredients in everything in everything from juice to spices and even olive oil.
In fact, the senior director for USP warns consumers that food fraud is up by 60 percent this season. Probably the most popular targets for unscrupulous food suppliers include pomegranate juice, that is diluted with pear or grape juice. And the list continues:
- Lemon juice: filtered with water and sugar
- Olive oil: often contains cheaper oils
- Spices: many like paprika contain dangerous food colorings
- Tea: mixed with fern leaves or lawn grass
USP says it also found several instances where fish like escolar was being passed off as tuna. Milk, coffee, syrup and honey also made the list of highly tainted foods. The FDA and the Grocery Manufacturers Association say they take food adulteration “very seriously,” and are dedicated to maintaining consumer confidence in the products they purchase. The FDA did recently issue a reminder for mislabeled pomegranate juice as well as one for that adulteration of honey.
According to its website, USP “sets standards for the identity, strength, quality and purity of medicines, food ingredients, and dietary supplements manufactured, distributed and consumed worldwide.” The site’s database includes nearly 800 new records, published this year and 2012.
The site says most of the products often adulterated are usually the costliest and recommend that consumers purchase from brands they trust. Here are a couple of different ways to help identify a faux in the genuine thing the next time you’re looking for items that made the list:
- Look for harvest dates on items like olive oil or if the bottle is really dark.
- Lastly, stick to the old adage, “If the deal is too best to be true it probably is.”
