The European Commission report, relating to the month of January 2025, found 220 cases of food fraud concerning different products including olive oil, fish, fruit and vegetables, adulterated or contaminated with pesticides beyond the limits
The food fraud They are a widespread phenomenon all over the world and which, in the most serious cases, highlights the food safety of consumers. Every year, in Europe, hundreds of reports are issued by the control authorities and concern products of all kinds: from olive oil to fish, from meat worked to gluten -free foods.
Also in Italy, irregularities are not rare: the health authorities and anti -info and health nuclei of the carabinieri (Nas) periodically unmask fraud that involve falsely labeled products such as “made in Italy”, with pesticides and other contaminants beyond the legal limits or deceptive information on the labels.
The recent Report of Knowledge Center for Food Fraud and Quality of the European Commission revealed 220 suspected cases of food fraud only in January 2025confirming the extent of the problem and the need for increasingly rigorous checks.
Food irregularities in Europe affect several sectors and above all some products that are particularly vulnerable to fraud and adulterations. Among these, the fruit and vegetables are among the most problematic, with numerous cases of non -compliance, especially for the presence of pesticide residues beyond the legal limits.
Also spices such as white pepper, cardamom and paprika from Turkey continue to be contaminated by ethylene oxidea substance prohibited in the European Union and became “famous” long ago because of some maxi calls. The Xantana rubber, imported from China, is another example of a non -compliant product that arouses concerns.
Following, among the most widespread fraud, we find the one that features theolive oil. In many cases, sunflower oil and other less expensive varieties are mixed with olive oil, breaking the product as extra virgin and thus deceiving consumers on the quality and properties of the product.
Also the fish sector It is not immune from fraud. For example, it was discovered that the tuna It is sometimes adulterated with the addition of water to increase their weight, while some cheaper species are sold instead of the most valuable ones, violating the traceability regulations.
Falsifications are not limited only to products but also to origin documents. There are cases of lamb meat imported by Romania and Danish butter with poor traceabilityand some labels “gluten -free” or “lactose -free” which actually contained significant quantities of these ingredients, which obviously is a serious risk to consumers with food intolerances.
Finally, another alarm concerns theIllegal import of unauthorized products in the EU. Failure to comply with the transport temperatures for meat and fish, as highlighted in the Netherlands, compromises food safety and increases the risk of bacterial contaminations. A particularly serious case concerned chicken meat imported from Belgium, even declared not suitable for human consumption.
All these irregularities have been detected above all through customs inspections and controls directly on the market, but in some cases the reports came from the consumers or the internal controls of the companies themselves.
Some irregularities found in Italy in January 2025
Here are some recent examples of food fraud that concerned our country and have been included in the European report:
And this, we reiterate it, only in January …
The most falsified products in Europe
Below, a list of the products most subject to food fraud in the European market:
