With information abounding on the health benefits of breast milk for infants, a growing number of under-producing mothers are eschewing formula and instead turning to online marketplaces to buy breast milk directly from other moms. In the past year, somewhere around 55,000 women sold their excess breast milk online, up from 13,000 in 2011. Business…
What’s In Your Food? A Look at Food Fraud
Olive oil, fish, honey, milk, and fruit juices are common, everyday foods found in most people’s kitchens. However, these common foods may not contain the food ingredients you think. The honey in your pantry may contain antibiotics, chemicals and added sweeteners. The salmon in your refrigerator may not even be salmon, but instead may be…
Defendants Sentenced in UK Horse Meat Scandal
The first prosecutions brought in England following Europe’s 2013 horse meat scandal ended with one defendant getting a fine and another a short and suspended prison sentence, but only for what they’ve admitted doing. A Dutch trial getting underway today could bring a different outcome. Southwark Crown Court Judge Alistair McCreath did provide a lecture…
Pharmacopeial Convention Publishes Guidance for Combatting Food Fraud
The U.S. Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) Monday released a comprehensive plan to combat food fraud for monetary gain. The USP said the new guidance is designed to help food manufacturers and regulators pinpoint which food ingredients are most likely to be adulterated by a supplier, and to advise the best way to prevent this act –…
Food Fraud: Money Scam and Health Hazard
Despite the common belief that food fraud in the United States is a rarity, the globalized nature of our food supply chain means many of our favorite foods and ingredients travel far and wide before they reach our plates, making adulteration and other types of food fraud a considerate problem here as well. And it’s…
IAFP Interview: Kennedy on Food Security and Fraud
Shaun Kennedy, director of the Food System Institute and professor at the University of Minnesota, recently sat down with Food Safety News to discuss a number of topics related to food security and food fraud.
What challenges do we face with keeping the U.S. food system secure from intentional contamination? What foods are most susceptible…
Letter From the Editor: Food Fraud
Put a gun to my head to make me talk about food fraud and I am probably going to begin babbling about honey and horsemeat. Food fraud is a subject associated with food safety based on simple logic. If you are going to engage in food fraud, in all likelihood you don’t give a crap…
NJ's 'Operation Swill' Finds Bars Swapped in Cheap Liquor
Liquor control and law enforcement in the state of New Jersey seized inventory and demanded records from 29 bars and restaurants that allegedly substituted cheap brands of liquor for premium brands, according to the Courier-Post. The investigation, known as “Operation Swill,” resulted from public complaints, confidential sources, and samples taken from investigators. The operation…
After Latest Scandals, Chinese Premier Urges Tighter Food Safety Controls
During a nationwide teleconference on Monday Chinese Premier Li Keqiang urged “strict market supervision and harsh penalties” to improve food safety and assure costumers that something like the melamine milk scandal will never happen again. “Perpetrators must pay such a high price that they can not afford,” said Keqiang, according to official news outlet Xinhua…
Horsemeat Detected in Chicken Nuggets in Greece
Chicken nuggets and other meat products have been recalled by Greek health authorities after being found to contain horsemeat, the UK’s Meat Trades Journal reported Monday. The Hellenic Food Safety Authority (EFET) said in a statement that the fraud was discovered via laboratory testing, but so far the first eight results for phenylbutazone, a drug…