The frauds
Written by Zeferino Siani. Posted in Lesson 4
The food fraud, an ongoing war.
Food fraud is unfortunately a battlefield nonstop from dishonest producers and the N.O.S.
Today, for the preparation of food, we have very advanced technology to improve the characteristics, and this is positive; unfortunately, however, often we use sophisticated methods to commit fraud.
Food fraud is unfortunately a battlefield nonstop from dishonest producers and the N.O.S.
Today, for the preparation of food, we have very advanced technology to improve the characteristics, and this is positive; unfortunately, however, often we use sophisticated methods to commit fraud.
It 'sa constant battle between NAS and updating of laws on the one hand, and unscrupulous people on the other; a tough battle and sophisticated, fought with the use of complex analytical methods.
Moreover, not always what comes packaged with traditional or old-fashioned techniques is actually the most genuine and better, as you would have us believe.
Definition and types of fraud
A current definition of food fraud may be as follows.
The food frauds are intentionally changes on food products in order to obtain illegal gains.
We merely bring the various types of fraud:
• adulteration
• Sophistication
• Forgery
• Counterfeits
Adulterations. These deteriorations of goods caused by humans.
The properly so called adulterations are due to the replacement of a part of the product with another poor or different or low cost.
For example. puts roasted barley in the ground coffee, wine is added to the water, or milk, or the adulteration may consist in removing a valuable part of the goods, for example by removing the milk fat.
Of course when treatment is allowed by law you are no longer in the presence of a fraud, as in the case of skimmed milk which is regularly on the market.
Sophistication. typical of sophistication Examples are the addition of yellow dyes to the paste to make it seem to the egg, the pea chlorophyll packs (to brighten the color green), or nitrites to meats to make them look more red, etc.
It is allowed to improve the appearance of a product, but must comply with the laws which provide for the type and amount of additives that can be added to each commodity, otherwise it falls precisely in sophistication.
Falsificazioni.Sono the most serious fraud because they involve the substitution of one product with another, eg margarine instead of butter.
They Contraffazioni.Si have when names and trademarks of local products or the brand of a company are improperly used. Parmesan cheese, buffalo mozzarella of the Piana del Sele, or Caserta, counterfeit brands of wine, etc.
Alterations and tax denaturation are not fraud.
The denaturation are changes imposed by the State and involve adding denaturants or goods subject to tax or goods not subject to tax but to allow the discovery of fraud precisely by the presence of the particular denaturing added, easily detectable by analytical methods have already been tested and standardized .
In the first case, 'denatured alcohol is made such through the use of substances that make it undrinkable, thus it is not burdened exemption of manufacture which is obligatory when alcohol is used as a beverage.
For the second case, ie the denaturation as a tool to detect fraud, classic examples are the addition of sesame oil with seed oils and margarine.
In fact, the presence of sesame oil in butter or extra virgin olive oil betray "easily" adulteration with margarine respectively in the first food and seed oils in the second, not being the sesame oil a natural component of both.
We say "easily" because the case of a colorimetric reaction very simple and immediate. At the sample in the test tube is added a certain responsive, and shake: if you develop a certain color, there is fraud!
There would also be other analytical methods, which, however, are more complex and expensive (for example, for oils, the spectrophotometric determination).
Of the alterations of the foods we mention that depend on natural or accidental modifications of their original character, that are worsening the characteristics of the goods due to natural causes and in particular often caused by poor storage.
A classic example is the rancidity of the oil and fat, caused by oxygen from the air and light. Hence, they are fraud dietary alterations caused by carelessness.
Examples of food fraud.
Below examples of the main frauds:
on meat: Sale of meat from animals fattened with non-permitted substances (hormones), or of the same species but of a different quality (calf for calf adult), or less valuable cuts for fine cuts (eg. sirloin of the forequarter for sirloin the hindquarter or fillet). 2. on the fish: 2.1. sale of products for fresh thawed (classic), or breeding for capture into the sea; Sales of species other than those declared (examples: squid, squid, blue whiting for hake, zanchette for soles, etc.); on the fish: selling thawed fresh products (classic), or breeding for capture into the sea; Sales of species other than those declared (examples: squid, squid, blue whiting for hake, zanchette for soles, etc.); li> on oils: The most common fraud in the oil sector is to mix seed oil with olive oil and pass it off as extra virgin olive oil. In some cases it was found that artificially colored oil with chlorophyll and beta-carotene was sold for extra virgin olive oil.
Another more specialized and sophisticated fraud difficult to detect, is being increasingly acknowledged and is to lead to extra virgin olive oils that were originally qualified obvious or offensive. These, properly treated and with the addition of small quantities of virgin olive oils, purchase, under the chemical aspect, its oil extraverginesul milk parameters: dilution with or without salting and skimmed; reconstitution of milk powder; soured milk neutralized with the addition of alkali; presence of colostrum or mastitis milk; addition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to reduce a bacterial charge elevata.su bread and pasta: on bread and pasta:
a) Sale of bread into pieces and not by weight;
b) sale of rich bread moisture and therefore heavier for not being led to the due cooking (the maximum% humidity established by law depends on the size, and varies from 29% for the sizes small up to 70 gr., eg. mice, to 40% for large sizes more than 1 1000 gr., eg. panella great;
c) sale of special bread with the use of fat or particular ingredients other than those permitted, or those stated.
d) Sale of durum wheat semolina pasta obtained with the mixing of soft wheat flour
on meat: Sale of meat from animals fattened with non-permitted substances (hormones), or of the same species but of a different quality (calf for calf adult), or less valuable cuts for fine cuts (eg. sirloin of the forequarter for sirloin the hindquarter or fillet). 2. on the fish: 2.1. sale of products for fresh thawed (classic), or breeding for capture into the sea; Sales of species other than those declared (examples: squid, squid, blue whiting for hake, zanchette for soles, etc.); on the fish: selling thawed fresh products (classic), or breeding for capture into the sea; Sales of species other than those declared (examples: squid, squid, blue whiting for hake, zanchette for soles, etc.); li> on oils: The most common fraud in the oil sector is to mix seed oil with olive oil and pass it off as extra virgin olive oil. In some cases it was found that artificially colored oil with chlorophyll and beta-carotene was sold for extra virgin olive oil.
Another more specialized and sophisticated fraud difficult to detect, is being increasingly acknowledged and is to lead to extra virgin olive oils that were originally qualified obvious or offensive. These, properly treated and with the addition of small quantities of virgin olive oils, purchase, under the chemical aspect, its oil extraverginesul milk parameters: dilution with or without salting and skimmed; reconstitution of milk powder; soured milk neutralized with the addition of alkali; presence of colostrum or mastitis milk; addition of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) to reduce a bacterial charge elevata.su bread and pasta: on bread and pasta:
a) Sale of bread into pieces and not by weight;
b) sale of rich bread moisture and therefore heavier for not being led to the due cooking (the maximum% humidity established by law depends on the size, and varies from 29% for the sizes small up to 70 gr., eg. mice, to 40% for large sizes more than 1 1000 gr., eg. panella great;
c) sale of special bread with the use of fat or particular ingredients other than those permitted, or those stated.
d) Sale of durum wheat semolina pasta obtained with the mixing of soft wheat flour
