Eating Lies: The Alarming Truth Behind Food Industries

Do we really know what is in our

food

hemmed lasagna meat artificial steaks false advertising olive oil tuner with nitrates the list of counterfeit

food

products is endless everything can be counterfeited, from the most basic product to the most expensive ingredients it is a trade of tens of billions of euros silently crossing our borders to delve into food fraud is to embark on a journey to an unknown land whistleblowers and factory workers kept in the dark will reveal hidden

truth

s brave journalists and persistent prosecutors will help us understand what happens behind the scenes the fight is against this serious crime that involves everyone from criminals to mafia leaders, the outcome is uncertain as these traffickers operate within a gigantic market through which all our Food, how did they manage to take control of our food?

The hidden scandalous practices are to be revealed in an unprecedented investigation into the world of food fraud. Food products are regularly removed from supermarket shelves most of the time we don't even realize it, but it makes us doubt our food to which we dedicate much of our lives and which is as essential as the air we breathe at all. sometimes the content can be misleading is at the end of 2012 in Ireland the director of food supervision realizes that the price of meat has fallen asks for DNA samples of the meat of 27 seven hamburgers sold commercially we found a product with around 13 horse DNA on it and that was just an incredible find, we went back and checked it, we double checked it and we checked it on the trip because we understood that if we went public with a story like that, you would know quite a bit of effect, it started out as hamburger, then lasagna, then m and ravioli.

Prevention testing carried out in spring 2013 revealed that horsemeat in products that was not expected at the time when we thought it was an Irish problem turned out to be a global problem and products have been removed from shelves in places such as Singapore, Hong Kong, in some of the Caribbean countries, so we're really seeing what has really become a massive fraud. It was a fraud in the world of minced meat products, the most common meat product, especially in preparations. -prepared meals This scandal could have gone unnoticed like many others, but the Irish authorities have made it public and its revelations have raised a wave of unprecedented indignation Ingred Kagle began her career as a researcher in this case she is a member of Food Watch a European organization which protects consumers this replacement of ingredients involved 4.5 million ready-to-eat meals distributed by the largest brands throughout Europe who was able to organize such an operation a large-scale investigation was launched a series of clues led to the Netherlands and mobilized the Dutch anti-fraud police.

Where is the source of this? That was the big question. Who put horse meat into meat products? Karen Gusau is the head of a department that has the same investigative power as a narcotics squad. 17 detectives and financial analysts are in charge of tracking. Scammers, the main thing we do when conducting criminal investigations is to reconstruct the flow of money and the flow of goods and connect them. Dutch police investigated dark minced meat networks. First they identified the manufacturers that make meat recipes. Behind these. Manufacturers found several wholesalers. These wholesalers worked with specialist market traders who buy and sell online in quantities of hundreds of thousands of tonnes.

The police identified a Dutch meat trader, Yan Fon, so Yan Fast is actually someone we have known for a long time. He first came to our attention in 2008 when we arrested him for this exact thing, so we were hoping that would scare him, but then in 2013 we discovered that he hadn't stopped to cover his tracks. Yan Fen moved to Belgium, where he became associated with, among others, the owner of this warehouse. Here they stored frozen horse meat, which cost half the price of beef, euros per kilo instead of four. His earnings were estimated at 2 million euros a year.

Yan Fen had to rent an office space in a large freezer complex he had an employee who changed the labels daily he had business in Cyprus and in other countries he made a business out of it it was his daily job which I don't find easy Yan Fen He was the head of a huge network. His company was registered in Cyprus and imported horse meat from Canada and Romania. This meat was then sold to his associated wholesalers. The two main ones were located in Belgium and France. It was in these companies where the fraud occurred. Horse meat was transformed into beef.

Magically, the wholesalers sent the fake minced meat to Luxembourg to a ready-meal manufacturer. These fake products were distributed in hundreds of supermarkets. This collective misconduct has infuriated a man at the heart of this industry, Kristoff brus. had worked for 20 years as a trader in major food processing groups Kristoff Brus decided to break his silence as he himself committed fraud in 2013 a whistleblower exposed widespread fraudulent practices in the food processing industry Kristoff Bru's findings did not provoke the type of reaction that he expected among the manufacturers, but his indignation and that of millions of European citizens has forced the European authorities to act.

It is here in Brussels where the main regulations relating to food are drawn up, then it is up to each State to implement them for Eric Marin , European Commission official, the horse meat scandal known as Horse Gate was a turning point Eric Marine was proud of the European health surveillance system and found that Europe is not well equipped to deal with this new problem that is affecting our diet. food fraud network was created for this European officials fight all year round to detect and trace counterfeit food products all accidental modifications are ruled out only cases of intentional tampering are investigated in an African swine fever area Dutch authorities are requesting make this happen The 27 European States must comply perfectly, but this is not always the case, as demonstrated by a recent case related to beef, which occurred in 2019, 6 years after the horse gate, the scandal It was serious and France was at the center, this time the fraud affected public order. for 1,500 tons of chopped stakes intended to be distributed to charities, these organizations raised the alarm when they discovered the whitish color of these stakes originating from Poland.

Why did the French government choose Polish suppliers? European buyers have become obsessed with Polish beef suppliers and are undercutting prices in part because of highly competitive labor costs, Poland has become one of the world's top beef producers, a business that in 2017 It was worth almost 6 billion euros and the charities had the Polish bets delivered to them. The results confirmed all their suspicions. Beef has been replaced by by-products. The substitution is even more shocking because what was at stake was intended for people in need, but how can you know who is responsible? The European food fraud network has no investigative power, so it is the Polish government that has to take charge of the Polish veterinary authorities. a series of controls aimed at the manufacturer the bski company is one of the new giants of beef production it is subject to the same regulatory obligations as in the rest of Europe in conclusion there is nothing to investigate here we try to question the Polish company managers , but we were rejected several times, meanwhile there is another case that two Polish journalists have been working on for the last 6 months and which will raise suspicions about the entire meat industry in the country.

One of them, Patrick Sapak, got himself hired in a small killing spree in the countryside. At home we received a notice that some illegal procedure was being carried out in one of the slaughterhouses. We knew before that there are similar procedures in progress at another welding house, but at this one we knew exactly this was happening. The other house itself is in the middle of nowhere, so there is no possibility to take a look without attracting anyone's attention, so I changed some of my appearance, I changed some of my behavior and I went to a job interview at the Soter house.

It may sound ridiculous, but I got the job and the next day I started working as a slaughterhouse. The first signs of sick or dead cows coming out, like few, have rotten parts, few like you know, a white thing comes out of their mouths and there was no veterinarian. Of course nearby, he just went up early in the morning to see the cows heads, not the meat, he behaved like this, this Bine meat magically appears in the middle of the night and he just gets there and I don't see anything transmitted. on television their investigation triggered a political crisis the journalists showed that other slaughterhouses in the country have the same practices: they bought cows to process meat at low prices and sold the meat at full price, it had a great effect and then our Ministry of Agriculture had To take some measures, they ordered mass checks in each of the slauter houses in Poland, of which about 400, but whoever is expected knows a week in advance, so there is no surprise effect.

I spoke with several former agriculture ministers and deputies told me that this scandal, as everyone knew, was happening, but basically it was convenient to leave it on and work on it because it is pure profit. Meat unfit for consumption entered the food chain through a weak link. slaughterhouses then spread throughout the marketing network the meat from this slaughterhouse where I work was founded in about 14 countries France Germany Czech Republic Saudi Arabia Aria Turkey the fraud caused a diplomatic crisis at the European level inspectors sent by Brussels then audited the entire Polish slaughter industry beef your report confirmed numerous deficiencies in sanitary procedures and traceability the state didn't really change the law so it's still happening somewhere in there how can you effectively fight food fraud when the state doesn't even take action on a country?

Orgullos Italia is at the forefront of the fight against fraud. Italy is the first country in Europe to have adopted detection measures and yet it is overwhelmed by fraud. The challenge is in line with the success of Italian cuisine and the global appeal of each of them. your products ludoviko viaro is one of the few Italian magistrates specialized in criminal cases related to food Food fraud affects all Italian products, how can the Italian authorities stop it? A special unit has been created to save the national gastronomic heritage. Their efforts are focused on a single food product.

In particular, nine out of ten Italians consume it and demand is growing rapidly. Italian extra virgin olive oil is number one on the world market. This jewel contributes 1.2 billion euros each year to the Italian State. Counterfeits borrow names from real companies to market their products. fake products the Italian controllers have the means to demand that online sales platforms immediately remove fraudulent advertisements to evaluate the effectiveness of this system we must immerse ourselves in the industry starting with the olive trees Italy is a land of traditional production and a region is even more than any other Tuscany in the town where Leonardo da Vinci was born Luigi continues the tradition of Italian extra virgin olive oil is experiencing a dramatic drop in profits global warming and the abundance of insects are putting pressure on domestic production and, However, Luigi points out that big brands supply supermarkets in Italy and Europe all year round with extra virgin olive oil sold at discounted prices to supply the global market.

These large manufacturers do not harvest, press or produce on site, unlike Luigi, they collect products and add fragrances to them and their oil is then the result of a complex mixture that includes a large portion of imported oil. This is how fraud begins. The port of Leono is the main unloading point for goods in Tuscany. There is a special system established by the Italian fraud control authorities. Here every day a ship unloads its cargo of extra virgin olive oil. Manufacturers bring the precious liquid from throughout the Mediterranean basin. These imports will be mixed with domestic production and sold as Italian extra virgin olive oil.

This is legal under the condition that all criteria for olive oil are met.extra virgin Italian inspectors look for imported foreign oil of poor quality, too acidic or not very fruity. Imitation is easy and if discovered, the oil is simply recorded in a lower category indicating that an error has occurred. In the documents, random checks at the port have very little effectiveness, which is why fraud control agents have concentrated their efforts on another stage of the production chain. A few kilometers away, a producer agreed to let us see how this unique surveillance system in Europe works.

The computer program allows controllers to follow all extra virgin olive oil producers in real time. Each delivery must be declared before starting a tigation. The inspector knows exactly what he needs to find in the tanks. The amount of oil that is produced in the tank. site the oil that is imported everything must be registered by the producer this meticulous control is equivalent to putting the entire production of Italian olive oil under administrative supervision well, while everything seems to be in order with this producer random samples will be taken and sent for analysis this is the The only way to guarantee the authenticity of extra virgin olive oil is for there to be a double standard between small and large manufacturers.

It is rumored among producers that the Italian authorities tend to forgive the main producers on the market while the quality of their oil is periodically questioned by independent bodies In May 2021, the consumer protection magazine Salvagente analyzed 15 bottles of oil from big brands that were sent to the public. The analysis laboratories showed that 7 of 15 bottles were not extra virgin. It almost seems like an incentive for criminals. Further south in Pulia, the largest area of ​​intensive olive oil production is located. This is where the traffickers have developed one of the most daring cases of food fraud in recent years ludovico vakaro found them by chance their code name is Operation yellow gold and sent for analysis by investigators these bottles contained rapeseed oil at this time ludovico viaro still You do not realize the size of the trafficking.

These are methods comparable to those used against the mafia. In this case, it was an entire clandestine organization made up of 34 people, a perfectly structured network that evaded the Italian food surveillance system. The transporters imported olive oil. rapeseed mainly from Turkey from the nearest port anona was generally outdated the leader of the network led the transformation of rapeseed oil into fake olive oil in the sweatshop the resellers then took it over and hit the roads to sell it to restaurants Italians, Swiss and Germans, some of them were famous and even visited by the German chancellor or the Italian president because within the network the traffickers feel lucky counterfeiting olive oil is easy and generates a lot of money in two years the scammers have been paid 7 million and impunity seems to prevail in food fraud cases.

The criminal sanctions faced by traffickers accused in these cases are not sufficiently dissuasive, so it is not surprising that the Italian mafias have focused their attention on these new types of trafficking and now anti-AI brigades are discovering food counterfeits among other illegal products such as weapons or drugs in 2017. During the arrest of one of the most powerful street gangs in Calabria, the Italian police discovered a fake olive oil made with industrial lubricants that were exported to the United States. The mafia has infiltrated the wholesale markets. Supermarket chains and large European companies. How far does its influence reach? reaching the food processing industry and the billions it generates has an irresistible appeal for traffickers of all kinds.

We probably only know the tip of the iceberg of this Hidden World. It is in part because more and more of our food comes from other continents under the effects Due to globalization, all food

industries

bring increasing quantities of food at increasingly competitive prices. A particular food is subject to international trafficking. It is synonymous with healthy foods, but it is one of the most falsified. Scammers' control has increased since the fish is gone. Tuna is no longer caught in coastal areas but in distant seas, which has sparked the interest of scammers to satisfy the growing consumer demand for raw tuna.

A very specific market managed by 200 seafood professionals has been established in Europe. This fish is caught in the Pacific or India. The ocean then quickly froze at - 18° its red meat has a high value and is expensive the arrival of raw tuna at low prices sounded the alarm in 2015 a dozen manufacturers, including French, German and Italian, realized that their business was at risk, one of them agreed to testify although with his face hidden, these seafood manufacturers secretly carried out their own investigation, these are illegal practices of Indonesia, Vietnam and China, stuffing fish with water in this way increases their weight and makes them more expensive. widespread fraud technique, however, there is something much more serious in the case of tuna.

They secretly filmed this discovery during a visit to a Spanish competitor. That day, they noticed the presence of a strange machinery through which the butchers passed the brown tuna loins. They can be used to inject nitrates, a preservative that gives the ham its shine and pink color. However, its use is becoming more and more controversial. Immediately the manufacturers understood that their competitors had found a trick to turn the tuner red. We replicated this chemical transformation. in the laboratory the injection of nitrates will allow the oxidized meat to recover its color in a few hours this recolored tuner that can be confused with a new tuner can cause poisoning and allergic shock the dissident Industry Group, driven by fear of scandal, decided to put it everything on the table in 2016 a search by the Spanish police discovered that the complainants were not wrong here it is tuna caught in El Salvador and Panama the brown meat indicates that it should no longer be eaten raw we will also find injection machines and high doses of nitrates Despite all this evidence, the incriminated Spanish manufacturers tried to defend themselves despite The fraud continued in 2017, there were 454 cases of poisoning in Europe due to tuna enriched with nitrates.

This is a dangerous health hazard and the European Commission had to react. Europol is the European crime fighting organization, they mobilized the police force of 11 different countries. The operation closed one of the largest food trafficking operations in 2018. The result was a record 131 tons of tuna seized. This is one of the largest trafficking operations that has been closed to date. 79 criminals were arrested across Europe in various illegal workshops, especially in Spain, but also in France, Italy and Malta, thanks to network monitoring, researchers discovered that the quantities of nits used caused the fraudsters to complain of intense itching .

The fraudsters managed to obtain up to 12 million euros in profits per year. It is an incredibly high number. lucrative fraud that has not ended with the impressive fall of the network despite the increased controls throughout Europe tuna fortified with various chemicals is still seized on a regular basis these four cases refer to products produced in Vietnam within the network of Food fraud European officials are experiencing an increasing number of alerts about possible fraud year after year now affecting all food products. How do you deal with such a tidal wave? Scammers enjoy all the facilities offered by a world where the free movement of goods is key throughout the supply chain.

We eat, for this they carry out thousands of tests each year called self-verifications, although it is impossible to know how many frauds are detected in this way. The results of these tests are kept in the dark, only frauds that are dangerous to health should be reported to the authorities; the others, more numerous, depend on the good will of the manufacturers; This impunity extends to the representatives of large distribution chains, who have the legal obligation to report. food on the shelves that is what it claims to be however they are almost never prosecuted in food fraud cases at the end of our journey into the heart of fraud we can no longer look at our food the same way how many of these products are counterfeit without Let no one realize how many scammers we are financing with our globalized food consumption patterns.

No one is aware of the extent of the fraud, and yet widespread concern is spreading. Consumers are increasingly concerned about the effects of food on their health by attacking our Food criminals and professional fraudsters are making us increasingly concerned about what is really on our plates to