Fake Food: Part 2

by Food and Drug Administration (FDA)

(Page 2 of 2)

"It's the competitiveness of the industry," Reeves says. "Companies [that buy these foods from manufacturers] want to avoid [fraudulent] products. They don't want to lose their customers because once they do, they'll never get them back."

Savvy consumers occasionally alert FDA to possible food adulteration. A lengthy investigation of a Mississippi business selling phony pure honey and pure syrups stemmed in part from complaints FDA received from consumers about the products not tasting like the real thing.

Detective Work

Much of the work of identifying potential adulterants takes place in government and industry laboratories, where chemists use sophisticated tests like gas chromatography and mass spectrometry to identify unique markers that distinguish one substance from another — for example, to distinguish inulin syrup from natural apple sugars. Once a method for detecting an adulterant is verified by several other laboratories, it is published and made available to industry for in-house use. Occasionally, adulterants are identified microscopically.

Even with the tests, detecting an adulterant can be difficult because adulterators develop unique ways to concoct mixtures that closely resemble the real thing; for example, they might add chemicals that when tested, give the product the desired chemical profile of the natural product.

FDA's detective work also takes place in suspect companies' manufacturing facilities, where FDA investigators observe food production, storage and distribution practices for incongruities. For example, in one bogus orange juice case, an FDA investigator observed a company employee adding pulp wash, the residual orange pulp left after squeezing oranges to get juice, to a product that was to be labeled orange juice from concentrate. Pulp wash isn't permitted to be added to make orange juice.

In another inspection of a syrup company's operations, an FDA investigator identified a supply of "pure maple syrup" labels on the premises, even though he could not spot any raw maple syrup ingredients.

One orange juice company went so far as to hide its supply of an adulterant — liquid beet sugar — in a secret room and used pipes hidden in the ceiling to transport the sugar to the production area. The setup was so well hidden that FDA investigators were able to find it only after receiving explicit directions from a former-employee-turned-informant.

In some cases, FDA investigators have had to go undercover to document evidence of adulteration — for example, secretly observing the nighttime delivery of suspect adulterants.

Taking Action

FDA's efforts to stop a documented case of economic adulteration of food can range from issuing warning letters to seeking full-scale criminal prosecutions.

Evidence collected by FDA has enabled federal prosecutors to obtain hefty sentences for individuals and companies found guilty of food adulteration. For example:

A $100,000 fine and five-year prison sentence for the former president and chief executive officer of an orange juice company that put more than 40 million gallons of adulterated orange juice on the U.S. market over 11 years.

Fines and forfeitures totaling $120,000 for a seafood company and two of its principals for adding water to scallops to increase their net weight and thus net profit since scallops are priced according to weight.

Fines of $20,000 each and prison terms of 19 months and 30 months for two Mississippi brothers for adulterating pure honey and pure maple, cane and sorghum syrups that they sold in old-fashioned tins at farmers' markets and produce stands around the country.

A $2.18-million fine for an established baby food manufacturer for selling a product labeled "100 percent" apple juice but which actually contained only sugar, water and flavoring.

While FDA hopes these kinds of sentences may discourage others from following suit, the agency is taking other steps to prevent and stop economic adulteration of food. Recognizing that products on the emerging herbal market may be prone to economic adulteration, FDA has begun compiling an authentic botanical database and teaching courses on identifying botanical substances. And because seafood is susceptible to species substitution, the agency is expanding its authentic seafood list, which contains pictures of various fish that can be used to identify authentic species. That list is available on FDA's Website at www.cfsan.fda.gov/~frf/rfe0.html.

FDA also is working with Canada and other foreign governments to prevent imported adulterated food denied entry in one country from being shipped to another. And the agency continues to work with industry to develop tests for identifying new adulterants because, as FDA's Canas says, "People are coming up with adulterants every day."

"It's not always easy," FDA's Stutsman says about detecting economic adulteration. "But it's FDA's job. We want to promote honesty and fair dealing in the interest of consumers — and industry."

About the Author

www.fda.gov
FDA is A United States government body that oversees medical devices, including contact lenses, intraocular lenses, excimer lasers and eyedrops. In the US, these products must be approved by the FDA before they can be marketed.