Hundreds of tonnes of potentially harmful food and drink items were recovered across 10 European countries, in an operation coordinated by policing authorities Interpol and Europol.
Operation Opson, which involved authorities from across the continent, seized a substantial amount of fake food and drink including champagne, tea, five tonnes of substandard seafood and 12,000 bottles of bootleg wine worth €300,000.
A statement made by Europol reiterated that consumers who buy these products, knowingly or unknowingly, are putting their health at risk.
It added: “Counterfeit food and drink are not subject to any manufacturing quality controls and are transported or stored without proper regard to hygiene standards.”
Potentially dangerous
“The high number of counterfeit and substandard food seized is worrying and it shows the need for close cooperation among law enforcement agencies to stop criminals active in this type of crime,” said Europol project manager Chris Vansteenkiste.
Officials from the UK, Turkey, Spain, Romania, Hungary, Italy, France, Denmark, Bulgaria and the Netherlands took part in the operation, which checks being made in airports, seaports, shops and markets.
More than 13,000 bottles of substandard olive oil, 30 tonnes of fake tomato sauce, around 77,000kg of counterfeit cheese and nearly 30,000 candy bars were also recovered
The internet-sale of fake and substandard caviar is also under investigation.
“One of the main goals of this operation was to protect the public from potentially dangerous fake and substandard food and drinks, which is a threat that most people are not even aware of,” said Interpol officer Simone Di Meo.
Need to raise issue profile
A recent conference on food authenticity revealed that while there is an awareness of food fraud in Europe, there is a definite need to raise its profile and place it on a higher agenda.
Stuart Shotton, consultancy services manager at Food Chain Europe said the conference highlighted the need for better education on how to tackle these issues.
Although it is difficult to pinpoint the true extent of food fraud, food safety authorities are reluctant to “scratch too far beneath the surface in fear of what they might find,” added Shotton.
The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA), which wasn’t involved directly in Operation Opson, has previously urged caution regarding the consumption counterfeit food including illicit vodka.