Tuesday, March 30, 2010

Washington Post: "Food Fraud" a Growing Problem

As if we don’t have enough to worry about when it comes to food shopping and as if the Food and Drug Administration doesn’t have its hands full when it comes to food safety and labeling, The Washington Post provides us with this nugget today:
"The expensive 'sheep's milk' cheese in a Manhattan market was really made from cow's milk. And a jar of 'Sturgeon caviar' was, in fact, Mississippi paddlefish.
Some honey makers dilute their honey with sugar beets or corn syrup, their competitors say, but still market it as 100 percent pure at a premium price."
Click here to read the entire story.

4 comments:

SherriKaye said...

are you really surprised? as long as our food is corporation driven then all there is is the bottom line... follow the money, baby. until our food is for-the-good-of-the-people driven this will be what will be.

SherriKaye said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Unknown said...

Hmmm. While I despise the industrial food system, I can't blame it as the reason for corruption of this sort. That unfortunately is just human nature, and you will find it in any human-made system or institution. Some would say you'd find it in the heart of each and every one of us. Regardless, in any market situation in which there are opportunities to increase profits through false claims and other dishonest practices, some sellers will choose to do so. The motivation is the same for an independent farmer or a giant corporation. I'd like to think that the independent farmer/producer would be less likely to engage in such behavior, because s/he, unlike the corporation, must look the customer straight in the eye, and I do think this does promote transparency and honesty in the marketplace, but at the end of the day, these are still human beings subject to human weaknesses.

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