Shoppers in the United Kingdom are allegedly at risk of buying “fake food,” including ham on pizza that is “meat emulsion” or poultry, prawns that are 50 per cent water, and fruit juice containing additives not permitted in the EU.
The results found by a council laboratory in West Yorkshire and shown to the Guardian newspaper, claim to reveal that almost 40% of 900 food samples were not what they were advertised, or were mislabeled in some way.
The tests were part of a general surveillance programme by the local authority, and as part of checks focusing on products prone to being counterfeited.
Among the reported discoveries was herbal slimming tea containing neither tea nor herbs, but rather glucose powder mixed with prescription obesity medication at 13 times the normal dose; and beef mince that allegedly contained pork or poultry products.
The illegal additives claimed to have been found in juices included brominated vegetable oil, which is meant to be used as a flame retardant and is linked to behavioral problems in rats at high doses.
The experts told the newspaper that they are concerned the 900 samples were likely to be indicative of national trends at large, as budget cuts increase the risk that mislabeled or fake food will be left unidentified by council-run labs.
Among the common problems reportedly detected were mincing machines not being cleaned properly, as well as blatant substitutions for cheaper meat. Ham was often made using poultry that was colored pink in the production process.
The findings come following the horse meat scandal last year, when horse DNA was found in meat labeled as beef, and was partly blamed on a difficult-to-trace chain of factories across Europe.
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