BANFF, Alta. — The discovery earlier this year in Europe of horse meat in what was supposed to be beef products, is only that latest example of unscrupulous sellers finding inventive ways to scam extra dollars from the public, said a member of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency advisory committee.
Rick Holley of the University of Manitoba and the CFIA advisory committee, said many victims of food adulteration never know that what they are eating is not what the label says.
“It is criminal and we are always going to have components in any industry where some adulteration takes place,” said Holley at the Canadian Meat Council annual meeting in Banff, May 29-31.
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“Where there are creative individuals who want to circumvent the system, it will continue,” he said.
He added that most of the industry behaves responsibly and only about seven percent are involved in fraudulent food cases.
The horse meat scandal shows that such fraud can happen anywhere, he said, even in regions where the food safety system is as comprehensive as it is in Europe.
About 370 companies were affected when horse meat showed up in prepared burgers, lasagna, meatballs and frozen entrees. Anywhere from one to 100 percent contained horse meat instead of beef.
Companies like Taco Bell, Ikea, Birdseye and Nestles were caught in the mess and about five percent of European beef was affected.
The main concern was that retired racehorses are used for meat and many probably received the anti-inflammatory phenylbutazone, which can affect human health.
The investigation continues.
One of the most common foods to be adulterated is virgin olive oil, where cheaper oils derived from canola, corn, sunflower or palm oil are blended in. If unscrupulous sellers add mineral oil, there could be health effects, said Holley.
He said similar practices have been going on for about 100 years. Virgin olive oil is expensive and adding cheaper oils can add $100 million a year in profit.
Holly also cited milk, which may be adulterated with whey, milk protein or cane sugar.
Honey may have added glucose or fructose. Up to a third of the honey checked in the United States had added sugars. Orange juice may have added water, fructose, paprika, marigold extract or grapefruit.
Label tampering also can happen.
Cheaper fish is often substituted, which is part of the larger and ongoing problem with species identification of fish, said Holly.
