<\/p>\n\n
Operation Opson<\/strong> is organised every year. Its aim is to remove counterfeit and non-compliant<\/strong> food and drink from the market and to dismantle the organised criminal groups behind it.<\/p>\n\n Participating agencies (police, customs and national food control bodies) carry out checks in shops, markets, airports and seaports to detect and seize counterfeit or non-compliant food products that could seriously harm consumer health and safety.<\/p>\n\n A new operation, OPSON XII<\/strong>, targeting food fraud, was carried out between December 2022 and April 2023<\/strong>. Coordinated by EUROPOL, 25 countries took part in this operation.<\/p>\n\n The operation in figures, seizures and activities:<\/p>\n\n The main products seized, in order of quantity, were alcoholic beverages, cereals, grains and derived products, fruit, vegetables and legumes, sugary and confectionery products, meat and meat products, seafood, dairy products, and food supplements and additives.<\/p>\n\n Among the frauds identified:<\/p>\n\n Wine:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n In Spain, 3 individuals were exporting invert sugar-based products, which they presented as derivatives of grapes and concentrated grape juice. This scheme allowed them to double or even triple the selling price and their profit. The main export destinations were countries outside the EU, mainly South Africa. 2 tankers containing 1.08 tonnes of invert sugar, with a retail value of 1.3 million euros, were seized.<\/p>\n\n Trafficking of spoiled food across the EU:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n In Lithuania, a company was recycling spoiled or expired food from France, Germany, Italy, Lithuania and Spain. The foodstuffs were illegally relabelled. 54 people were arrested and total seizures amounted to more than 1.5 million packages.<\/p>\n\n Meat and fish:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n In Spain, 2 individuals were charged with offences against public health, fraud and forgery for trafficking ham with no traceability and manipulated expiry dates. The operation led to the seizure of 48,896 kg and 3,000 pieces of ham and sausage.<\/p>\n\n A criminal network trafficking in expired meat, fish and seafood was also dismantled. The suspects falsified labelling and trafficked food without going through the mandatory regulatory process. In total, 8 arrests, 48 individuals under investigation, and the identification, seizure and destruction of more than 25 tonnes of food products.<\/p>\n\n PDO:<\/u><\/strong><\/p>\n\n In the United Kingdom, authorities carried out checks on protected designation food products. The checks identified cases of non-compliance involving products such as feta, Parmigiano Reggiano and Grana Padano cheeses, as well as meats such as Prosciutto di Parma and British-origin products such as Welsh beef, Cornish pasties and watercress. The checks identified labelling errors, temporary unavailability of a specified ingredient in restaurants, as well as a lack of awareness of the regulations governing the use of protected food designations.<\/p>\n\n Please note that your Phytocontrol laboratory offers authentication and food physico-chemistry analyses that can identify food fraud. You can consult our COFRAC technical annex No. 1-1904, available in your customer area or on the COFRAC website.<\/p>\n\n Need technical, regulatory or pricing information? Our customer service is available from 8 a.m. to 6:30 p.m., Monday to Friday, at +33 800 900 775 or service-clients@phytocontrol.com.<\/p>\n\n And to stay up to date with all Phytocontrol news, join us on our LinkedIn page!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Operation Opson is organised every year. Its aim is to remove counterfeit and non-compliant food…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8,"featured_media":28185,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[181],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-30600","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-regulatory-watch"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\n\n