Saturday, February 08, 2014

Fake Food

Results found by a council laboratory in West Yorkshire reveal that almost 40% of 900 food samples were not what they were advertised, or were mislabelled 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.

 Herbal slimming tea containing neither tea nor herbs, but rather glucose powder mixed with prescription obesity medication at 13 times the normal dose; beef mince that contained pork or poultry products. Ham was often made using poultry that was coloured pink in the production process. Illegal additives found in fruit juices included brominated vegetable oil, which is meant to be used as a flame retardant and is linked to behavioural problems in rats at high doses.  A product labelled as vodka was in fact made from isopropanol, used in antifreeze and as an industrial solvent.

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