Frodi alimentari: formaggi

The different types of fraud possible in the cheese sector

What is meant by food fraud? This general term encompasses various types of illegal activities. Specifically, these include:

• Alterations
  consist of modifications to the product due to incorrect storage of the same.
• Adulterations
  are unauthorized and therefore undeclared changes to the composition of a food product. This occurs, for example, when extra virgin olive oil is blended with lower-quality oil (but subsequently marketed as 100% extra virgin olive oil), or when buffalo milk is mixed with cow’s milk and used to make mozzarella, which is then marketed under the fraudulent name “buffalo mozzarella.”
• Counterfeiting
  refers to fraudulent practices aimed at making a product appear to possess characteristics it actually lacks; this is the case, for example, with cider marketed as Moscato wine. Counterfeiting also occurs when typical names and trademarks are misused; for example, in the case of the famous “ Parmesan Cheese ” so popular abroad, or when the “DOP” ( Protected Designation of Origin ) designation is attributed to products that lack the appropriate requirements.
• Adulteration
  involves forcing certain product characteristics to make them more “attractive” to consumers. For example, carotenoids are added to egg pasta to make it appear yellower, or meats are treated with nitrites to brighten their red color.
• Counterfeiting
  involves completely replacing a product or ingredient with a lower-quality one: for example, margarine instead of butter, or barley coffee instead of regular coffee.

Food fraud also occurs when labels contain incorrect information, or when menus do not correctly indicate whether foods are originally frozen . In more serious cases, health fraud can also occur , with product alterations that are even harmful to the consumer’s health. This occurs, for example, through the marketing of expired or improperly stored products.

Milk and dairy products

Milk and dairy products are one of the sectors most prone to food fraud. Why?

According to Adiconsum, Italian milk producers are often forced to sell their product at excessively low prices, which sometimes don’t even cover production costs (€0.20-€0.25 per litre), while it is very easy to source milk from abroad (especially Eastern Europe) at significantly lower costs (€0.16-€0.18 per litre).

And foreign milk imported into Italy doesn’t always meet health standards and the minimum requirements necessary for producing quality cheese. It’s therefore common for Italian cheesemakers to source powdered milk, shelf-stable milk, curds, and other products from abroad. These products can be of poor quality and, at times, even treated with chemical additives. For example, polyphosphates , when present in excessive quantities, reduce the body’s ability to absorb calcium , much to the chagrin of those who consume milk and dairy products to combat osteoporosis or give these products to their growing children.

The most frequent frauds concern, in particular:

• Milk:
  The actual fat contentdiffers from that declared on the label, or the milk sold has been obtained by rehydrating powdered milk . Furthermore, the milk may have undergoneunauthorized health treatments , or pasteurized milk may be fraudulently marketed under the label ” fresh milk .” Other types of fraud include watering down ; the marketing of soured milk (reintroduced to the market after neutralizing the pH with alkaline substances); the presence of mastitic milk (i.e., milk produced from animals with ongoing udder infections) or colostrum (milk produced immediately after giving birth); and the addition of hydrogen peroxide to reduce excessive bacterial counts.
• Butter
  contains more water than permitted, making the product “diluted”; or the fats present are not exclusively of cow’s milk but, for example, vegetable fats (such as margarine and hydrogenated fats).
• Cheese fraud occurs in various forms
  , such as those involving the “ non-purity ” of the milk used (for example, the presence of cow’s milk in pecorino, goat’s milk, or buffalo mozzarella). In other cases, cheeses are marketed under the fraudulent “ DOP ” label when in reality they are products from other sources, even foreign ones; or, in a very serious case prohibited by law, cheeses are produced with reconstituted powdered milk . In some cases, to increase the protein or fat content, casein or animal fats such as butterare added to the cheese during production, respectively

Unfortunately, since January 2009, a European regulation has permitted the incorporation of up to 10% casein (in place of milk) into cheeses. This long-debated legitimacy certainly doesn’t enhance the product’s quality, but it is and will remain so.

And in Italy?

The Italian agri-food sector is one of the few that, during the recent global economic and financial crisis , has survived and contributed to the country’s stability. Second in turnover only to the metalworking industry, the agri-food sector is inevitably one of the most attractive targets for dishonest individuals and fraudsters.

In our country, according to a report by FareAmbiente , it was estimated that in the two-year period 2008-2009 alone, fraud in the sector increased by 32% , involving some three million euros a day . Illegal practices in the dairy sector alone increased by 33%, and the greatest number of commercial frauds were discovered in northern Italy (especially in Emilia Romagna) involving product labeling. The irregularities found were primarily related to storage conditions or the presence of unauthorized or even harmful chemical substances in the product; the unflattering record for seizures instead goes to the regions of Calabria, Campania, and Veneto. A very recent case occurred in Veneto last May; the NAS seized 12,000 wheels of “Grana Padano”, perfectly marked with the Consortium symbol, but strictly fake .

Towards transparent labelling

Coldiretti estimates that, every year, Italy imports some 13 million tons of milk, 115,000 tons of milk powder, 86,000 tons of curds, and 15,000 tons of casein from abroad. And where do these raw materials end up , if not in the cheeses we end up with?

It is precisely because of this significant volume of products crossing our borders every year that Coldiretti is constantly pushing for the companies that purchase and use them to be publicly disclosed . This would allow consumers to be more informed about the characteristics of the product they are purchasing, pending truly transparent labeling.

Precisely because of the competitiveness of foreign raw materials, Agriculture Minister Luca Zaia recently developed a proposal to require the origin of milk and cheese to be indicated on labels. The proposal itself was developed to make purchasing more transparent for consumers, but it will certainly encounter opposition at the European level, as the regulation would be considered ” discriminatory ” against other European countries. The fact remains that consumers should have the right to choose whether to purchase a 100% Italian product or not, and at least a small victory in this area has been achieved in the past with the introduction of labeling for extra virgin olive oil. According to European legislation, this product must be labeled with its origin .

Approving a similar regulation on milk may take time and effort, especially considering the significantly larger turnover involved compared to olive oil. Nonetheless, there are opportunities for the transparent labeling proposal to finally be accepted, especially considering that the dairy sector is the most important component of the Italian agri-food industry.

Poor mozzarella!

Mozzarella is the most beloved cheese in Italy; according to Coldiretti, consumption of this quintessentially Italian delicacy is around 156,000 tons annually. Unfortunately, due to its characteristics, it is also particularly vulnerable to fraud and counterfeiting, which can also pose health risks. According to Coldiretti, at least half of the mozzarella sold in Italy contains milk, curd, or casein from abroad.

Just a few days ago, news broke of a seventy-six-year-old woman from Turin who, after purchasing mozzarella at a local discount store, witnessed an incredible change in color. The offending cheese turned nothing less than blue within moments of opening it. The woman, decidedly shocked and outraged, contacted the NAS (National Anti-Corruption Agency), who seized 70,000 of these colorful German-made mozzarellas . Analysis revealed an abnormally high bacterial count in the product, although the exact source of the bacteria could not be determined; the blue color is likely due to the presence of specific substances produced by the bacteria themselves. The fact remains that the offending mozzarellas had a long shelf life, and yet were far from free of microorganisms: so much so that the Turin woman had already been struck by the nauseating odor of the mozzarella upon opening the package. A serious violation, which has led to the opening of an investigation by the Turin Public Prosecutor’s Office, alleging violation of Law 283/1962 on food safety. We’ll see how it plays out.

In the meantime, the poor consumer must still be wary of scams involving buffalo mozzarella . Too often, this mozzarella is not made with 100% buffalo milk, but also with cow’s milk. According to a 2007 study by a team of researchers from the University of Padua, 80% of a total of 64 analyzed samples, marketed under the label “buffalo mozzarella,” contained cow’s milk (and a full 39 of them boasted the DOP mark). In most cases, the presence of cow’s milk was limited to less than 3%, but in some cases the ‘contamination’ level reached as much as 20%. A real hoax, in short.

Finally, beware of mozzarella from abroad . A priori, an Italian specialty produced outside of Italy can already be a good deterrent, but if that weren’t enough, here’s a little “nudge” toward choosing Made in Italy. Some European countries allow the use of colorants that maintain the vibrant white color of this popular stretched-curd cheese: this is none other than titanium dioxide (banned in Italy). A word to the wise…

“Processed” cheeses

And what can consumers do? Simply pay close attention to what they put in their shopping cart. Above all, it’s the type of product that needs to be kept on high alert: stringy cheeses , grated cheeses , and products like cheese-based sauces or dressings are potentially at risk. The origin of the milk is not specified; furthermore, the very type of product makes the original raw materials ” unrecognizable ,” and therefore, who knows what ends up inside these products. And this is far from a catastrophic scenario: just scroll through the news reports of recent years to find some less than comforting news about how things sometimes go in this sector.

Such was the case in the Piacenza area a couple of years ago, when a multi-million dollar business involving grated cheese was uncovered . The Guardia di Finanza discovered that a Milan-based company was purchasing tons of cheese scraps from large companies in the Po Valley (Zanetti, Ferrari, Granarolo, and others), which were often contaminated with insects, worms, mold, and other decidedly unpleasant contaminants. The accused company “recycled” this scraps, melting them into blocks that were then resold both in Italy and abroad. The product was then marketed as grated cheese under prestigious brands; a less than edifying example of Italian entrepreneurship, aimed at adulterating and counterfeiting food products that could jeopardize public health . And it was able to cast mud and discredit the “Made in Italy” brand, which should actually represent our source of pride abroad.

Not to mention that Crema company that, to cut production costs, marketed a mozzarella that could be described as a substitute, to say the least. This cheese was actually produced from raw materials such as butter, casein, or even expired cheeses. Saving on milk allowed the company to cut costs, and the discovery by the NAS led to the seizure of more than three tons of mozzarella around Italy, worth over €45,000.

Some shopping tips

A piece of advice that always applies, therefore, is to avoid purchasing cheeses and cheese products that are too easily subject to food fraud. This category includes all stringy cheeses (from those for toast to those used in various culinary preparations), cheese-based dips (where everything is in liquid form, so there are no guarantees regarding the raw materials), and pre-packaged grated cheeses (” What was grated?” is a more than legitimate question, especially for cheese mixes).

If you really can’t do without them, try to avoid low-cost brands , such as those from discount stores, where the origin is almost exclusively foreign, and place your trust in Italian companies (hoping that it will be repaid).

Alternatively, it’s always advisable to buy cheeses that have undergone as little processing as possible. For example, grate the cheese yourself , purchasing it in slices cut directly from the wheel. Or—an even better option—buy dairy products not from large retailers, but directly from local producers . This guarantees 100% Italian milk. And, why not, it’s also good for the local economy: given the constant pressure Italian dairy producers face from low-cost products from abroad, a little support for local companies can only do them good.