You've all got them in your kitchen cupboard: pepper, curry, saffron, papryka, turmeric, cinnamon... However, according to the French fraud control authority, there are many cases of fraud - up to 81% for saffron!
Do you really know what's on your plate? For RMC, Marie Dupin unveils a fraud investigation into spices and spice blends.
Spice consumption has exploded in less than 10 years: +35%. But a survey by the French General Directorate for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (DGCCR) could well put an end to our appetite. In this investigation, the authority visited nearly 200 establishments of producers, importers, traders...
80% of rudders are fraudulent
The result: more than half of the spices analysed showed anomalies. It could be a labelling problem, but it could also be much more serious. In other words, you'll find products inside the spices that have nothing to do with them. Worse still, sometimes you can't even find the spice you're supposed to have bought.
Saffron remains the most fraudulent spice: more than 80% of saffrons inspected are found to be non-compliant! Saffron is one of the most expensive spices in the world: it takes 150,000 flowers to produce one kilo of saffron. In a jar of saffron, you'll often find safflower blossom. This plant resembles saffron, but has almost no taste and can have side effects. It's a very old technique that goes back to the Middle Ages: back then, fraudsters were publicly burned with their goods. We had a rather radical vision of consumer protection.
Among the spices: sand or chalk...
Pepper is also a prime target for fraudsters. As a result, nearly 60% of peppers inspected were found to be non-compliant, as were 54% of paprikas and chillies, and 41% of curries and turmeric.
The DGCCRF indicates that many additions are made to these spices to increase their mass and make them cheaper. Some add starches, flour and salt, as well as minerals such as sand, crushed brick, chalk, etc. Colourings are also detected.
Realth risks
Faced with this unappetizing menu, consumers no longer know what they are actually consuming. The authority also discovered allergens such as peanut powder and almond powder. 7% of the products analysed contained allergens not mentioned on the label, which means that sensitive consumers can run into serious problems.
How to find your way around our shelves?
As is often the case, the fraud control authorities do not give the names of the products and companies involved. All the more so since, according to the DGCCRF, these fraudulent spices can be found in all kinds of shops, from small grocery stores to large supermarkets... A word of advice: it's better to buy whole spices and avoid ground spices, which are even more affected by fraud.
EDITOR'S NOTE:
At Place des Epices, our spices are all certified organic, and our blends are made and ground to order from these organic spices. At Place des Epices, the REAL saffron comes in November from Morocco.
