| Abstract: |
Europol has warned of a rising number of counterfeit foods, particularly those certified as organic or protected designation of origin (PDO) labels. Of the products detained at external borders in 2015, 7% were foodstuffs, the agency noted in its “2017 situation report on counterfeiting and piracy in the European Union”.“In 2015, the food industry saw a growth in the abuse of ‘ organic’ labels attached to products that did not comply with the organic certification but had higher retail prices, and a growth in the misuse of such labels in the future was anticipated,” the report reads. The number of goods seized with false geographical indication labels, such as PDO, has fallen from 16,618 seizures in 2014 to “very few” in 2015. However, the value of the counterfeit items “remains high” and the risks remain “substantial”, with wine, spirits, cheese, meat, fruit, vegetables and cereals the most commonly affected products. |
