| Abstract: |
Often referred to as “red gold”, saffron is the world’s costliest spice by weight, with a kilogram selling for up to £8,000. The potential for profit has fuelled a criminal counterfeit market — and now investigators have uncovered almost 90kg of fake saffron, worth about £750,000, being sold in towns on the Sussex coast. The product, which contains saffron mixed with low-grade alternative ingredients, was found in shops in the Worthing area of West Sussex. It prompted a two-year trading standards investigation that traced the fraudulent spice to a factory in Alicante, Spain. Saffron sells for between £6 and £8 a gram and is expected to contain almost undetectable amounts of extraneous matter and “floral waste”. |
