Adulterated butter, buffalo meat declared as beef, tigernuts imported as flower bulbs are some of the products that have been stopped at the EU's borders. Illegally declared foods not only circumvent the EU's tariffs or trading restrictions but could also pose a health risk to consumers.
Fraud investigators,veterinariansand public health specialists from all over the EU met in Bled, Slovenia to discuss the risks and countermeasures needed to cut down on the problem.
Jorg Wojahn, deputy spokesman for the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), told FoodProductionDaily.com that such meetings serve to help national authorities co-ordinate their investigations and customs procedures.
He noted that this year non-EU countries are taking more of an interest in the EU's procedures and methods. Representatives from Russia, the US, New Zealand and Australia also attended the meeting.
"There is a greater interest from other countries outside of the EU in how we are dealing with the problem," he said. "We are seeing closer co-operation on their end of the trade."
Several operational cases were discussed which show the necessity of co-operation, Wojahn said. Fraud can occur for both imports and exports. The fraud can occur by declaring a food as something else or as originating from another country, so as to get a smaller tariff, to avoid sanitary checks or to avoid anti-dumping duties.
Fraud for exports occurs when companies attempt to get export refunds.
Trade in adulterated butter containing non-milk animal and vegetable fats and chemicals was one of the cases discussed.
In 1999 Italy's authorities found that about 16,000 tonnes of butter were adulterated, and sold for more than €45 million on the market. Community subsidies were then obtained on what was declared as butter.
A Mafia gang set up what amounted to a holding group involving the major producers of butter for industrial use in the south of Italy. The group succeeded in gaining control of one of the largest companies in the industry in Northern Italy, which made it one of the main butter producers in Italy.
The fraud had been organised in order to illegally manufacture a cheap product which maximised profit and then to obtain EU payments.
Another case involved the import of buffalo meat from India falsely declared as beef from Australia and New Zealand: Import of this kind of meat to the EU is forbidden because the food-and-mouth disease virus is endemic in Indian buffalos.
The meeting also discussed a case involving the false declaration of tigernuts as flower bulbs when being imported to the EU. The importer chose to declare the nuts, which faced zero tax, as flowerbulbs, which faced a three per cent tariff, rather than undergo a tough inspection.
Tigernuts may contain a toxine. Because of this risk, they have to undergo thorough phyto-sanitary inspections which are different for flower bulbs.