Food Fraud

Recently there was a lot of hand-wringing on social media about “fake” San Marzano tomatoes being sold in the U.S.  You see, San Marzano tomatoes are grown in a specific region of Italy (San Marzano, the Sarno valley) near Mount Vesuvius in nutrient-rich volcanic soil.  San Marzano tomatoes sold in Italy and the European Union have a DOP designation.  DOP stands for Denominazione di Origine Protetta (literally “Protected Designation of Origin”) and is used to show that an item was grown in certain area with specific standards.  Think Champagne.  Champagne comes from the Champagne region of France.  Everything else?  Sparkling wine.

                Except in the United States!

                We don’t recognize DOP or any other designations (eg. DOC, DOGC, IGP) here.  Specific varieties of wine, cheese, olive oil, beef, they all have protected status in the EU.  But in the States, you can use the name Champagne to describe your sparkling wine from California or put a San Marzano label on your tomatoes grown in Texas.

                I’ve long been fascinated by what I consider to be “Food Fraud.”  So much so, that I wrote a novel (Truffle Hunt, Eckhartz Press, 2015) in which one of the main plot points concerned faux fungi.  Truffles are one of the most expensive foods in the world (a rare specimen once fetched over $300,000!) so fraud is both tempting and lucrative.  And that’s what most of these foods have in common; they’re rare or expensive or both.

                   So keep an eye out for these foods that are likely not what they seem.

San Marzano Tomatoes

                Real San Marzano tomatoes are grown in the Sarno valley, south of Naples.  They are a delight, sweet and not too acidic and they make the most magnificent marinara (or gravy if you live in certain parts of the East Coast).  The Italian government works to keep DOC products genuine for their customers.  In fact, they’ve been known to seize and destroy mislabeled products.

                So how do the fakes get into the United States?  A lot of times they’re not fake when they get here.  Italian companies export unlabeled cans of tomatoes (perfectly legal) to the U.S. for labeling here.  The problem is that unscrupulous companies then use forged DOC labels to make you think the tomato inside was harvested by real contadini (farmers) in the Sarno valley.

                Or, a farmer in California or Texas might take some San Marzano seeds and plant them in his field.  When he harvests them, he calls them San Marzano.  What’s wrong with that?  Well, the whole idea of DOC is not just the protection of the specific product, in this case San Marzano tomatoes, but the entire ecosystem.  In other words, it isn’t only the seed that is important, but how the seed is grown, the soil that it is grown in, the space between the plants, and lots of other requirements. 

Saffron

                Real saffron is the stigma or threads of the Crocus sativus, or Saffron Crocus.  Each flower of the Saffron Crocus produces three threads which much be harvested individually by hand.  That is why saffron is so expensive.  And, no, you can’t get real saffron risotto for $15.  You’re being ripped off.  They’re just adding turmeric to your rice.

Extra Virgin Olive Oil

                There are so many vile and creative ways you’re being defrauded when you try to buy a good olive oil.

                That Extra Virgin Olive Oil you plunked down $30 for likely has a rather dubious past.  It may be mixed with lower quality oils like grapeseed or soybean.  And since the United States doesn’t have any laws regulating labeling of olive oil, “extra virgin” has little or no meaning.

                And now it has been discovered that the Italian mafia is involved in the illicit olive oil trade.  They have been importing olive pomace oil (low quality oil extracted with chemicals) and labeling it as “extra virgin.”  This malfeasance is even more profitable than the mafia’s main business, drugs.

                That’s why, I know it’s heresy to say so, I like to buy olive oil from California.  While there is no labeling requirement in America, the California Olive Oil Council labels oil that meets their standards as “COOC Certified Extra Virgin.”  Huzzah!

Wasabi

                I hate to break it to you, but you’re never eaten real wasabi.  That sinus-clearing green condiment on your sushi?  That’s horseradish, mustard, green food coloring and maybe a little sugar.  Real wasabi is a rhizome (root) that, while spicy, doesn’t have the lingering fire in your mouth of the fake stuff.  Even in Japan, where wasabi is king, horseradish is often mixed with real wasabi.

                That’s because wasabi can take almost two years to grow to maturity.  Harvest early and it sucks, so you have to wait.  Meanwhile, horseradish can lap wasabi twice before its temperamental cousin is out of the ground.  And horseradish can be widely and easily grown, while wasabi can only be grown in a few spots and is notoriously fickle.

Truffles

               

                First off, never, ever, buy truffle fries in a restaurant.  Or anything with truffle oil for that matter.  Or truffle oil at all.  It’s fake.  Truffles are incredibly expensive.  No one can make a real bottle of truffle oil for $15.  It’s impossible.  Instead, they use chemicals, some of which are used in the production of petroleum, to give truffle oil its “truffle” aroma.  Don’t believe me?  Drive up the New Jersey Turnpike by the refineries.  That’s what truffle oil smells like.

                But, what I’m talking about is the real fraud that goes on in the truffle game.  Here are some of the worst crimes committed in truffledom.

                One, Chinese truffles.  Chinese truffles are inferior to European truffles because they are a different species of truffle and they are usually harvested when immature.  But truffle companies have been known to import Chinese truffles into Italy and France where they are packaged and labeled as “Product of Italy” (or France).  Sneaky, right?  Truffle companies have also been known to mix Chinese truffles with European truffles because Chinese truffles are almost impossible to detect with the naked eye. 

                Two, truffles in restaurants.  Don’t order “truffle” anything in a restaurant unless truffles are in season (Nov-Feb for European truffles, June-Aug for Australian truffles) and unless they are shaved right at your table.  Then ask to inspect the truffle.  If it is filled with holes (not creases or dents, that’s normal) then that truffle is old and has been infested with vermin (maggots).  Yuck.  Smell it.  If it smells like the forest after a rain combined with hay, garlic and old sneakers, you’ve got a winner!  Unfortunately, you probably won’t be able to tell if your specimen is a Chinese truffle unless you bring your microscope with you to the restaurant along with a friend who has a PhD in mycology.

                Three, I’ll say it again.  Never order truffle fries.  They’re a crime against humanity.

               

                That’s only a short list of fraudulent foods.  Wanna be even more depressed?  That tuna roll you ordered?  No tuna in it.  Kobe beef?  Sorry.  Grated parmesan cheese in a can?  The best you can hope for is that it was cut with a cheaper cheese.  Worst case?  Wood pulp is added as filler.  Yuck!   

                And then there’s the story of the calamari (octopus) not being seafood at all.  Now, this one hasn’t been proven, but the story goes that pig rectum has been substituted for calamari.  Radio show “This American Life” did a story on this, but at this point it’s nothing more than an urban legend.  At least some things are sacred.

                My advice if you want to avoid being duped is to read labels carefully.  But, as I’ve pointed out, labels can be misleading or fraudulent thanks to our lax food labeling laws.  

I also advocate for shopping at farmers markets.  Get to know your farmers, ask about growing methods and chemicals used on crops.  But even that is not 100% foolproof as there are farmers who engage in practices like buying produce wholesale and representing it as being grown on their farm. 

The only way to be certain is to grow it yourself.  So I guess it’s time to plant some olive trees, find some wasabi rhizomes to put in the ground, get some crocus bulbs and train a dog to hunt truffles.  Oh, and stay away from the calamari.