little is the reason illustrates the problems of modern food production is better than the regularity occurring food scandals – you need only remember the horse meat in the lasagna, Fipronil, in the eggs or germs in the sausage. But already in the German Empire daily Newspapers and Provincial papers reported on the deplorable quality of food products: gypsum in the bread, with a fuchsine-colored wine or several times diluted milk were among the most common distortions. In the second half of the nineteenth century, the production of food, as we know it today began, with all its advantages and disadvantages to take shape. Long-standing Connections between food and the local environment have been cut, the variety of food grew, but the confidence in their quality and authenticity waned. This loss of confidence was countered by legislation of state and non-state actors. Nowadays, food quality is through extensive legislation, international agreements and so-called “private” Standards are regulated. However, as with the above-mentioned examples show, has made this regulation infringements by no means the end.
In his concise book, the historian Jonathan Rees is an informative and readable Overview of the causes of food adulteration and fraud and the steps that States and private actors, companies, to these practices to stop. The author structured his book according to the different Adulteration and fraudulent practices. He begins with the partial replacement of components of a food. Expensive olive oil is frequently adulterated; it is mixed with cheaper olive oils or other vegetable oils. Saffron is the most expensive spice because it must be harvested with a tremendous effort, and the incentive to cheat is so great, too. Turmeric is stretched with corn flour, nutmeg powder with cheap pepper and dried Oregano with weeds. Controls show that thirty to fifty percent of the samples taken of spices that are adulterated. In the case of fish, the complete replacement of an expensive type through a cheaper is very often, as in the case of filleted fish nahverwandter types, the distinction itself is for connoisseurs hardly possible. These practices are not harmful to health, but to economic damage and destroy the trust in the Functioning of the food chain.
The following Chapter looks at Rees contaminated food. There are, of course, no discussion about the fact that the Attach about of melamine to milk, or the sale of aniline-denatured cooking oil – as happened in Spain in 1981 – a criminal act. Many of the other additives, however, it is clear how the assessment of a substance depends, as an impurity or as an acceptable additive of ideas about what has to be considered as authentic or natural food.
food imitations resist a clear categorization. If a vegan is cheese substitute, as such, labelled, and sold, may not be fraud spoken. However, if food control to find out your that in certain Abholpizzerien in the UK, all the pizzas were with artificial cheese substitute occupied and this was not displayed, then it is not illegal, but misleading, and confidence-damaging. Rees argues that deception is a ubiquitous phenomenon in the production of food, but not it can be concluded that it is always a Scam. Artificial flavors are widely used in food manufacture and are marked as such. The typical smell of cloves is caused by Eugenol, which is mainly produced synthetically, and also as one of the starting materials for the production of synthetic Vanillin is used. The author is cautious with their own Judgments and has repeatedly pointed out that the evaluation depends on such practices from the political and cultural conditions. Worldwide, however, except self-providers and food chemists no one can know what is actually eaten.
