An international operation against food fraud, conducted in 26 countries including Belgium, has resulted in the seizure of nearly 27,000 tonnes of illegal foodstuff and 15 million litres of alcoholic beverages, Europol announced on Thursday.
“From rotten tuna to fake vodka with methyl alcohol and counterfeit vitamins, illegal food and beverages are a serious threat to EU citizens, who are often unaware that they are consuming poisonous products,” the European criminal police agency said in a press release.
The operation ran from December 2021 to May 2022.
Europol said it received reports of the seizures from 26 countries in and outside Europe. Some 74,000 checks were carried out, 80 arrest warrants were issued and 137 people were reported to the judicial authorities. Eight criminal networks were dismantled.
According to Europol, the largest quantities of illegal products seized were alcoholic beverages, followed by cereals and related products, fruit and vegetables, food supplements, sugar and sweeteners, meat products, seafood, dairy products and poultry.
Countries that provided information to Europol were Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Romania, Slovenia, Spain and the United States.
