• Home
  • About Us
  • Our Services
  • Tools, Templates and Training
  • Learn about food fraud
  • Report a food crime
  • News
You are here: Home / Adulteration / What’s the go with garlic?

13th May 2017 by foodfraudadvisors

What’s the go with garlic?

Whole fresh garlic is at low risk of fraudulent adulteration, however, as with other produce, there is a medium to high likelihood of its origin or organic status being misrepresented in markets where consumers pay a premium based on those characteristics. For fresh bulb garlic, claims about chemical treatments, such as bleaching, are also at risk of being fraudulent.

For powdered and flaked garlic, the risk profile is different.  Dried and powdered garlic are at higher risk of adulteration than whole bulbs. All types of dried, flaked and powdered garlic are at risk of undeclared preservatives or additives, undeclared fillers (diluents), such as chalk or flour, misrepresentation of organic status or origin and smuggling.  In early 2017, some food companies in USA and Australia found garlic powder that was sourced from China to be contaminated with peanut.

In October of 2016, it was reported that speculators were purchasing huge quantities of garlic in China, the world’s largest garlic exporter, after prices almost doubled in the previous year. This has led to supply issues and very high prices. Dried garlic is affected even worse than fresh bulbs.

In April 2017, CBC News (Canada) reported that garlic trading trends have food fraud expert Professor Chris Elliott mystified, because sales are at normal levels despite much of China’s recent garlic crop being devastated by a cold snap.  This might be because the speculators who were hording garlic in the previous year have been releasing it on to the market this year.

Want information just like this for hundreds of other food types?  Check out our Food Fraud Risk Information database.

Is garlic at risk of food fraud?

Share this:

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Email

Filed Under: Adulteration, Food Fraud, Horizon Scanning

MORE FROM FOOD FRAUD ADVISORS

food vulnerability assessment

Food Safety Standards Compared (2022)

    When it comes to food fraud, each food safety standard has slightly different food fraud … [Read More...]

Investigating Susceptibility to Food Fraud

Updated 26th June 2022 Some foods are more susceptible than others to economically motivated adulteration, … [Read More...]

Top 5 Food Frauds of 2022 (so far)

Food Fraud Advisors' Principal, Karen Constable, shares her top five food frauds for 2022. At the time of writing, … [Read More...]

Saffron Fraud (Everything You Ever Wanted to Know)

What is Saffron? Saffron is a spice made from the dried stigma (part of the flower) of the saffron plant (Crocus … [Read More...]

Food Fraud Databases Compared

Updated 26 July 2022 A food fraud database is a collection of information about food fraud incidents and food fraud … [Read More...]

follow

  • View foodfraudadvice’s profile on Facebook
  • View karenconstable4’s profile on Twitter
  • LinkedIn

© Copyright 2015 - 2022 Food Fraud Advisors · All Rights Reserved · Privacy Policy