Food Fraud Is Big Business

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Dominic Robinson
5 years ago
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b Have you ever bought food in a shop or ordered food in a restaurant and

B How much do you think the food fraud industry is worth annually?

Business Insider February 2017 Food Fraud Is Big Business Food fraud is a

Restaurants and grocery stores are packed with foods that aren t quite what

Now transparency is more important in the world of food than ever before.

being duped. Here are some foods that might not be what you think they are.

How closely do you examine the labels on the food you buy?

f There is substantial fraud around the following food items.

V Circle the options which you think are true in these statements: 1 About

1 b Have you ever bought food in a shop or ordered food in a restaurant and suspected that what you were given was not exactly what you ordered? B How much do you think the food fraud industry is worth annually? Read the first part of the article and find out. Business Insider February 2017 Food Fraud Is Big Business Food fraud is a $50 billion annual industry and you re probably eating some of the evidence. Restaurants and grocery stores are packed with foods that aren t quite what they seem. Now transparency is more important in the world of food than ever before. Consumers want to know what they re eating and they don t respond well to being duped. Here are some foods that might not be what you think they are. How important is transparency in the world of food to you? How closely do you examine the labels on the food you buy? What are you specifically looking for? f There is substantial fraud around the following food items. Can you name the foods? V Circle the options which you think are true in these statements: 1 About 59 / 79 / 99 % of all wasabi sold in the US is fake. 2 True wasabi costs $ 16 / 60 / 160 a kilogram at wholesale prices. 3 True wasabi needs to be eaten within 15 minutes / hours / days of being made. 4 More than a fifth / quarter / third of restaurants substitute lobster for more inexpensive options in their dishes. 1/4

5 While langostino means little lobster in Spanish, it is more similar to shrimp / hermit crab / mussels. 6 Only eight / 80 / 800 restaurants in the entire US serve real Kobe beef.

8 According to an expert involved in DNA species testing, 14 / 54 / 94 % of the time you order fish labeled red snapper, it is actually a different fish.

2 5 While langostino means little lobster in Spanish, it is more similar to shrimp / hermit crab / mussels. 6 Only eight / 80 / 800 restaurants in the entire US serve real Kobe beef. 7 Bloomberg News found that 50 / 75 / 100 % of cheeses called 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese contained wood pulp. 8 According to an expert involved in DNA species testing, 14 / 54 / 94 % of the time you order fish labeled red snapper, it is actually a different fish. 9 Your truffle is likely to be genuine / fake if it s marketed as truffle oil. 10 Fake versions of olive oil are extraordinarily common with retailers passing off other seed oils, including soybean oil / peanut oil / sunflower-seed oil / all of the previous three as the real thing. 11 In a 1981 case in Spain, 2,000 / 12,000 / 20,000 people were poisoned by fake olive oil. 12 More than 25 / 50 / 75 % of the honey sold in US grocery stores contains ingredients other than pure honey. B Read the second part of the article and check your ideas. 1. Wasabi About 99% of all wasabi sold in the US is fake, reports The Washington Post. The vast majority of wasabi consumed in America is simply a mix of horseradish, hot mustard, and green dye. True wasabi is difficult to grow and extraordinarily expensive, costing $160 a kilogram at wholesale prices. If you re eating real wasabi, you re consuming the stem of a plant, grated and pulverized into a spicy paste. It reportedly has a more complex taste, but needs to be eaten immediately within 15 minutes, the freshly grated wasabi begins to lose its signature flavor. 2. Lobsters More than one-third of restaurants substitute lobster for more inexpensive options in their dishes, reported Inside Edition. The news organization ran DNA tests on lobster dishes from 28 restaurants across the country. Thirty-five percent of the samples contained cheaper seafood, such as whiting and langostino. While langostino means little lobster in Spanish, the crustacean is more similar to a hermit crab and less expensive than American lobsters. 3. Kobe beef While restaurants across the US offer menu items like Kobe burgers and pricey Kobe steaks, the vast majority of these claims are false. Only eight restaurants in the entire US serve real Kobe beef. Since Kobe beef costs more than $20 an ounce, if you re purchasing something that is supposedly made of Kobe beef and it isn t absurdly expensive, you re probably being scammed. 4. Parmesan cheese Last year, Bloomberg News tested store-bought grated cheeses for cellulose, revealing that all of the cheeses called 100% Grated Parmesan Cheese tested contained the anticlumping additive made of wood pulp. While cellulose is a safe 2/4

b additive, an acceptable level is 2% to 4% according to cheese technologist Dean Sommer, cheese makers often mix in higher levels of the wood pulp when making cheese because it is less expensive

A rule of thumb: If the fish is expensive and you haven t seen it displayed whole, there s a good chance it s an imitation.

3 b additive, an acceptable level is 2% to 4% according to cheese technologist Dean Sommer, cheese makers often mix in higher levels of the wood pulp when making cheese because it is less expensive than pure Parmesan. 5. Red snapper According to an expert involved in DNA species testing, 94% of the time you order fish labeled red snapper, it is actually a different fish. A rule of thumb: If the fish is expensive and you haven t seen it displayed whole, there s a good chance it s an imitation. And even then, it s hard to differentiate between wildcaught and farmed fish. 6. Truffles Real truffles are trendy, prized, and extremely rare. If it s not shaved in front of you, your truffle is likely simply a chemical combination especially if it s marketed as truffle oil. 7. Olive oil Fake versions of olive oil are extraordinarily common, with retailers passing off other seed oils, including soybean oil, peanut oil, and sunflower-seed oil, as the real thing. Consuming fake olive oil can have serious health consequences, such as a 1981 case in Spain where 20,000 people consumed socalled olive oil that was in fact rapeseed oil, containing a poisonous toxin called aniline. 8. Honey More than 75% of the honey sold in US grocery stores contains ingredients other than pure honey, reports Food Safety News. Honey is frequently watered down and cut with corn or fructose syrup to decrease costs. Furthermore, some retailers mislabel certain types of honey as more expensive and popular types, such as manuka honey, to hike up prices. Which of the food items mentioned do you regularly consume? Which of the tricks do you think is the most dishonest? V Find synonyms in the article for these words and expressions: 1 all the people and activities involved in making a particular product or providing a particular service 2 shop 3 someone who buys and uses goods and services 4 relating to the sale of things in quantity usually for resale by the person who buys them 5 expensive 6 buy 7 a person or business that sells goods to the public V Complete these sentences with the correct form of the words above: 1 The price is $50, but the sell the products for $ Tobacco companies must warn about the dangers of smoking. 3/4

3 My favourite local is one which sells tea and coffee from around the world. It s not cheap, in fact it is quite, but the products are fantastic. 4 The last car I was in 2009.

4 3 My favourite local is one which sells tea and coffee from around the world. It s not cheap, in fact it is quite, but the products are fantastic. 4 The last car I was in I haven t bought one since. V Write sentences of your own with the words. E What does the highlighted expression in this extract from the article mean? Business Insider February 2017 A rule of thumb: If the fish is expensive and you haven t seen it displayed whole, there s a good chance it s an imitation. f There are other expressions with thumb in English. What do you think these mean? V 1 under the thumb 2 thumb one s nose at something / somebody 3 be all fingers and thumbs 4 thumb through something 5 stick out like a sore thumb 6 give the thumbs up / down V Now match them to the definitions below. dismiss someone or something as worthless look through a book, magazine, newspaper, etc. without it carefully be awkward with your hands, clumsy show that you like / dislike or approve / disapprove of something or that you are happy / unhappy for something to happen be very obvious controlled by (the person or people mentioned in the phrase) Rewrite or respond to these sentences using the expressions above: 1 The boss said we could proceed with the marketing campaign. 2 We normally visit four clients a day, but it can vary. 3 Everybody else at the conference wore a suit I was the only one in jeans and everybody kept looking at me! 4 I haven t read the report thoroughly, but I looked at it briefly on the train. 5 Joe always does what he wants and never respects the rules. 6 Can you help me with the photocopier? It s very complicated and I m not very good with my hands. 7 He has to consult his wife before making any decisions. 4/4

5 Teacher s notes 1 student pages 4 week of intermediate+ (B1+) f There is substantial fraud around the following food items. Can you name the foods? Row 1 - left to right: Wasabi - Lobsters - Kobe beef - Parmesan cheese Row 2 - left to right: Red snapper - Truffles - Olive oil - Honey V Find synonyms in the article for these words and expressions: 1 industry 2 store 3 consumer 4 wholesale 5 pricey 6 purchase 7 retailer V Complete these sentences with the correct form of the words above: 1 wholesale / retailers 2 consumers 3 store / pricey 4 purchased E What does the highlighted expression in this extract from the article mean? rule of thumb = a broadly accurate guide or principle, based on practice rather than theory V Now match them to the definitions below. 2 dismiss someone or something as worthless 4 look through a book, magazine, newspaper, etc. without it carefully 3 be awkward with your hands, clumsy 6 show that you like / dislike or approve / disapprove of something or that you are happy / unhappy for something to happen 5 be very obvious 1 controlled by (the person or people mentioned in the phrase) V Rewrite these sentences using the expressions above: 1 The boss gave the marketing campaign the thumbs up. 2 As a rule of thumb we visit four clients a day. 3 Everybody else at the conference wore a suit I was the only one in jeans and I stuck out like a sore thumb. 4 I haven t read the report thoroughly, but I thumbed through it on the train. 5 Joe thumbs his nose at authority. 6 Can you help me with the photocopier? It s very complicated and I m all fingers and thumbs. 7 He s under his wife s thumb.

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