Authenticity of food products in the Polish market checked during 2005-2012.

BACKGROUND Food fraud/adulteration has ever increasingly become a dominant food issue of the modern world in both developed and developing countries. It is presumed that globalisation is mainly one of the underlying reasons. OBJECTIVES To assess and analyse the occurrence of food fraud on the Polish market during 2005-2012. MATERIAL AND METHODS Adulteration of foodstuffs was determined from official food inspections carried out by the Agricultural and Food Quality Inspection (IJHARS) in 2005-2012. On average, foodstuff manufacturers inspected ranged from 1300 companies in 2011 to 3000 in 2006. The amount of results so collected, allowed a meaningful assessment to be thus made of food fraud on the Polish market. RESULTS Food fraud was found to vary in the Polish market for the specific areas researched (ie. organoleptic properties, physico-chemistry and labelling) as well as in the agri-food sector. Levels of food fraud were not significantly different to those observed in other countries. CONCLUSIONS Appropriate control measures, at both national and international levels, are thereby indicated to halt the adulteration of foodstuff products that constitute a health hazard or pose a life-threat to consumers as well as constituting a financial fraud.