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How we're scammed into eating phony food

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Re: How we're scammed into eating phony food

#111

Post by LoSboccacc »

mikekchar wrote: post #61
derefr wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What's the cheapest way to get guaranteed-real EV olive oil? Are there known-good brands (perhaps ones produced entirely outside of Italy?) Or, if you cared about "authentic Italian" olive oil, perhaps for personal or restaurant use (i.e. not for resale): how much would it cost (in the US) to just buy bulk Italian olives , and then press them yourself?

I know this is crazy, but you can taste it :-) Of course, most people don't know what olive oil should taste like, but it really has a wide flavour range. Buy a selection of small bottles and simply taste them (possibly with some nice bread and a little salt if you don't like drinking oil straight up). I highly recommend trying olive oil from other countries as well. It's really an eye opener. Once you get some exper…

Yeah it's like going to Greece and eat a ripe cucumber. Even in italy they sell watery, acidic stuff that would never comare to the real thing. I've never eaten one again anywhere else in the world.

Re: How we're scammed into eating phony food

#112

Post by tempodox »

mirimir wrote: post #29
el_benhameen wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

In some places, yes. A few sushi spots around here were fined for using not-lobster in their lobster dishes: http://www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-fake-lobster-r...

An FDA FAQ tells me:[0] > Inspections and licensing of restaurants and grocery stores are typically handled by local and county health departments. However, FDA serves as a scientific and technical consultant to state and local regulatory agencies by publishing the FDA Food Code, which sets forth model provisions for keeping food safe in restaurant, cafeteria, and institutional food operations. Most states adopt thes…

Is there even any definition of what “keeping food safe” actually means? And it still would mean nothing as long as those standards aren't being enforced.

Re: How we're scammed into eating phony food

#113

Post by Aaargh20318 »

eru wrote: post #79
Qantourisc wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

They could also come from greenhouses, where they are typically grown on something that resembles cotton balls and nutrients, no ground involved. When I see tomatoes grown like that, I always think of them as tomatoes on life support. Also there are different tomatoes species, I could certainly see one using faster and more water-holding tomatoes.

I quite liked the Dutch tomatoes that we got in Germany. I understand they are grown in greenhouses?

It used to be that germans called Dutch tomatoes 'Wasserbombe'. Although nowadays they are starting to breed for taste over looks again.

Re: How we're scammed into eating phony food

#114

Post by throwaway049 »

nimos wrote: post #53

I've always been frustrated by the lack of government involvement in situations like this. Not specific to food but businesses in general. I leave my car parked for an hour past when I'm supposed to - harming no one really - and I get a ticket. Meanwhile blatant fraud gets ignored?

Enforcement of parking rules by low paid workers should more than pay for itself. Prosecuting food fraud is more expensive for the government, and unlikely to be an election issue.

Re: How we're scammed into eating phony food

#115

Post by anexprogrammer »

thaumasiotes wrote: post #81
kbart wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

EU does enforce food safety and labeling laws quite well. That might be because every EU country has its own FDA equivalent that provisions much smaller market. Sure, incidents happen, but fake food is nowhere such widespread in EU than USA.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2013_horse_meat_scandal

The point is, which many commenters seem to be missing, is UK Trading Standards and equivalent EU bodies regularly test to see that foods meet claimed ingredients and are not adulterated. Prosecutions, sanctions and bans are frequent. The periodic outrages are relatively rare and become front page news.

If you claim on the label that your product is 52% tuna it can be (and frequently is) randomly tested and if it's not tuna, or 52% you can be open to prosecution.

By the sounds of the US system you're probably eating horse regularly, but no one ever tests to establish this.

In the case of the UK, austerity has resulted in Trading Standards being stretched to breaking point or beyond as funding has sunk way below actual need. Presumably the Tories will soon point to this as proof that a state owned system cannot work so let's privatise it.

Brexit leaves me deeply concerned the UK will resemble the US more.

Re: How we're scammed into eating phony food

#116

Post by sampo »

misja111 wrote: post #60
foota wrote: post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Sorry, but that doesn't make sense to me, why would the quality of food there decrease?

Because TTIP is heavily influenced by the lobbying of big multinationals, the Monsanto's and the likes. As a result it favors the big food companies over small local producers. Eventually TTIP will lead to less local variety of food products and more food that is imported and therefore less fresh.

> the Monsanto's and the likes

Monsanto is an agrichemical and seeds company. It is not in the food business. I know 'Monsanto' is sometimes used as a general synonym for 'evil company', but this is somewhat inappropriate.

Re: How we're scammed into eating phony food

#117

Post by alxv »

derefr wrote: post #48
Jerry2 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another scam is extra virgin olive oil. Almost all of the ev-olive oils that you buy at supermarkets in the US are fake [0]. It's basically lower-grade olive or vegetable oil with some added green chlorophyl for color. UK supermarkets aren't faring much better [1]. It's all due to mafia control of the oil markets in Italy. 60 Minutes did a report on it recently and they even tested oils for fakes [2]. It's extremely…

What's the cheapest way to get guaranteed-real EV olive oil? Are there known-good brands (perhaps ones produced entirely outside of Italy?) Or, if you cared about "authentic Italian" olive oil, perhaps for personal or restaurant use (i.e. not for resale): how much would it cost (in the US) to just buy bulk Italian olives , and then press them yourself?

In the U.S., Californian olive oils are your best bet. Otherwise, Costco Kirkland Signature olive oil (which is now Greek oil [1]) is another good choice.

Outside of Italy, it's difficult to find Italian olive oils that are not blended. The 2014 and 2015 harvest seasons have been terrible due a bacterial blight [2] that crippled many olive farms in Southern Italy.

[1] http://www.seattletimes.com/business/retail/costco-embraces-...

[2] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Xylella_fastidiosa

Re: How we're scammed into eating phony food

#118

Post by breakingcups »

Jerry2 wrote: post #46
lucaspiller wrote: post #9

Not quite the same, but earlier this year I was working in Italy for a few months. I went back to the UK last week and it really surprised me how poor the quality of food is there. I don't mean in restaurants, but the actual ingredients you get in supermarkets. In Italy you can go into even the cheapest supermarkets and get tomatoes that smell like actual tomatoes, where as in the UK they just have no smell. Even tom…

Another scam is extra virgin olive oil. Almost all of the ev-olive oils that you buy at supermarkets in the US are fake [0]. It's basically lower-grade olive or vegetable oil with some added green chlorophyl for color. UK supermarkets aren't faring much better [1]. It's all due to mafia control of the oil markets in Italy. 60 Minutes did a report on it recently and they even tested oils for fakes [2]. It's extremely…

Does anyone have any idea how this situation is in the EU?

Re: How we're scammed into eating phony food

#119

Post by simplemath »

derefr wrote: post #48
Jerry2 wrote: post #46

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another scam is extra virgin olive oil. Almost all of the ev-olive oils that you buy at supermarkets in the US are fake [0]. It's basically lower-grade olive or vegetable oil with some added green chlorophyl for color. UK supermarkets aren't faring much better [1]. It's all due to mafia control of the oil markets in Italy. 60 Minutes did a report on it recently and they even tested oils for fakes [2]. It's extremely…

What's the cheapest way to get guaranteed-real EV olive oil? Are there known-good brands (perhaps ones produced entirely outside of Italy?) Or, if you cared about "authentic Italian" olive oil, perhaps for personal or restaurant use (i.e. not for resale): how much would it cost (in the US) to just buy bulk Italian olives , and then press them yourself?

https://www.cooc.com

Re: How we're scammed into eating phony food

#120

Post by polskibus »

foota wrote: post #40
polskibus wrote: post #38

That's why EU people are protesting against TTIP. We're worried that the lower standards that are common in USA, will prevail, and any resistance will be trampled in private arbitrage courts.

Sorry, but that doesn't make sense to me, why would the quality of food there decrease?

TTIP mandates use of private arbitrage courts, which in theory could be influenced by the stronger (not on merit) of two parties, against regulations already present in the EU. For example, if EU requires the use of substance X to be no more than Y% in 1 kg of apples, but such regulation is absent in USA, an American producer could sue EU for anticompetitivenes and win.
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