Potential fraud reports rise in Europe in June

The number of potential frauds reported in Europe went up in June compared to the month before.

Reports by European countries reached 164 in June 2025, up from 129 in May.

Issues listed are potential frauds. Non-compliances may lead to investigations by authorities in EU member states. Details come from a monthly report published by the European Commission.

Data includes suspected cross-border fraud topics shared between members of the Alert and Cooperation Network (ACN). 

A total of 32 reports mentioned dietetic foods, food supplements, and fortified foods. Second was herbs and spices with 16 notices and fruits and vegetables ranked third with 15 notices.

The majority of issues were uncovered through market controls. On 11 occasions, the method of detection was a company’s internal inspection and another 11 times it was a consumer complaint. One problem was detected because of food poisoning. Concerns were raised twice following whistleblower information.

June highlights
Six alerts involved the United States in June. They included benzoic acid in carbonated soft drinks, THC and CBD in sweets, and GMOs in crisps.

Adulteration cases involved horse meat instead of donkey from Italy, chicken instead of turkey from Poland, Basmati rice substitution, and Robusta instead of Arabica coffee.

Ethylene oxide was detected in coriander powder and cumin seeds from India, Stevia from France, and a spice mix from the UK. Sudan dyes were found in palm oil from Ivory Coast.

For herbs and spices, lead was found in cinnamon from Vietnam, methanol in paprika powder from China, and Rhodamine B in turmeric powder from India. There was a report of chlorate in chicken meat from Brazil.

Record tampering incidents included falsification of tomato origin, as it listed Morocco instead of the Western Sahara. Pork DNA was found in halal beef sausages in Austria and the best before date of cold cuts was extended in France without the manufacturer’s approval.  

In the Netherlands, there was a case of forgery of a horse passport and in Ireland one horse was not registered in the database. Kratom from Indonesia was mentioned in one alert.

Examples of traceability defects were beef from Germany and pork of unknown origin. There was suspected illegal import of Dubai chocolate from Lebanon and an unauthorized fish operator, with misuse of identification marks, in Spain.

Several non-compliances listed ingredients not authorized in the EU, items skipping border controls, and pesticides above the maximum residue limits (MRL). 

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Source: https://www.foodsafetynews.com/2025/08/potential-fraud-reports-rise-in-europe-in-june/