In this period of enthusiasm for short circuits, denunciation of the perverse effects of globalization, support for the national economy and affirmation of French know-how, made in France is more than ever in vogue... and even a bit too much.

Not only do we tend to attribute all the virtues to French products - sometimes wrongly -, but in addition some professionals take advantage of this to pass off foreign articles as being French.

The Directorate General for Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Prevention (DGCCRF) warned of these fraudulent practices by publishing the results of a 2020 survey focusing on foodstuffs.

After carrying out 826 checks in 452 establishments, the agents identified an anomaly rate of 25% on stalls and nearly 30% for food presented in markets and fairs.

On the production side, the non-compliance rate was 16%, compared to only 5% at the wholesale stage.

But what methods are behind these numbers?

Mixed productions

The DGCCRF has observed various fraudulent techniques to create a false French origin of products: non-compliant labeling, misleading marking, non-compliance with traceability or invoicing rules... Behind the scenes, however, operating methods are appearing.

In the honey sector, for example, “beekeepers market both their production and commercial honey and take advantage of this to fraudulently increase their profit by francizing foreign honey,” report the investigators.

Some professionals have even given up their beekeeping activity, while retaining their former status, to resell only foreign honey, especially European honey.

Traffic with Bulgaria was also identified during these checks.

Similar processes have been observed for a producer of apple juice, whose products were stamped French and which actually arrived in tankers from Italy and Germany.

Same pattern in the register of unprocessed vegetables for a producer who mixed young Italian shoots with his production of salads to sell them under the French origin label, while allegedly hexagonal celeriac actually came from Belgium.

Not escaping the trend, fruits are also Frenchified, like certain Spanish melons and nectarines, but also Belgian and Dutch pears.

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  • Consumption

  • Made in France

  • Food

  • Economy