Vanilla adulteration has been revealed in France; substitution with low-quality products and dipping the pods in other flavors

The adulteration of vanilla in France was revealed. The DGCCRF (Directorate-General for Competition, Consumers and Fraud Control) tested 113 samples and the non-compliance rate was 23%. Due to the climatic and socio-economic difficulties in Madagascar (the main producing country), the vanilla market has experienced a decline in the quality of vanilla beans in recent years, coupled with a sharp rise in their price. Therefore, some operators may be tempted to mislead the consumer as to the quality of the products by adding cheaper substances to natural vanillin. Vanilla products carry a high fraud risk due to the possibility of technologically producing vanilla flavors at low cost. The DGCCRF investigators focused on all actors in the sector: producers (pods, extracts, natural vanilla flavors, vanilla flavors and pure natural vanillin), importers, distributors, retailers and food companies. In doing so, they checked product compliance, traceability and invoicing at 177 sites. An ...