These are the most common counterfeit foods

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Counterfeit food is a multibillion-dollar industry. Every day, consumers are tricked into buying mislabeled and adulterated foods without even noticing it. Not only are these products of a poorer quality, but some can actually be harmful to your health. Not to mention that you're paying the price tag of the real thing!

But what are the most commonly counterfeited food products in the world, and can you tell the difference? Click on to find out. 

Olive oil

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Sometimes, the label is misleading, and this can happen with olive oil. There have been instances where olive oil has been found to be mixed with soybean or vegetable oil. But the most common type of issue is olive oil labeled as "extra virgin" not meeting the requirements. A few years ago, studies actually found this to be the case with over 60% of brands selling extra virgin olive oil in the US.

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Another problem with olive oil is the country of origin. For example, you may buy olive oil "made in Italy," but it might just have been imported from another country into Italy, and then exported from Italy with the label on. 

Honey

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Some products sold as honey include a number of additives, from sucrose to corn syrup. This adulteration is made to add more volume and sweetness to the honey and consequently cut costs and increase profit.

Fish

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Some species of fish are sometimes mislabeled and sold as other species. One of the main culprits is escolar, which is sold as white tuna, usually in sushi. Consuming escolar, however, can be risky for your health. In fact, its consumption is banned in Italy and Japan.

Wasabi

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Wasabi is made from Wasabia japonica or Eutrema japonicum, aka Japanese horseradish. It turns out, however, that most wasabi consumed in the West is made with regular horseradish (Armoracia rusticana), which is completely different. 

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This "fake" wasabi made of regular horseradish sometimes has a percentage of the real thing. But it's mostly regular horseradish with green food coloring added. The reason for this is simple: real wasabi is very expensive.

Wine

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Fake wine dates all the way back to Ancient Rome and remains a problem in some parts of the world. From wine adulteration, including added chemicals, to the bottles and labels, wine fraud is big business. 

Truffles

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Truffles are expensive delicacies. Some varieties of truffle sell for thousands of dollars per kilo, while others are a lot cheaper. Sometimes these cheaper versions are sold as the most expensive varieties. The big problem is that it's difficult to tell them apart. 

Meat

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There have been several fake meat scandals over the years. For example, in 2013 there was a huge scandal surrounding the use if horse meat instead of ground beef in Europe. The meat was found in processed beef products, like ready meals (e.g. lasagna).

Fruit juice

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What can go wrong with fruit juice, right? Well, quite a few things. Lemon juice (supposedly 100%) for instance, has been found to be cheapened with water and sugar. Testing conducted by the National Consumers League found that the percentage of real juice can be as low as 10% in some cases. 

Coffee

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Ground coffee can be adulterated with all sorts of products, including roasted corn, twigs, and even toasted parchment paper. 

Cinnamon

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Cinnamon is cinnamon, right? Well, not quite. Most of the "cinnamon" available in stores is actually cassia, a cheaper and poorer version (left). Ceylon (right) is the "real" aromatic and superior form of cinnamon you want instead.

Black pepper

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Like ground coffee and cinnamon, black pepper is also easy to counterfeit. All sorts of products have been found mixed into black pepper, including papaya seeds, juniper berries, and pepper stems.

Milk

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Back in 2008, a Chinese brand of milk and infant formula tainted their products with the chemical melamine, which resulted in 54,000 children being hospitalized. Thankfully, this doesn't happen often enough to qualify milk as a dangerous product. Buying milk from trusted national brands may help reduce exposure to watered-down milk.

Vanilla

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Some brands use vanillin instead of real vanilla in their extracts. Vanillin is actually an organic compound of vanilla, but the one added to extracts is usually synthetic. If you see it on the label, it's likely made in the lab. And then there's also the added sugars and coloring.  

Balsamic vinegar

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Balsamic vinegar is not always balsamic vinegar. The mixture is sometimes mixed with sugar and caramel coloring. 

Parmesan cheese

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The original Parmigiano-Reggiano has seen a number of counterfeits affecting the cheese business over the years. This is especially true in the US, where regulation is not as strict as in Italy.

Scallops

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Scallops are delicious bivalve mollusks, but they too can be counterfeit. Scallops sold as the real thing are sometimes actually from fish species such as rays, skate, or even made of surimi (fish paste). 

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