Quality and origin of foodstuffs are of great concern to the consumers as food grown in certain regions and some special species have higher economic value due to their superior quality. Environmental pollution of the geographical origins is also another considerable factor in this regard. Food from high quality batches, species, and cultures are not only often replaced with low quality products but also mislabeled deliberately by the traders for extra profit. Such malpractice violates customers’ rights, reduces the benefits of local cultivators, and creates unfair business competition. Traceability is assured only by labelling and administrative documentation and, thus, is prone to frequent fraudulent practice. The evidence of such issues with fish, seafood, meat, processed meat, and staple foods is found mostly in scientific reports. There are also reports on origin fraud and mislabeling of tea, fruit juice, vinegar, honey, and alcoholic beverages. Expensive honey, such as pine, thyme, orange blossom, chestnut, heather, manuka, acacia, litchi, and linden, are frequently reported for mislabeling with respect to botanical origin. The plant-based food “Fava Santorinis” having protected designation of origin (PDO) is often replaced with inferior yellow split peas. ‘Eglouvis’ lentils cultivated in the Ionian Islands is often subject to origin fraud.
Misrepresentation of geographical and botanical origin is seen mostly in the case of olive oils and cocoa butter. The quality and constituents of olive oils vary with certain regional characteristics, surroundings, and manufacturing technique, holding different commercial values. For example, some olive cultivars of Olea europaea L. are known to possess better quality because of breeding and selection strategies. Olive oils derived from those regions or cultivars are specified by labelling. Due to their high market value, they are often misrepresented. Extra virgin olive oil has protected designation of origin (PDO) due to possessing a high content of monounsaturated fatty acids, vitamins, and antioxidants. Due to high commercial value, it is often mislabeled.
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