Consumers deserve good quality product, especially as they are paying top dollar for it.
So the question is how can we save ourselves from food fraud?
New Delhi: As more and more consumers opt for branded – packaged food items, counterfeiters are flooding the market with fake and adulterated products.
Incidents increase rapidly during the festive season where imitations of branded chocolates, snacks, beverages and even essential items like rice and oil are being sold.
As much as possible buy from authorised retail shops as they will not sell a fake products on purpose.
A careful look at the packaging can easily tell you if it is a fake.
For instance Ghee brands like Patanjali, Mother Dairy and Amul have QR codes or security holograms to authenticate the product.
Counterfeit products can be easily identified through wrong spelling or grammatical errors.
Check the nutrition label on supplements and food items.
Fake items usually have some discrepancy in listing the ingredients.
If something is extra in it or if something is missing, then the product is a fake.
You can also download ‘Smart Consumer App’ launched by the Consumer Ministry and FSSAI to help customers to get accurate information about packaged food items.
Be aware of inconsistency in the texture, smell, and colour of the product.
These are few key indicators to help you make out whether the product is an original or a fake.
A few minutes invested while buying can make sure we save ourselves from picking up fake food items.