Criminals deceive Swedish consumers – so the government should put them there

Organized criminals are suspected of deceiving Swedish consumers into paying for poorer quality than they expected.

Now the government wants to put an end to them.

– Fraud in the food chain that threatens human and animal health must be fought, says Minister for Rural Affairs Anna Karen Satherberg (South).

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Organized criminals mislead and deceive Swedish consumers into paying for lower quality than they expected.

Fraud distorts competition and serious companies risk eliminating it, at the same time criminals make huge profits from it.

We will continue to trust our food when we shop in Sweden. Fraud in the food chain that puts human and animal health at risk must be combated. Strengthening oversight is necessary to access fraud, which generates large sums of money and attracts organized crime, says Minister of Rural Affairs Anna Karen Sutherberg.

Placing incorrect labels on food

Fraud can include the use of illegal or dangerous ingredients, the use of meat from other animal species or the dilution of ingredients.

It can also be related to incorrect labeling, such as that the product has been incorrectly issued to be organic or of Swedish origin.

It could be, for example, about meat or strawberries from another country that is classified as Swedish, says Anna-Caren Sätherberg.

– It could also be about putting food labels on, so that the last day of consumption changes.

That’s how cheating should be put there

As a result, the government now wants to appoint a private investigator. The investigator will make suggestions on how to put cheating in the food chain.

Cheating in the food chain affects the entire community. In the worst case, it can infect people and animals. We must turn every stone to fight the crime that threatens the entire society today. Tougher penalties and new laws are only part of the work to combat organized crime in Sweden, says Anna Karen Satherberg.

Effective and effective control in the food chain is important to reduce fraud and the occurrence of crime, and to prevent crime in general, she continues.