Saffron fraud revealed

Saffron mixed with other lower quality ingredients was found in Sussex, UK revealing a criminal network.

Saffron is one of the most expensive spices. The allure to make big money from adulteration is high. The UK Trading Standards Service was able to reveal a big fake recently, which has led to an international investigation and the discovery of thousands of pounds worth of adulterated saffron.

Seven out of 10 ten samples were adulterated with cheaper plant fibres the officers reported. Most samples originated from Spain. Almost 90-kilograms of adulterated saffron with a market value between 660- 820 T€ was seized from a factory in Alicante, Spain and two people were arrested.

AGROLAB GROUP offers analytical expert knowhow and efficient tools to prevent manufacturers and traders from becoming victims of criminal spice manipulation. Chemical fingerprinting using 1H-NMR spectroscopy can show manipulation by comparison of suspicious batches with reference data collected from pure materials. These tests are reliable, fast and much cheaper than you might expect.

Author: Frank Mörsberger