People are wide eaters. We eat anything that looks pleasing and with the advancement in technology, more and more branded food items are produced and following it are the fake ones which are almost similar and are difficult to distinguish except if given careful attention.
Foods like honey, oil, fish, coffee, cinnamon, black pepper, and milk are food products that are known to have common fake substitutes.
According to FSSAI, in the year 2018-2019, 15-18% of food was found to be sub-standard, 3.7% were unsafe and 9% had labeling defects. This shows that the number of fake foods is becoming more alarming, and the majority of people still find it hard to detect.
On Collected.Reviews, you can scroll through the food and drinks category, and read up customers’ opinions and feedback as these will help you in buying quality food online.
Here are some ways to discover fake foods:
1. Be Cautious Of Unauthorized Websites
While it may seem expensive in an authorized store, fake websites usually offer an extremely lower discount and prices which attract people. To know if a website is fake or not, always ask for a proper bill as this proves an obligation just in case they sell a fake food item.
2. Nutritional Label
If you’re a regular buyer of a certain type of food, you should know most of the ingredients used in making such a food. The fake food products usually have some ingredients that are not listed in the original nutritional facts. Also, if you’re not familiar with the item, it is advisable to read the facts carefully and compare it with researches online. When you notice significant additions or subtractions in the ingredients list, this may be a pointer that the food is fake.
3. The Packaging
This could be tricky, but carefully examining the package can help you tell if a food item is fake or not. As much as the packaging may look similar, it cannot be the same in size, logo and colour. For easy identification of fake packaging, some brands use special packaging layers, security holograms, QR codes, or even a scratch code as means of detecting product authentication.
4. Production And Expiry Date
This is one of the easiest ways to identify fake food. If the expiry date is not visible enough or the item looks damaged. Then, you can say the item was recycled. The texture, colour and smell of the product are other ways to indicate if it is original or not. With fake products, their smell might not be as good as the original products, and the texture can be either softer or harder than the normal one.
5. Shop At Authorised Store
The chance of an authorised store selling fake products is nearly impossible as they are expected to have the actual products. Buying from an authorised store puts your mind at rest since you know that they would not sell expired or fake food items to individuals.
Fake food products are a menace to us all, and the following tips listed above can either help you to identify or avoid buying fake food products.