A recent New Zealand case is a reminder that any food – or related product - where the price is based on an indirect marker of quality can be a target of adulteration. This is an increasing watch-out with the industry focus on waste valorisation and the circular economy.
In this case, the perpetrators (commercial meat producers) manipulated the Free Fatty Acid profile of tallow by adding extraneous fats and oils. A lower FFA profile increases tallow’s value in the biofuels market. The adulterated tallow was destined for export into biofuels feedstock.
The fraud was brought to light by a whistleblower. The perpetrators have been fined 1.6 million NZ dollars.
A full media report is here
Photo by Wilman Aro on Unsplash
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