Police seize large quantity of fake organic food in Italy

Police seized around 1,500 tonnes of fake organic food throughout Italy on Thursday in a probe in which 23 people were reported to be under investigation. The seized foodstuffs included soya, corn and wheat from Ukraine that was falsely certified as being organic but instead had a high content of genetically modified organisms (GMOs), while some 30 tonnes of Indian soya were found to be contaminated with pesticides. The products, destined to the livestock and food markets, were allegedly brought into Italy through customs in Malta. According to investigators, some 10 companies were involved in the affair, in addition to bodies in charge of the certification of organic goods. According to figures of the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements (IFOAM), the overall turnover of the organic food in Italy amounts to around three billion euros (3.9 billion U.S. dollars).