France steps up fight against fake French products

France has significantly tightened controls on the labeling of the origin of fruits, vegetables and their processed products, as well as honey, meat and alcohol. This is to combat so-called “francization” – cases where imported products are mistakenly or intentionally labeled as grown in France.

This was reported by the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture with reference to the French DGCCRF service.

In 2024, French inspectors checked 10,000 batches of food products, of which 34% were found to have violations. As a result, more than 1,800 warnings, 588 orders to stop illegal actions and 562 protocols were issued. The largest number of violations was found in the vegetable, fruit, meat and alcohol sectors.

In particular, in the Occitania region, imported onions and celery were sold under the guise of French products. In addition, one producer indicated on apple juice packaging that the raw materials were collected from local organic orchards, although some of the juice was supplied from Italy and Germany.

Similar schemes were exposed in the case of honey: products from Eastern Europe were labeled as French.

French government officials believe that such manipulations harm consumer confidence and the competitiveness of local farmers. As a result, the government has stepped up checks, including through laboratory tests and cooperation with customs.

The aim of the new policy is to guarantee transparency of product origin and strengthen France’s food sovereignty.

Tags: France