Fake food fills store shelves across St. Petersburg. Companies make counterfeit milk, butter, meat, canned vegetables, honey and candy. The St. Petersburg Center for Quality Control found serious problems with food safety. Workers tested 487 food samples from 45 different product types. Officials discovered 102 samples failed to meet legal standards.
Real sour cream contains no vegetable fats, stabilizers or preservatives. Fake dairy products replace milk fat with cheaper plant oils. Canned fish often contains cheap fish instead of expensive types. Scientists use DNA testing to catch companies that lie about their products. The new technology helps workers identify fake ingredients and species replacement.
Buyers choose cheap prices over good quality. This creates demand for fake products and helps gray markets grow. Removing all counterfeit items would leave only expensive genuine products on shelves. Experts worry this could cause social problems for poor families. Good companies and quality products still exist in the city.
Real sour cream contains no vegetable fats, stabilizers or preservatives. Fake dairy products replace milk fat with cheaper plant oils. Canned fish often contains cheap fish instead of expensive types. Scientists use DNA testing to catch companies that lie about their products. The new technology helps workers identify fake ingredients and species replacement.
Buyers choose cheap prices over good quality. This creates demand for fake products and helps gray markets grow. Removing all counterfeit items would leave only expensive genuine products on shelves. Experts worry this could cause social problems for poor families. Good companies and quality products still exist in the city.
