Opson results show an increase in seized products

An operation focused on finding counterfeit and substandard food and beverages has removed many products from the supply chain.

Operation Opson XIII, coordinated by Europol, seized around 22,000 tons of food and 850,000 liters of beverages. In total, goods valued at more than €91 million ($98.3 million) were removed from the market.

An alleged 11 criminal networks were uncovered, 104 arrests and 184 search warrants were issued, 278 people were reported to law enforcement authorities, and more than 5,800 checks and inspections were performed.

Operation Opson involved 29 countries and was supported by the European Anti-Fraud Office (OLAF), the European Commission Directorate-General for Health and Food Safety (DG SANTE), the EU Commission Directorate-General for Agriculture and Rural Development (DG AGRI), and food and beverage producers.

Participating countries included the United States, the United Kingdom, Ukraine, Switzerland, Portugal, the Netherlands, Ireland, Greece, Denmark, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Belgium.

The activities covered physical and online markets, such as e-commerce platforms, and the whole food supply chain from raw materials to the final product.

According to Europol, the operation was bigger than in 2023, when 8,000 tons of products, including 6.5 million liters of drinks, were seized. 

Fraud findings

Investigators across Europe noticed a continued trend in fraudsters selling expired food. Infiltrating waste disposal companies, they obtain expired food that should be destroyed. Expired products are re-introduced into the supply chain after erasing and re-printing the expiration dates or printing and attaching new labels.

Spain and Italy are examples of crackdowns. The Spanish Guardia Civil, with help from the Italian Carabinieri and Europol, arrested four people and seized about 120,000 cans of tuna and 45,000 liters of oil. 

The owners of a canning company in La Rioja prepared the canned products with tuna of lower quality than indicated on the label and with sunflower oil or pomace labeled as olive oil, so they could market the products at lower prices than their competitors.

In Valencia, a pickle production company was investigated for selling products unfit for consumption due to the addition of illegal dyes and preservatives.

Italian authorities identified and seized 42 tons of contaminated oil. Some of the products, marketed as Italian extra virgin olive oil, had already entered the market. Officers searched various locations, such as warehouses, and also seized 71 tons of oily substances and 623 liters of chlorophyll used for the adulteration of oils.

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