"China: The mystery of fake "Imported" fruit labels"

As the popularity of imported fruit has increased year by year, the labels from many different countries can be seen everywhere in the supermarkets. But is the origin information indicated on the label true? Not necessarily it seems, because in some small shops around the fruit wholesale market you can buy a variety of imported fruit logos for extremely cheap prices. An industry expert said the inaccurate label phenomenon is widespread, the purpose is to sell the fruits of other regions in the guise of high quality fruits from abroad, thus earning considerable profits, while most consumers are completely unaware of it.

When fruits from overseas were first introduced they were easily recognized under the label of "imported" and sold at premium prices. However, different quality products came from multiple origins and the same fruits could be sold at different prices depending on which country they originated from. The most common fruit to be counterfeited was the New Zealand Kiwi. New Zealand Kiwis are very famous and are sold as individual items. Merchants were selling Kiwis from other countries pretending they were from New Zealand to gain illicit profits.

Secondly, in some famous ports, such as Shenzhen and Hongkong, the trick was to "Substitute a leopard for a Crown Prince" - which means to turn cheap fruit into a valuable imported commodity by changing its label and packaging.

The preservation technology of foreign agricultural products is better than the domestic. So, although they arrive after a long journey, the appearance is still relatively mellow and full and the shelf life is longer. Of the fruits currently on the market, only a few are mainly imported - including mangosteen, durian, rambutan, New Zealand Kiwi, Chilean and Australia cherries.

For the general consumer, they have to rely on their accumulated experience to identify the purchase of genuine varieties, as well as the time of listing for imported fruit. For example, the color of real red grapes that are imported from the United States is relatively deeper, and they are only available from the beginning of the Spring Festival until June and July. Those available for purchase from August to New Year's day are almost certainly domestic red grapes. In addition, American imported red grapes are generally packaged in a foam box, but the grapes in the wooden or plastic boxes are produced from Chile or Peru.