The prefecture of the French department of Bouches-du-Rhône has reported that a wholesaler is being investigated for having sold several hundred tons of fruit and vegetables of Spanish origin as if they were French.
According to a statement from the agency, the suspect bought zucchini, peppers, pumpkins, and asparagus, in 2020 and 2021, and deliberately concealed its origin. The labels that indicated the products were of Spanish origin were removed from the packages and packaging and replaced by others that indicated they were from France to sell them at higher prices.
This practice is a scam that harms both consumers and local farmers, the government delegation stated.
In addition, the company issued false invoices in which it specified that the vegetables came from France so that its customers and end consumers wouldn't realize that the vegetables actually came from Spain.
The investigation is still ongoing, but the first inquiries indicate that the affected customers are mainly distribution groups that bought from this wholesaler to supply the fruit and vegetable sections of their stores.
Authorities are also investigating if the suspect acted with the complicity of a fruit and vegetable packer in charge of conditioning certain vegetables in mesh and labeling them as French.
The goal of this scam is to take advantage of the differences in prices and timing of these products between the two countries, the prefecture stated. For example, in June, Spanish peppers were sold on the wholesale market for about two euros per kilo, while French peppers were sold for almost three.
This irregular practice, known in French as 'francization', constitutes a crime punishable by up to two years in prison and a 300,000 euro fine.
Source: Efe / swissinfo.ch
