Ahead of Passover, when shopping reaches its peak and demand for food products from animals rises significantly, warnings are also increasing about smuggled food entering the market without supervision. Seizures of large quantities of meat, eggs, and dairy products that were smuggled into Israel without veterinary control are once again raising the concern: How safe is the food that reaches our plate.
Beyond the criminal aspect, this is a real health risk. Food products from animals are among the most sensitive to storage and transportation conditions, and any deviation may lead to the development of dangerous bacteria.
According to Gilad Dolev, a culinary consultant and expert in the food industry, the main problem is the loss of control over refrigeration and supervision conditions. When products enter the market without proper control, there is no way to know under what conditions they were kept or how long they were out of refrigeration.
What is the health risk
Passover is considered one of the peak periods for food consumption in Israel. The demand for meat, eggs, and dairy products surges, and sometimes gaps are created between the legal supply and the demand. In such situations, an unregulated market of smuggled food comes into play.
According to Dolev, precisely during such periods the risk increases. When demand is high and pressure on prices rises, it is easier for unregulated products to find their way into the market.
When food products from animals are not kept in a continuous cold chain or do not undergo veterinary inspections, dangerous bacteria may develop in them. The result may be food poisoning and even more serious health risks, especially among children, the elderly, and people with weakened immune systems.
In such cases, the consumer cannot know what the product went through before it reached the shelf or the market.
How to identify a product that may be dangerous
One of the main factors that attracts consumers to problematic products is the price. Smuggled products are sometimes sold at particularly low prices, which may appear to be an opportunity.
But according to Dolev, the low price sometimes comes at the expense of safety. When there is no supervision, there is also no certainty regarding the origin of the product or its storage conditions.
Although it is not always possible to identify a smuggled product with certainty, there are signs that can raise a red flag:
• Purchase from places that are not known or supervised
• Products that are not kept under proper refrigeration
• An unusually low price
• Packaging without clear manufacturer labeling
• Absence of an expiration date or an orderly label
In any of these cases, it is recommended to avoid purchasing.
The rules that will protect you
According to Dolev, responsibility for maintaining food safety is not only that of the authorities but also of the consumers themselves. Purchasing from a reliable and supervised source, he emphasizes, is one of the most important steps to prevent unnecessary risks. Consumers do not always have a way to know for certain whether a product has undergone inspection, but there are several basic rules that can reduce the risk:
• Buy meat, eggs, and dairy products only from known and supervised points of sale
• Make sure the products are kept under proper refrigeration
• Avoid purchasing products at an unusually low price
• Pay attention to labeling and tags on the packaging
"Ultimately, consumers are the last line of defense", says Dolev. "A conscious choice of supervised products and from reliable sources is the best way to ensure that the food that reaches our plate will be both tasty and safe".