Consumers are being sold food including mozzarella that is less than half real cheese, ham on pizzas that is either poultry or "meat emulsion", and frozen prawns that are 50% water, according to tests by a public laboratory.

The checks on hundreds of food samples, which were taken in West Yorkshire, revealed that more than a third were not what they claimed to be, or were mislabelled in some way. Their results have been shared with the Guardian.

Testers also discovered beef mince adulterated with pork or poultry, and even a herbal slimming tea that was neither herb nor tea but glucose powder laced with a withdrawn prescription drug for obesity at 13 times the normal dose.

A third of fruit juices sampled were not what they claimed or had labelling errors. Two contained additives that are not permitted in the EU, including brominated vegetable oil, which is designed for use in flame retardants and linked to behavioural problems in rats at high doses.

Experts said they fear the alarming findings from 38% of 900 sample tests by West Yorkshire councils were representative of the picture nationally, with the public at increasing risk as budgets to detect fake or mislabelled foods plummet.

Counterfeit vodka sold by small shops remains a major problem, with several samples not meeting the percentage of alcohol laid down for the spirit. In one case, tests revealed that the "vodka" had been made not from alcohol derived from agricultural produce, as required, but from isopropanol, used in antifreeze and as an industrial solvent.

Samples were collected both as part of general surveillance of all foods and as part of a programme targeted at categories of foodstuffs where cutting corners is considered more likely.

West Yorkshire's public analyst, Dr Duncan Campbell, said of the findings: "We are routinely finding problems with more than a third of samples, which is disturbing at a time when the budget for food standards inspection and analysis is being cut."

He said he thought the problems uncovered in his area were representative of the picture in the country as a whole.

The scale of cheating and misrepresentation revealed by the tests was described by Maria Eagle, the shadow environment secretary, as unacceptable. "Consumers deserve to know what they are buying and eating and cracking down on the mislabelling of food must become a greater priority for the government," she said.

Testing food is the responsibility of local authorities and their trading standards departments, but as their budgets have been cut many councils have reduced checks or stopped collecting samples altogether.

The number of samples taken to test whether food being sold matched what was claimed fell nationally by nearly 7% between 2012 and 2013, and had fallen by over 18% in the year before that. About 10% of local authorities did no compositional sampling at all last year, according to the consumer watchdog Which?

West Yorkshire is unusual in retaining a leading public laboratory and maintaining its testing regime. Samples are anonymised for testing by public analysts to prevent bias, so we are unable to see who had made or sold individual products. Many of the samples were collected from fast-food restaurants, independent retailers and wholesalers; some were from larger stores and manufacturers.

Substitution of cheaper ingredients for expensive materials was a recurring problem with meat and dairy products – both sectors that have seen steep price rises on commodity markets. While West Yorkshire found no horsemeat in its tests after the scandal had broken, mince and diced meats regularly contained meat of the wrong species.

In some cases, this was likely to be the result of mincing machines in butcher's shops not being properly cleaned between batches; in others there was clear substitution of cheaper species. Samples of beef contained pork or poultry, or both, and beef was being passed off as more expensive lamb, especially in takeaways, ready meals, and by wholesalers.

Ham, which should be made from the legs of pigs, was regularly made from poultry meat instead: the preservatives and brining process add a pink colour that makes it hard to detect except by laboratory analysis.

Meat emulsion – a mixture in which meat is finely ground along with additives so that fat can be dispersed through it – had also been used in some kinds of ham, as had mechanically separated meat, a slurry produced by removing scraps of meat from bones, which acts as a cheap filler although its use is not permitted in ham.

Levels of salt that breached target limits set by the Food Standards Agency were a recurring problem in sausages and some ethnic restaurant meals. The substitution of cheaper vegetable fat for the dairy fat with which cheese must legally be made was common. Samples of mozzarella turned out in one case to be only 40% dairy fat, and in another only 75%.

Several samples of cheese on pizzas were not in fact cheese as claimed but cheese analogue, made with vegetable oil and additives. It is not illegal to use cheese analogue but it should be properly identified as such.

Using water to adulterate and increase profits was a problem with frozen seafood. A kilo pack of frozen king prawns examined contained large quantities of ice glaze, and on defrosting the prawns themselves were found to be 18% added water. Only half the weight of the pack was seafood as opposed to water.

Richard Lloyd, executive director of In some cases the results raised concerns over immediate food safety. The herbal slimming tea that was mostly sugar contained a prescription obesity drug that has been withdrawn because of its side-effects.

Making false promises was a dominant theme among vitamin and mineral supplements. Of 43 samples tested, 88% made health claims that are not allowed under legislation because there is no science to support them or were mislabelled as to their content in some way.

Even when fraud or mislabelling is found, it is not aways followed up. Once it has detected a problem with a product, a council is required to refer it to the home authority in which it was originally made, which may or may not take enforcement action. Which?, called for more effective use of resources and tougher penalties.

"No one wants to see another incident like the horsemeat scandal happen again and the rigorous enforcement of standards underpinned by effective levels of food testing is essential for restoring consumers' trust in this industry," he said.

Testers also discovered beef mince adulterated with pork or poultry, and even a herbal slimming tea that was neither herb nor tea but glucose powder laced with a withdrawn prescription drug for obesity at 13 times the normal dose.

US farmers and food industry unite against GM labelling

US farmers joined with the food industry to launch a united front against labelling genetically modified products, amid mounting consumer pressure and an ongoing trade dispute with China

US farmers joined with the food industry to launch a united front against labelling genetically modified products, amid mounting consumer pressure and an ongoing trade dispute with China.

More than half of US states introduced bills aimed at requiring GMO labelling last year, in a country where 80% of the food contains ingredients that were made with genetically modified organisms.

While only two states have passed such measures, and none have yet implemented any labelling requirements, farmers are clearly concerned about the prospect.

"If each state had a different label requirement, our farmers just couldn't adapt to that and really economically grow safe, affordable food," said Ray Gaesser, president of the American Soybean Association which represents 600 000 US farmers.

Big price hike

Gaesser estimated that any new state-by-state labelling laws would hike prices 15 to 30%.

Stressing the lack of scientific evidence that GMOs cause harm, Gaesser joined with corn farmers, bakers, restaurants, fisheries, animal feed and grocery store groups in forming the 30-member Coalition for Safe Affordable Food.

The umbrella group aims to "avoid unnecessary and confusing 50-state patchwork of GMO labelling laws", said Pamela Bailey, president and CEO of the Grocery Manufacturers Association.

Instead, members are calling for a federal solution that would only mandate GMO labelling "if the FDA, our nation's foremost food safety authority, determines that there is a health or safety risk," she told reporters.

"Up until now, (the) FDA has said GMO technology is safe and it would be misleading to mandate a label on a GM product," Bailey said.

Recognising that some consumers want to know more about what is in the foods they eat, Bailey asked the FDA "to outline clear labelling standards that companies can use voluntarily."

GM products more resilient

Corn, soybeans and sugar beets have been genetically modified in the United States for many years, and farmers say these altered seeds are more resilient against pests and harsh weather.

Wheat is the only major crop that has not gained approval for genetic modification, as the prospect of GMO wheat faces resistance from foreign exporters, particularly in Asia.

When it comes to corn, which is typically accepted abroad in GMO form, an ongoing dispute with China remains unresolved and is dampening global trade.

China has blocked or cancelled hundreds of thousands of tons of a certain strain of GMO corn produced in the United States since late last year, according to the US Department of Agriculture.

"If there was any indication that GMO ingredients were not safe, we would not be using them," said Martin Barbre president of the National Corn Growers.

"Obviously there is a little issue with China now as we speak but we are working to get that resolved."

Labelling requirements

Consumer pressure in the United States is a key driver of state ballot initiatives that aim to label GMO foods, and health advocacy groups like the Centre for Food Safety have said to expect more in the year ahead.

California narrowly rejected a 2012 initiative to require GMO labelling, which was fought with tens of millions of dollars in advertising from corporate giants like DuPont, Monsanto, Syngenta, Kraft, Coca-Cola and Pepsi.

Only Maine and Connecticut have approved GMO labelling measures, though no changes have come into effect because the laws require several contiguous states to first adopt similar labelling requirements.

GMO technology "has been used safely in our food supply for 20 years," said Bailey.

"Efforts to label these foods otherwise are often the product of misinformation."

Fuck me

That's one for the blog.

Jesus Christ. I'm speechless.