A study on adulteration of alcoholic beverages in Poland. What next?
Aleksandra Kowalska
Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej , Polandhttps://orcid.org/0000-0003-3854-951X
Louise Manning
School of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK , United Kingdomhttp://orcid.org/0000-0002-9900-7303
Abstract
Gaps in market governance create a vulnerability for adulteration to occur and the paper concludes with framing the challenges of addressing the sale of adulterated and mislabelled alcoholic beverages in Poland. The aim of the study was to review and critique the incidence of adulteration of alcoholic beverages in Poland, between 2009 and 2019, in order to provide recommendations for governance structures to reduce the likelihood of such offences occurring in the future. The methodological approach was to firstly review existing literature to position the Polish alcoholic beverage sector and consider food adulteration and then to analyse more specifically: (1) Agricultural and Food Quality Inspection (IJHARS) data on the prevalence of adulteration of alcoholic beverages in Poland; (2) Trade Inspection (IH) data on the prevalence of mislabelling of alcoholic beverages in Poland. The analysis of the IH data for the period 2009–2019 showed that alcoholic beverages in Poland were less commonly mislabelled than other food product categories. Focused analysis of IJHARS data between 2016–2019 for the beverages of concern (n=56) revealed that most non-compliances were due to missing items in the list of ingredients, lower actual alcoholic strength of the product than the value declared, or a misnomer i.e. incorrect or incomplete name of the product. Since Poland is a significant producer and consumer of vodka and beer in Europe and throughout the world, formal food quality and safety management systems should be put in place for protecting the integrity of the products and positive food safety culture should be created, measured and systematically improved in the enterprises operating in alcoholic beverages industry.
Keywords:
Food adulteration, mislabelling, alcoholic beverages market, beer, PolandReferences
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Uniwersytet Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3854-951X
School of Agriculture, Food and Environment, Royal Agricultural University, Cirencester, Gloucestershire, UK
She is an expert in the area of agri-food supply chain, food security and food integrity including food safety, food quality, food crime, policy and governance, social and corporate responsibility, resilience, risk assessment and mitigation strategies.
http://orcid.org/0000-0002-9900-7303
