Tests carried out by a council laboratory in West Yorkshire found that over third of 900 food samples were not what they claimed to be or were improperly labeled.
Public are buying fake or mislabeled 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 the results shared with the Guardian.
The testing process was part of general surveillance program, targeting categories of foodstuffs where cutting corners is considered more likely.
Trace One senior vice president Nick Martin said, "We might have thought that, in the wake of the horsemeat crisis, there was greater attention paid to what packaging says versus what the product actually contains.
"Consumer trust is extremely fragile: if they feel that the products they purchase are omitting key ingredients in the packaging, or even actively misleading them, then retailers' and manufacturers' reputations will suffer. Another crisis like Horsegate could wreak severe damage on the food industry.
"Retailers and manufacturers need to show they are being fully transparent on what is in their products and making this information readily available. At the same time, consumers need to be reassured that bodies such as local councils and the Food Standards Agency are doing all they can to enforce standards and inform the public.
"By taking this approach the industry can take transparency as an opportunity to prove its bona fides: allowing those reputable members to innovate and differentiate themselves from the competition."
