A large network organizing frauds on tomatoes is currently being dismantled by the Spanish police.
Six companies are indeed in the crosshairs of the authorities for having falsified the origin of the vegetable in order to reduce their costs. The products from Morocco take a “clandestine route”, departing from the Souss-Massa region. The trucks then head towards the south of Spain through the harbors of Algeciras and Motril before going to warehouses near Almeria and Granada. There, the Moroccan tomatoes are then labelled as if they came from Spain.
Several agricultural associations in Almeria filed complaints of unfair competition. The association agricultura viva en accion even released a video denouncing these re-labeling practices for fruits and vegetables not originating from Spain. The video can be viewed below (in Spanish).
