AU: Chinese fraudsters rebrand citrus with Australian labels
The skyrocketing demand and reputation of Australian citrus in the Chinese market is giving fraudsters more incentives to fake Aussie fruit. Citrus Australia said Chinese counterfeiters had been rebranding Chinese fruit with Australian labels to collect higher prices and sales.
It posed a major food safety threat, but citrus growers said this was not a new scandal, and there was not much they could do. The rise was driven largely by the "sweet, safe and healthy" profile of Aussie citrus, but that was being stolen to raise the value of Chinese fruit. Some of the fruit was even dipped in dye to enhance its colour.