Falsification of Food Products in the Markets and Their Examination

The article is devoted to the study of food product falsification in the markets, forensic examinations of food products from the markets and prospects for changes in the future. The article outlines the types of falsification, examples of falsification of various product categories, and methods of detecting falsification during inspections. Given that this problem is widespread globally, the experience of other countries is also outlined, and their legislation regulating counterfeiting is analysed, as well as Ukraine’s regulations, and an example of court practice on product counterfeiting is provided. We described the difficulties that arise during expert studies of food products from the market, which sometimes make it impossible or at least partially complicate such inspections. Given the widespread phenomenon of falsification and scientific and technological breakthroughs, it is quite possible and, of course, extremely necessary to make changes to address this problem in the near future. We also proposed solutions to eliminate the problem at least partially, and the changes include: modernisation of legislation, replacement of equipment with more modern and accurate equipment for more detailed results and conclusions, and creation of registers that will speed up many processes. In addition, rapid tests to detect certain falsifications and the launch of mobile laboratories that would be useful for the examination of goods from markets could bring positive changes. All this could speed up the examination process, improve the accuracy of research and, most importantly, reduce the number of food falsifications in the markets. Since the prevalence of falsification affects the Ukrainian economy in particular, it is necessary to address this problem as soon as possible to preserve the economy, as it will have an increasingly worse outcome for the economy not only of Ukraine but also of the whole world, as this problem is global and has a negative impact on all countries. Keywords: forensic commodity expertise, falsification, types of falsification, research on the market, food products expertise.