Artichokes at the center of a sting operation in 1930s New York: History has its fascinating stories on food rackets and food fraud. In the 1930s, the American artichoke market was controlled by the Sicilian mafia, since the artichoke was a highly popular and priced vegetable. New York’s mayor targeted the corrupt artichoke trade with a brave sting operation. Agro-mafia operations often fly under the radar and target everyday goods such as produce, olive oil, alcoholic beverages and more. Many of these activities involve fraudulent products.

Find more food fraud events in our Food Fraud Database.

Picture Credit Susanne Kuehne

Posted on 14 June 2021