The thousands of tons of strawberries he sold to supermarkets did not come from France: the wholesaler lied about the origin of his fruit

A wholesaler from Loir-et-Cher was fined more than 100,000 euros on August 1 for lying about the origin of red fruits, announced the Directorate for the Suppression of Fraud (DGCCRF).

In 2021 and 2022, inspectors from the Competition, Consumer Affairs and Fraud Control (CCRF) carried out inspections of a wholesaler located in Vernou-en-Sologne, south of Orléans.

"The investigations established that this operator engaged in the francisation of several thousand tonnes of red fruits (4,547 t of strawberries, 278 t of raspberries and 194 t of blueberries) between 2019 and 2021 when they were resold to large and medium-sized retailers located throughout the national territory", the Directorate General for Competition stated in a press release, consumption and fraud prevention (DGCCRF).

Misleading commercial practice

Francisation is “a misleading commercial practice consisting of announcing that a product is of French origin when it is not“, specifies the DGCCRF.

A criminal report for deception had been drawn up against the company and sent to the Blois public prosecutor's office, which initiated proceedings criminal.

The criminal court, in its decision rendered on August 1, after a hearing on June 25, sentenced the company to a fine of 100,000 euros and its president to a fine of 20,000 euros, according to the fraud prevention department.

Questioned by AFP, the management of the company, which has 120 employees, indicated that it had appealed the judgment.