A lot of slipping through the cracks.

An amazing book about this subject is “Vous êtres fous d’avaler ça” (not translated in English unfortunately)

https://www.europeanscientist.com/en/public-health/you-are-crazy-to-eat-this-warns-a-new-book-by-a-former-food-industry-engineer/

It’s a former food industry engineer talking about everything he saw or did.

After reading the book I’m now extremely cautious about buying stuff at the supermarket, I’m trying to buy the less transformed stuff as much as possible.

Basically every transformation step is an opportunity for the industrials to hide stuff. Rodent feces mixed in the spices ? No problem, just heat it up to sterilize it, grind it finely so now one can see it and mix it with fresh spices until the proportion of “foreign material” in the mix it under the limit.

I am now only buying the spices whole.

It’s also easily counterfeit, with the right ratio of glucose/fructose mixed with a bit of pollen and you have “honey” that never been close to a bee.