Officials In Warwickshire, England Discover Fraud In 25 Percent Of Pizzas

Trading standards officers in Warwickshire County in England tested 40 pizzas from small and independent to-go places across the county to see if they were as described on the menu, Food Quality News reported. There were issues with 25 percent of the pizzas.

Five "cheese" pizzas were found to contain "analogue cheese" instead, which is a non-dairy fat/oil substitute. A "mozzarella" pizza was made up of 20 percent mozzarella and the rest was Cheddar.

A Hawaiian ham and pineapple pizza was found to contain no ham at all but "turkey ham" instead, described as "a processed food made primarily from cooked or cured turkey meat and water, formed into the shape of ham."

One formal caution and several warning letters have been issued to the offending businesses.

"Consumers often pay a premium for takeaway products and should be able to have confidence that the foods they buy and consume are correctly described," said John Horner, the Warwickshire County councillor who is responsible for community safety.