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Falsifying goods: understanding the offence and the risks involved

By Yasmine EDDAM4 May 2025

The trust you place in the products you buy every day is based on the assurance that they are what they claim to be, that they are safe and comply with standards. However, the risk of goods being falsified is an economic and legal reality that can have serious consequences for both consumers and businesses. Deliberately altering the nature or quality of a product intended for sale is not simply an unfair commercial practice; it is a criminal offence punishable by law. Understanding the contours of this offence, its constituent elements and the penalties incurred is essential for any economic player concerned about legality and security. This article explains what falsification of goods means under French law.

What is falsification in the criminal sense?

Adulteration is a specific offence designed to protect both public health and fair trading. It is distinct from other similar concepts such as deception or counterfeiting, even though these qualifications may sometimes overlap or be applied cumulatively depending on the facts.

Legal definition and distinction from deception and counterfeiting

In legal terms, falsification is the deliberate alteration of the substance of goods intended for sale, making them different from what they should legitimately be.. This is an intrinsic modification of the product itself.

It is important not to confuse falsification with :

Deception The offence of deceit, which is often discussed in commercial law, punishes the act of deceiving a contracting party on various aspects of the transaction, in particular on "the nature, kind, origin, substantial qualities, composition or content in useful principles of any goods". (Article L. 441-1 of the French Consumer Code). Deception relates to the information given to the buyer about the alleged qualities of the product, without necessarily involving a physical change in its substance, as in the case of falsification. Explore the difference with deception can be helpful in understanding these concepts.
Counterfeiting Counterfeiting is primarily a matter of intellectual property law. It involves the unauthorised reproduction, imitation or use of a trademark, patent, design or model, or a work protected by copyright. A product can be counterfeit without being falsified (for example, an exact copy of a luxury bag with a false brand) and conversely, a product can be falsified without being counterfeit (for example, wine cut with water but sold under its own generic brand).

The objectives of enforcement: health safety and fair trading

The fight against falsification has two fundamental objectives. On the one hand, it aims to guarantee consumer safety, particularly when the products concerned are foodstuffs, beverages or medicines. Tampering with these products can present a direct danger to public health.. It also protects fair trading. By falsifying a product, an economic operator deceives its customers about the quality or true nature of what they are buying, creating unfair competition with companies that respect the standards. Falsification is therefore one of the following the different types of commercial fraud which the law seeks to prevent and punish.

Applicable texts (Code de la consommation, ex: L. 413-1 et seq.)

The offence of falsification and related offences are mainly defined and punished by the French Consumer Code, in Book IV entitled "Conformity and safety of products and services". Articles L. 413-1 et seq. form the core of these regulations. Article L. 413-1 specifically targets the falsification of foodstuffs, agricultural products or natural products, while other texts may concern specific categories of products (medicines, cosmetics, etc.). These provisions are supplemented by articles L. 441-1 et seq. on deception and articles L. 451-1 et seq. on criminal penalties.

The constituent elements of the offence of falsification

A number of elements must be present for a falsification offence to be criminalised. There must be a specific good, a material act of alteration or concealment, and a link with an intention to sell.

The types of goods involved (foodstuffs, beverages, agricultural/natural products)

The Consumer Code explicitly targets certain categories of products when dealing with falsification. Article L. 413-1 states :

Foodstuffs used for human or animal consumption : This covers a very wide range of products, from raw materials to processed products (meat, fish, milk, cereals, ready meals, animal feed, pet food, etc.).
The drinks Wines, fruit juices, spirits, water, soft drinks, etc.
Non-food agricultural or natural products For example, seeds, fertilisers, certain cosmetic products of natural origin, natural building materials, etc., as long as they are intended for sale.

Case law sometimes interprets these categories broadly to include products which, although not directly consumable, are closely linked to food or agriculture.

The material act of falsification: alteration or concealment

The central element of falsification is the material act that alters the nature or intrinsic quality of the product.. This act can take several concrete forms:

Modification of the composition

This involves changing the proportions of ingredients or the very nature of the components of a product from what it should be according to regulations, usage or declarations made. For example:

Cutting wine with water or inferior wine.
Adding melamine to milk to artificially increase its apparent protein content.
Replace a high quality vegetable oil (extra virgin olive oil) with a lower quality oil (olive pomace oil) or a blend.
Reduce the meat content of a prepared dish by replacing it with cheaper, undeclared substitutes.

Addition of unauthorised substances

This consists of introducing substances into the product that should not be there, either because they are prohibited by regulations, or because they are foreign to the normal composition of the product and have not been declared. Examples include

Use of colourings or preservatives prohibited in foodstuffs.
Addition of unauthorised sweeteners to a drink advertised as "no added sugar".
Incorporation of dangerous chemical substances to mask an odour or artificially improve appearance.

Masking a defect or alteration

Falsification can also involve concealing a pre-existing alteration to the product or a defect that would make it unfit for consumption or sale under normal conditions. It involves disguising the reality of the product's condition.. For example :

Chemically treating spoiled meat to restore its appearance of freshness.
Use additives to mask the taste or smell of a product that has begun to deteriorate.
Repackaging expired products by changing the use-by date.

In all cases, the act must have the effect of rendering the goods not in conformity with their nature or expected qualities.

The link with a sale or an intention to sell

For the offence to be constituted, the falsification must be carried out on goods intended for sale. It is not necessary for the sale to have actually taken place. The mere intention to place the falsified product on the market is sufficient. This means that adulteration can be punished as early as the manufacturing, processing or storage stage, even before the product reaches the final consumer. Falsifying a product for one's own consumption, without the intention of selling it, does not fall within the scope of this specific criminal offence (although other regulations, particularly health regulations, may apply).

Fraudulent intent in falsification

As with most offences, forgery requires proof of intent, i.e. fraudulent intent on the part of the perpetrator..

The intention to modify or conceal the true nature of the product

The perpetrator must have acted knowingly. He must have had the will to carry out the alteration or concealment constituting falsification.. A simple handling error, negligence or disregard for regulations, while they may engage the civil or administrative liability of the company, are not sufficient, in principle, to characterise the fraudulent intent required for the criminal offence of falsification.

The perpetrator must be aware that his or her action substantially alters the goods and renders them non-compliant with what they should be, or that he or she is concealing a defect or alteration. The perpetrator acts with the aim of misleading the future purchaser about the real qualities of the product, often in order to obtain an illegitimate economic benefit (reduction in production costs, sale at a higher price than the real value, disposal of defective stock, etc.).

Proof of intent: often deduced from the facts

In practice, proving fraudulent intent can be complex because it depends on the perpetrator's state of mind at the time of the offence. However, the courts very often deduce it from the material circumstances of the offence.. A number of clues may reveal culpable intent:

The nature and extent of the falsification A crude modification or the use of sophisticated processes to mask the alteration can hardly be considered as unintentional.
Repetition of acts If the falsification is systematic or involves large volumes, the hypothesis of error becomes less credible.
Concealment The use of means to conceal falsification from controls (double labelling, false declarations, etc.) demonstrates awareness of the illegality of the act.
The obvious economic motive If the falsification leads to a significant reduction in costs or a substantial increase in margins, it is easier to presume that it was intentional.
The author's professional status A professional is expected to know the rules applicable to his sector of activity. Alleged ignorance will be assessed more severely.

It is up to the public prosecutor to prove this intention, but the judges have sovereign power to assess the facts and evidence in order to consider it established.

Offences related to falsification

In addition to the actual act of falsifying goods, the Consumer Code also punishes certain types of behaviour that make it easier to place non-compliant or dangerous products on the market, even if the perpetrator is not the person who has directly falsified the goods.. The aim of these offences is to clean up the entire distribution chain.

Possession with a view to the sale of falsified, corrupt or toxic products

Article L. 413-2 of the French Consumer Code makes it a criminal offence to possess, without legitimate reason, goods used for human or animal consumption, beverages or agricultural or natural products that are known to be adulterated, corrupt or toxic.. Simple possession with a view to sale is punishable here, even if no sale has yet taken place.

Falsified Amended in substance as described above.
Corrupt Altered by natural decomposition processes (putrefaction, mould, etc.) making it unfit for consumption.
Toxic Containing substances harmful to health.

The essential condition is knowledge on the part of the holder that the product is adulterated, tainted or toxic. This knowledge can, once again, be deduced from the circumstances (abnormally low price, suspicious storage conditions, health alerts, etc.).

Display or sale of these products

The next logical step is to display, offer for sale or sell the same types of products (foodstuffs, drinks, agricultural or natural products) in the knowledge that they are adulterated, corrupted or toxic (Article L. 413-2 of the French Consumer Code).. In this case, the offence is committed as soon as the product is presented to the public with a view to a transaction, or when the sale is actually made. Responsibility may lie with the manufacturer, importer, distributor or any intermediary who knowingly participates in the marketing of these non-compliant products.

Advertising falsified products

Although less frequent in practice in the case of pure adulteration (advertising rarely openly touts an altered product), advertising a product in the knowledge that it is adulterated could fall under the heading of complicity in offering it for sale, or be punished by other qualifications such as misleading advertising (Article L. 121-2 et seq. of the French Consumer Code) if the advertising claims are misleading as to the nature or qualities of the product, which is intrinsically the case for an adulterated product.

Penalties for forgery and related offences

Adulteration and related offences are not taken lightly by the law, given the stakes involved in terms of public health and economic fairness. The penalties laid down in the Consumer Code can be severe.

Principal and additional penalties

The main penalties incurred for the offence of adulteration (Article L. 451-1 of the Consumer Code) and for the related offences of possession, display or offering for sale of adulterated, corrupt or toxic products (Article L. 451-3) are :

A prison sentence of up to two years.
A fine of up to 300,000 euros. This amount may be increased, in proportion to the benefits derived from the offence, to 10 % of average annual turnover (calculated on the last three known annual turnover figures).

In addition to these principal penalties, the courts may also impose complementary penalties (Article L. 451-6), which are particularly dissuasive for companies:

Posting or broadcasting the conviction.
Disqualification from engaging in the professional or social activity in the course or in connection with which the offence was committed, for a maximum period of five years.
Disqualification from holding a public office or engaging in a commercial or industrial activity, or from directing, administering, managing or controlling a commercial or industrial enterprise or a commercial company, for a maximum period of five years.
Confiscation of the thing that was used or intended to be used to commit the offence or the thing that is the product of the offence.

For legal entities (companies), the fine is quintupled (i.e. up to €1,500,000 or 10% of turnover), and other specific penalties may be added, such as dissolution, closure of establishments, exclusion from public contracts, etc. (Article 131-39 of the Criminal Code).

Worsening if danger to human or animal health

Penalties are significantly increased where the falsification or placing on the market of falsified, corrupt or toxic products has resulted in the goods becoming dangerous to human or animal health. In this case (Articles L. 451-1 and L. 451-3 of the Consumer Code) :

The prison sentence is increased to seven years.
The fine is increased to 750,000 euros.

These maximum penalties show the severity with which the legislator treats breaches of health safety through fraudulent handling of goods.

Prevention and defence against forgery

Given the severity of the penalties and the reputational risks involved, it is in companies' interests to put in place robust preventive measures. In the event of prosecution, an appropriate defence strategy is required.

Implementation of internal quality controls

The first line of defence against falsification, whether committed internally or by suppliers, lies in rigorous quality control procedures at every stage: receipt of raw materials, manufacturing process, storage, dispatch. This includes :

Regular analyses of raw materials and finished products.
Strict compliance with specifications and regulatory standards.
Staff training in good hygiene and manufacturing practices.
The implementation of internal alert systems in the event of anomalies being detected.

Product traceability

Effective traceability enables the supply chain to be traced quickly in the event of a problem and to identify the origin of any falsification. It is mandatory in many sectors (food in particular) but should be a concern for all companies handling sensitive goods. Clear recording systems (batch numbers, dates, suppliers, customers) are essential.

Defence strategies in the event of prosecution

If a company or its director is accused of forgery, the assistance of a lawyer is essential. Depending on the specifics of the case, the defence can be based on a number of points:

Challenging the material element Demonstrate that there has been no substantial alteration or concealment within the meaning of the law.
Challenging the element of intent Good faith: Prove that there was no fraudulent intent, for example by arguing that an unintentional error was made, that negligence was not culpable, or that a third party was responsible (e.g. a supplier who did not comply despite the controls put in place). Good faith must be demonstrated by concrete evidence (quality procedures, audits, etc.).
Discussing legal classification To argue that the facts fall under another classification that is less severely punished (administrative non-compliance, simple deception without alteration, etc.).
Highlight the corrective measures taken If there is evidence of non-compliance, demonstrating that the company reacted quickly to withdraw the products, inform the authorities and consumers, and correct its processes can influence the judges' assessment.

The complexity of the regulations and the seriousness of the issues at stake make an in-depth legal analysis of each situation essential.

The falsification of goods is a serious offence for which perpetrators can be held criminally liable. If you are confronted with a situation of falsification, whether you are a victim or your company is implicated, it is essential to react quickly and appropriately. Do not hesitate to contact our law firm to analyse your situation and define the best strategy for you.