On May 13th, Sophie Anger, Vice President of Intellectual Property of Mars Global Pet Nutrition Marketing, made a special trip to the Nanhu District Branch of the Public Security Bureau of Jiaxing City, Zhejiang Province, and presented a plaque and a letter of thanks.
As one of the world's largest food producers and the world's largest pet company, why did Mars executives make a special trip to Nanhu in Jiaxing? All of this is related to the more than 10 million counterfeit pet food recently uncovered by the Nanhu District police.
There are 7 suspects and 11 tons of raw materials are produced
The amount involved amounted to more than 1,000 yuan
The counterfeit cat food incident originated from Miss Chen, a pet owner in Daqiao Town, Nanhu District, Jiaxing City, who purchased two 5.4kg bags of Mars' Orijen craving brand cat food from an online store called "Cat Staple Food Business Department".
But after receiving the goods, Miss Chen felt wrong, in the interview, she said that the cat food purchased this time is different from the cat food purchased on the official website before, both the smell and the packaging, the smell is pungent, the packaging is inferior, in addition, their own cats are not willing to eat, and they will spit it out immediately if they barely eat a little, so they are suspected of being fake and shoddy products.
Ms. Chen immediately reported to Mars, and Mars immediately provided clues to the intellectual property police liaison officer of the Nanhu District Public Security Bureau.
After receiving the clues, the Intellectual Property Police Liaison Officer conducted an authenticity appraisal of the two bags of Craving brand cat food. The person in charge of Mars' appraisal also said: "This cat food is counterfeit, whether it is the outer packaging or the cat food inside, it is very different from our genuine product. ”
According to the clues obtained in the early stage, under the guidance of the Intellectual Property Detachment of the Jiaxing Municipal Public Security Bureau, the Nanhu District Public Security Branch organized police forces to investigate. After more than one month of investigation, the police basically figured out the organizational structure and activity rules of the gang headed by He, and decided to collect the gang in a centralized manner.
At the beginning of 2024, the Nanhu police organized more than 20 police forces to go to Anhui, Hubei, Jiangsu and other places to destroy the criminal gang that produced and sold counterfeit Mars's Orijen desire and ACANA brand cat food, arrested 7 criminal suspects such as He, Hu, Wu, and Pan, and seized 11 tons of tools and raw materials such as electronic scales and sealing machines, and the amount involved amounted to more than 1,000 yuan.
According to the police handling the case, a pack of cat food priced at about 600 yuan, their cost is less than 200 yuan, and the profit is considerable.
At present, seven criminal suspects, including He, Hu and Wu, have been taken criminal compulsory measures by the Nanhu police on suspicion of selling goods with counterfeit registered trademarks, and the case is being further investigated.
According to the information released by the Jiaxing Public Security, since 2018, the two sides have jointly cracked a total of 6 infringement cases of different brands under Mars, safeguarding the legitimate rights and interests of the enterprise and escorting the development of the enterprise.
The amount involved is more than 900,000 yuan
Gaoyou police also cracked a counterfeit cat food ring in May
Coincidentally, the Gaoyou police in Jiangsu Province also announced in May that they had arrested a gang that produced and sold counterfeit cravings and loved to take pet food.
At the beginning of April this year, Ms. Wang, a resident of Gaoyou, bought a well-known brand of cat food online, but her cat did not like to eat, and after comparing the formal wear and online shopping for cat food, she found that the cat food was different in shape and smell, and the packaging of the cat food was carefully looked at, and the printing was not clear enough, and the color was different.
After receiving the report, the Gaoyou police immediately carried out their work, first found the brand manufacturer, and asked the manufacturer to send professionals to identify it, confirming that the products Ms. Wang bought were not produced by the company, indicating that there were criminals manufacturing and selling counterfeit and shoddy products. The investigation also found that the brand's cat food was sold at more than 50% lower than the original product on multiple online sales platforms, and the source of these goods was questionable.
Starting from the source of goods, soon a criminal gang headed by Liu entered the police's sight. Recently, the Gaoyou police went to Henan, Guangdong and other places, arrested 3 criminal suspects, investigated and dealt with sealing machines, electronic scales and other criminal tools and raw materials, and the sales amount involved in the case was more than 90 yuan.
The amount involved exceeded 3 million
An honest bite is also faked
During the 315 period, the Shanghai Jiading police in Hunan, Guangdong and other places smashed three criminal gangs that made and sold counterfeit domestic cat food brands in one fell swoop, arrested 20 criminal suspects, investigated and dealt with electronic scales, sealing machines and other tools and raw materials 5 tons, and the sales amount involved amounted to more than 300 yuan. In the process, Honest One fully assisted the police in handling the case, seized a number of counterfeiting dens, and smashed them in one fell swoop.
In the course of the investigation of the case, the police found that the criminal gang had a clear division of labor and formed a complete chain from production, processing to sales. They sell through multiple online and offline channels, and deceive consumers by disguising counterfeit products as genuine. During the investigation, the police also found that the packaging and labels of these counterfeit products were very similar to the original products, and it was difficult for ordinary consumers to distinguish the authenticity.
While destroying the source, Honest Bite also cooperated with the police to investigate the e-commerce platform. After a detailed investigation, it was found that many of the shops involved did sell counterfeit and honest products. At present, a number of stores involved have been rectified and removed from the shelves, and 20 criminal suspects have been taken criminal coercive measures, and the case is being further investigated.
Pro tip: Buy pet food through the Store or website
In recent years, with the rise of the pet market, the sales of pet food have also increased year by year. Some criminals target popular imported brands and make profits by making and selling counterfeits. Since pet food users are kittens and puppies who cannot take the initiative to provide feedback on the quality of food, counterfeiting is relatively hidden.
The production and sale of counterfeit goods runs counter to the promotion of high-quality development, and some unscrupulous businesses have corrupted their business morals, disregarding laws and regulations for personal gain, ignoring the interests of the masses, and chasing the maximization of personal interests with shoddy products. If left unchecked, it will not only give birth to the phenomenon of "bad money driving out good money", but also continue to hit market confidence and consumer confidence, and ultimately harm high-quality development.
How can I be sure that the pet food I buy is genuine? Some media consulted several "pet experts" and summarized several experiences:
1. Keep in mind that "you get what you pay for", the cheaper the pet food, the more careful;
2. In the past, many people would choose imported pet food, but imported brands are often targeted by counterfeiters, with the rise of the domestic pet market, now domestic food is more scientific in the selection of raw materials, nutritional composition, etc., and pet owners can also rest assured that they can give their pets to eat;
3. Pet owners can purchase through the brand flagship store and official website, and it is more convenient to have after-sales and traceability.