We live in a culture of deception – so what?

The phrase "it does what it says on the tin" suggests transparency and, certainly, no surprises. But if you buy tinned mackerel these days, you might be very surprised.

An investigation by the Financial Times found that many products sold as tinned mackerel don’t actually contain any mackerel, but instead contain a lookalike fish from an entirely different family. It is still fish, but people have complained about its texture and taste.

Selling products under the guise of one thing and passing off another is common in the food industry. A large amount of cheap supermarket honey has never seen the inside of a hive; instead, it is full of factory-made syrups. The consumer magazine Which? discovered that one in five vanilla ice creams had no vanilla (a very expensive spice) and no milk or cream.