Most Expensive Food In The World Smuggled Like Drugs
January 10, 2012 3 Comments
For those of you who do not know, truffles happen to be the most expensive delicacy in the entire world, and they are beginning to create what some call “The Truffle Mafia”.
Italian White Truffle
To be specific, “The Italian White Truffle” which goes for about $3,600 per pound is extremely rare and must be cleaned and cut prior to consumption.
The best example of their value is when in 2007 a man bought a 3.3 pound white truffle for a record-breaking $330,000 dollars…only to be consumed. I personally don’t see what the craze is all about considering that a truffle is technically a mushroom, and paying a good amount of money for a fungus (with the exception of psychedelic mushrooms of course) makes little sense to me. Regardless the rarity pertains with the price as these truffles are subject to an annual worldwide crop of only 30 tons per year.
However, their has been a creation of a black market of truffle selling of a different caliber, namely “Chinese Black Truffles”. Individuals get a white truffle then cut them with black truffles and market them as the rare Italian white truffles to unknowing consumers at high prices. Many complications have come from this, as a huge increase in crime just to obtain the majestic mushroom has risen in France.
Truffle Farmer Using Dog To Sniff Out White Truffles
The “Truffle Mafia” as they are called, have done the following in order to obtain these truffles:
- Raid crops
- Steal truffles directly from restaurants
- Car-jacking truffle farmers
- Beaten truffle farmers
- Murder truffle farmers
- Steal truffle farmers dogs that detect truffles
- Steal the trees that produce the truffles
