On April 2 of this year, the Radio-Canada (Canada's French national broadcaster; not actually just radio) program
Enquête uncovered
a Quebec maple syrup producer selling adulterated syrup, labeled as pure, that was actually 50% corn syrup, under his business -- the numbered corporation 9227-8712 Québec inc. aka "Érablière Steve Bourdeau".
But there's more.
On April 9, Bourdeau's fake maple syrup -- which Bourdeau claimed he had pulled — was found still being sold in stores,
now with the original name stickered over as "le sirop Angela." Officials said on April 10 that Boudreau had been
under investigation for months, and that to their knowledge, this is the first instance of bogus maple syrup in Quebec. Things became even sticker on April 14, when
more re-stickered product turned up on store shelves, this time as "L'Érabeille". On April 16, inspectors found staff at Bourdeau's facility pouring the canned syrup back into large containers, with Bourdeau saying "I'll find a way to get rid of it." In the interim,
a class action lawsuit has been filed against Bourdeau for betraying consumer trust. And on April 22, the Quebec Federation of Maple Syrup Producers, known by its French acronym PPAQ, has called Bourdeau a "notorious and repeat offender," and has
filed to launch a full investigation into Bourdeau's business, shut down his operations, and seize all his syrup. Bourdeau has claimed "suppliers" are responsible for the issues. Insurance Business Magazine speculates that
this case may have larger effects on food and recall insurance in the long run.
While this is the first known instance of widespread syrup fraud in Quebec, syrup theft is not unknown, including the
Great Canadian Maple Syrup Heist, the theft of the International Strategic Reserve of syrup in 2011 and 2012. The largest heist in Canadian history, it was later adapted as
TV show "The Sticky" in 2024.