Legal Definitions - adulterator

An adulterator is an individual or entity that debases, falsifies, or makes something impure by adding an inferior or unauthorized substance, or by creating a counterfeit version of an authentic item or document.

Here are some examples to illustrate this term:

• Imagine a company that sells "pure honey" but secretly mixes it with high-fructose corn syrup to increase volume and reduce costs. This company would be considered an adulterator.

  Explanation: The company is debasing the genuine product (pure honey) by adding a cheaper, inferior substance (corn syrup) without disclosing it, thereby making the product impure and misleading consumers about its true composition.

• Consider a scenario where a manufacturer produces a herbal supplement, claiming it contains a specific potent extract, but laboratory analysis reveals that the pills are mostly inert filler with only trace amounts of the advertised ingredient. The manufacturer is acting as an adulterator.

  Explanation: By diluting or substituting the active ingredient with ineffective substances, the manufacturer is falsifying the product's content and purity, making it an adulterated item and themselves an adulterator.

• Suppose an individual creates highly convincing fake designer handbags, complete with counterfeit logos and packaging, and sells them online as genuine articles. This person is an adulterator.

  Explanation: The individual is counterfeiting a genuine product. They are creating a false version of an authentic item and passing it off as real, thereby corrupting the market and deceiving consumers about the product's origin and quality.