Some Edmonton produce sellers are angry with what they’re saying is an increase in regular corn being passed off as being grown in Taber.

"It ruins a lot of things," says Marion Walker, who has sold Taber corn on from her trailer on 109th Street and 61st Avenue for the past six years.

"It ruins the people who are selling the real stuff, its not very good for the farmer that grows it and it's certainly not good for the people that buy it."

Fans of real Taber corn say the vegetable is sweeter and better-tasting, owing to the amount of sunshine the small southern Alberta town gets.

Walker says some produce sellers, however, buy lower quality corn from other places and pass it off as being Taber-grown.

For corn consumers, it can be difficult to pick out which trucks are selling the real thing.

"I don't know for sure. I'm presuming," Judi Kendall said while buying a few ears of corn Friday night.

The Corn Growers Association in Alberta gives out certificates to trucks that sell genuine Taber corn and encourage shoppers to ask to see the certificate.

Selling fake corn can net high penalties.

Service Alberta says under the Fair Trading Act, counterfeit corn sellers could see fines up to $100,000 and even jail time. However, it’s a hard law to enforce.

"Many of these vendors are mobile so they might be here one day but not the next," said Paul Oss, public affairs officer with Service Alberta.

"Secondly, what constitutes fake corn and how would you prove that?"