The intentional adulteration or misrepresentation of products for economic gain is not a new problem, but the risk of food fraud has intensified in recent years due to an increasingly complex global supply chain and reduced regulatory oversight associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.
The GFSI has defined food fraud as the deliberate and intentional substitution, addition, tampering or misrepresentation of a food, food ingredients, or food packaging for economic gain. While food fraud can pose a risk to public health and food safety, the key objective of food fraud is profit. Food fraud is a challenging issue worldwide, but the full scope of the problem is unknown. The Grocery Manufacturers Association estimated that fraud could impact 10% of all commercial food products.
In the United States, the FDA has distinguished between economically motivated adulteration (food fraud) and the intentional adulteration of food intended to impact public safety. Under the Food Safety Modernization Act (FSMA), food companies must conduct a hazard analysis and implement preventive controls for hazards that occur naturally, are unintentionally introduced, or are intentionally introduced to food for economic gain.
The types of fraud impacting the food and beverage industry include:
Worldwide, national regulatory agencies employ an inconsistent approach to monitoring the food supply for fraud. Consumers are often informed of food fraud through social media or news reports. In effect, public reports of food fraud are probably the tip of the iceberg.
Safety HUD is an online tool from Mérieux NutriSciences for the global monitoring of food fraud and safety alerts involving ingredients, food and beverage products. A search of the Safety HUD database was performed to compare reports of food fraud incidents from the pre-pandemic year 2019 and last year. A review of food fraud incidents revealed an upward trend in 2021 for the following types of food fraud:
In 2021, the top five food categories identified in Safety HUD reports of food fraud were: 1). alcoholic beverages; 2). milk and dairy products; 3). fruits, vegetables and legumes; 4). meat and meat products, and 5). honey and other sweeteners.
The identification of a country of origin is dependent upon accurate traceability and labeling. A review of food fraud reports in Safety HUD found 60% of the incidents in 2021 involved products with an unknown country of origin.
To combat food fraud, food and beverage companies must conduct a vulnerability assessment of their supply chain, and implement mitigation measures to address the risks. Mérieux NutriSciences offers a comprehensive approach to preventing food fraud, including: worldwide food fraud monitoring, supplier auditing, analytical solutions, training and consulting.
The monitoring of food fraud incidents worldwide is a difficult task. Safety HUD is an online tool for the efficient monitoring of food fraud reports from official agencies and online media in 74 countries.
