The
problem of food fraud and its health and economic implications affect a broad range of foods around the world, but technology could soon end the problem.
The
problem of food fraud and its health and economic implications affect a broad range of foods around the world, but technology could soon end the problem.
He further stressed that given the current scope
of food fraud in the global food marketplace, there is an urgent need to clarify definitions and terms that can collectively be used by companies to address food fraud on a global scale.
«As will be shown at upcoming editions of the Sustainable Foods Summit, there are also health (food safety) and environmental
impacts of food fraud,» the group outlined.
China has the largest organic products market in Asia; it is also described by Ecovia as «the
epicenter of food fraud».
In a broader sense, food fraud is in the news because we're discovering that the
scope of food fraud globally is larger than we had imagined — both in frequency and in value.
Food and beverage manufacturers are being urged to learn from the UK pharmaceutical sector in order to improve traceability within the supply chain, as the
cost of food fraud in the UK rises to # 11.2 billion per year.
The major driver for increased suspicion was found to be «high profile»
cases of food fraud, such as the 2013 horsemeat scare, which saw horse meat make its way into food products that were marketed as beef throughout Europe.
Dr. John Spink from Michigan State University focused his discussion on food fraud and highlighted the preliminary results of joint research based on a global
survey of food fraud terminology conducted by MSU, GMA and SEF.
CODEX is currently reviewing the
definitions of food fraud in considerable detail and this work is expected to inform current efforts to achieve better consensus on the terminology around this issue.
AsureQuality's new Food Fraud course is designed for anyone who is involved with
prevention of food fraud activities at their workplace.
Finally, as the
number of food fraud incidences continues to rise, food traceability remains crucial.
Traceability offers a means by which to differentiate truly sustainable ingredients in the face of a growing
epidemic of food fraud.
According to Elliot two
drivers of food fraud are opportunity and market conditions, especially crop failure as it makes the replacement of expensive foods with cheaper ingredients more appealing to criminals.
Smaller businesses do not have the resources to map out
dangers of food fraud in their supply chain, warns the expert who led the horsemeat inquiry
The Scottish Food Crime Unit, part of Food Standards Scotland (FSS), carried out a roadshow this week to raise awareness of the different
types of food fraud, its potential seriousness and how to report it.
The growing market for sustainable and premium foods is bringing greater
risks of food fraud, according to specialist research, consulting and training company Ecovia Intelligence.
As will be shown at upcoming editions of the Sustainable Foods Summit, there are also health (food safety) and environmental
impacts of food fraud.
Cameron will discuss how risks and threats like the various
forms of food fraud (adulteration, substitution, misrepresentation etc), can impact consumer confidence and trust and outline the supply chain based solution that Source Certain offers which is underpinned by a forensic provenance technology — Verified Supply Chain Integrity.
Global ID Group CEO Kenneth Ross calculates the annual
cost of food fraud to the U.S. food industry at $ 10 - 15 billion.
With growing
incidents of food fraud, the summit discusses new technologies and analytical tools to authenticate sustainable foods.
The recent Brazilian beef and horsemeat scandals highlighted the vulnerabilities in supply chains of food products, the group continued, and in general, the longer and more complex the supply network, the greater the risks
of food fraud.
At the upcoming Sustainable Foods Summit, the agency will highlight the analytical tools available to combat the various forms
of food fraud: counterfeiting, mislabeling, species substitution, geographic origins, concealment, adulteration, etc..
In general, the longer and more complex the supply network, the greater the risks
of food fraud.
If you buy food from major supermarkets then they are probably mapping out their supply chains to work out where their risks
of food fraud are, and monitoring them accordingly, says Elliott.
Blockchain helps mitigate risks
of food fraud and safety.
The recent beef scandal in Brazil highlighted the economic impacts
of food fraud.
Ecovia Intelligence (formerly Organic Monitor) says that the growing market for sustainable and premium foods is bringing greater risks
of food fraud.