Worldwide trade in fake foods not only costs processors in terms of damage to brands, but also means companies have to spend more on security measures, such as holograms on packaging.
John Spink, director of the Packaging for Food and Product Protection (P-FAPP) initiative at Michigan State University said that trade in counterfeit goods is likely to increase as food prices rise.
“Products are moving around the world so fast now that there is more opportunity for fraud. When food was distributed more regionally, there was less potential for large scale fraud, or outbreaks of any kind,” he argues.
Health risk
He said that while counterfeiters are seeking not to harm but to hide the act for profit, there is a public health risk associated with food fraud as in the case of milk and pet food adulterated with melamine causing deaths and kidney problems for children, and catfish containing banned antibiotics.
Other recent examples of food and beverage fraud, continued Spink, include conventionally grown vegetables sold as organic, fish sold as a more premium species, and canned energy drinks of unknown origin labelled with brand names.
The packaging expert said he is developing a criminal justice programme that is focused on food counterfeiting: “We take a risk based approach to analyze where the gaps are and look closer at where there is higher reward for fraud.”
Top faked products
According to a 2007 report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), fruit such as kiwis, conserved vegetables, milk powder, butter, ghee, baby food, instant coffee, alcohol, drinks, confectionary, and hi-breed corn seeds are some of the most faked food and drink items. The OECD report found that alcohol products are the prime targets for counterfeiters in the drinks sector, both because of their brand value and the high tax and excise component of the final price.
Deterrents
Actions taken by food and drink companies involve technological deterrents to counterfeiting, such as holograms, microdots, modifications to printed data codes, use-by dates, batch numbers and markers.
However, the OECD report noted that counterfeiters are becoming more nimble in responding to these technical solutions, emphasising that counterfeiters were being aided and abetted in this by ever improving and cheaper manufacturing, computing and printing technology.
Fraud hotline Last November, the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) set up a new hotline to allow individuals and businesses to report fraudulent activity in food sales and marketing in a much quicker and easier way than previously.
The FSA said that there was no particular catalyst which inspired the hotline’s creation, but that the FSA is always looking at new ways of doing things, and that it is hopeful the service will lead to an increase in reports and help to reduce incidents.
The hotline, +44 (0)20 7276 8527, is unstaffed. Any callers who wish to report a case of known or suspected food fraud are put through to an answer phone where they can leave details.
The answer phone will be checked “regularly”, according to the FSA. The agency promises that all calls are treated “in the strictest confidence” but it encourages callers to the number to leave their contact details in order to facilitate verification and further investigation of reports.