Squeezed supplies and higher prices have triggered a spate of olive oil fraud across Europe in recent months, with a knock-on impact on producers and consumers.
Food adulteration cases could rise as companies seek alternatives to those foodstuffs, such as sunflower oil, impacted by the conflict in Ukraine, it has been cautioned.
The UK food industry is facing an increased risk of food fraud due to the disruptions associated with COVID-19 and Brexit. Equipment manufacturer Elementar UK is urging the industry to act.
Europol revealed details of arrests made in Spain this week over a fresh horsemeat scam. But rather than feeling reassured, observers suggest this is further evidence of systemic weaknesses in the food chain that are exploited by criminal elements.
Fresh research utilising DNA testing technology has highlighted ‘widespread’ global adulteration in herbal products, with almost one-third of items tested found to be fake.
Growing demand for premium and sustainable food products increases the risk of food fraud because of its higher price point, research firm Ecovia Intelligence suggests.
It is time again to dig out your preferred online translation tool, contact colleagues abroad or buy a phrase book as we look at news from food safety agencies wider than English-speaking ones.
A new system to electronically certify imports of organic products and ingredients come into force today, promising to tighten traceability, fight fraud and collect reliable data on organic trade.
Interpol wants international assistance in its investigation into alleged fraud against the Brazilian pork and poultry industry, with one trade association admitting the sector has been hit with external attacks, GlobalMeatNews can reveal.
Industry should think wider than just known issues related to products or ingredients when it comes to fraud, according to an organization representing the environmental health profession.
Fried cabbage sold as crispy seaweed, crab substituted with seafood sticks and a false origin in the product name are some examples of food fraud uncovered by a survey.
PLUS FDF, BRC and SSA herb and spice authenticity guidance
More education needs to be done in the supply chain and to promote the pattern of sharing information in the fight against food fraud, according to Prof Tony Hines, director, Global Regulatory Services and Crisis Management, Leatherhead Food Research.
‘We could be consuming food all the time that is not authentic but we wouldn’t know about it until afterwards’, according to Andy Morling, head, Food Crime Unit, Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Levels of fish fraud across the EU have fallen to below 6%. But initial results for honey suggest 19% – and perhaps even up to 32% – of products tested are not compliant with EU food regulations.
Cert ID has warned against inconsistent vulnerability assessments to identify potential food fraud 'hotspots' with no coherent format permitting each supplier to 'do their own thing'.
Meat products were the subject of the majority of cases handled by the EU’s Food Fraud Network (FFN) in 2014, a new European Commission report has revealed.
Spray-on DNA or added bacteria may be the future of the fight against food fraud - but analysts warn that consumers could react against more additives being used to guarantee a product’s authenticity or naturalness
The European Parliament has approved a detailed report that suggests EU member states should punish food fraud with penalties of at least twice the estimated economic gain sought by the fraudster, to prevent a recurrence of last year’s horsemeat scandal.
Olive oil, fish and organic foods are at the highest risk of food fraud in Europe, according to a new draft report from the European Union – but meat is not in the top ten, despite this year’s high-profile horse meat scandal.
You can’t paint a horse like a cow and expect people not to notice – but grind their meat into patties and it may be a different story. So what makes an ingredient vulnerable to food fraud?
Industry trade group FoodDrinkEurope has welcomed an anti-VAT fraud package under discussion in the EU, saying that the food and drink sector is greatly impacted by VAT tax fraudsters.
The issue of food fraud has traditionally taken a backseat to wider food safety threats – but Europe’s horse meat scandal has underlined the threat it poses to food businesses, according to Danone’s corporate quality projects director Petra Wissenburg.
Hungarian pressure groups are pushing for a cut in domestic VAT in order to combat the high level of fraud being committed on sales of meat and other foodstuffs.
A recent conference on Food and Authenticity has revealed that while central government agencies are aware of food fraud taking place in the UK, the actual scale of the issue is as yet unknown.
A new food fraud division will support local authorities to take swift action to stop illegal activity as well as helping them uncover cases where the consumer has been misled, announced the UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Counterfeiting is a major problem in the global food and drink industry with the level of fraud estimated at around $50bn a year, an audience at the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) annual meeting heard yesterday.
The UK’s Food Standards Agency (FSA) has 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.
