Food fraud

What is food fraud?
Food fraud happens when food is illegally marketed with the intention of misleading the customer, usually for financial gain. This involves criminal activities such as deliberate mislabelling of food, species substitution, imitation, misbranding, dilution and "overglazing". While food fraud primarily results in defrauding customers, it can also lead to significant food safety risks for consumers. The multifaceted complexity of food fraud and intricate, global food supply chains make it difficult for governments to eradicate this problem and identify the true extent of fraud.

Food fraud negatively affects consumer confidence in the food industry and regulatory authorities and causes economic damage. It is not a new phenomenon, but has been in the spotlight in recent years. Following the horse meat scandal in the European Union in 2013, which exposed the vulnerability of international food chains to fraud and organised crime, initiatives to combat food fraud have emerged by many governments and within the industry. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) is closely monitoring this situation and is involved in a number of activities to prepare countries to prevent food fraud or mitigate its impact.

Why is food fraud included in the ASC module?
According to the FAO, the fisheries and aquaculture sector is considered one of the most vulnerable sectors to food fraud. This underpins a food fraud survey conducted in 57 countries in 2015 and coordinated by INTERPOL-Europol (Europol, 2016).  In 2013, fish was identified by the European Parliament as the second most likely category of internationally traded food at risk of fraud (European Parliament, 2013). A large global study published in 2016 showed that mislabelling of fish occurred at every link in the fish supply chain, from the point of landing to processing, distribution, retail and catering (Oceana, 2016). Cases of fraudulent practices during the import and export of fish were also reported.
FAO calls on the industry to develop and implement systems to identify vulnerability to fish fraud and to identify potential sources of fish fraud within supply chains with the aim of minimising the risk of fish fraud through control measures.

Reducing fish fraud at national level
These are essential first steps for national governments in introducing official control programmes for fish fraud:

1. Establish a recognised list of fish names linked to scientific nomenclature.
2. Mandatory labelling requirements for fish and fishery products. The following information must be provided for pre-packed and non-pre-packed fishery and aquaculture products:
   1. Trade and scientific name of the species;
   2. Production method ("... caught ..." or "... caught in freshwater ..." or "... farmed ...");
   3. Area of capture or farming (using FAO's Major Fishing Areas [FAO, 2018b]);
   4. Used gear category;
   5. Indication of whether the product is defrosted (with limited exceptions);
   6. Date of minimum shelf life - if applicable.
3. Strengthening official food controls, for example by taking DNA samples.
4. Strengthening food safety management systems in industry.

There are online databases recording food fraud and collecting news about different regions of the world that can help with assessments. These databases can be divided into two broad categories:
a) rapid alert systems, such as the European Union Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF); and
b) incidentbased subscription databases, such as US subscription-based databases like Food Protection and Defense Institute (FPDI) or the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP).

ASC does not mandate any of these systems but gives flexibility for the implementation of the annual evaluation depending on the company itself.

Conclusion
Chapter 5.8.1 of the ASC Chain of Custody Module thus responds to the FAO's recommendation that the fishing industry should improve its food control systems to account for fraud risks in their supply and marketing chains.

Sources:
2023: FAO: Food fraud – its impact on consumer trust and possible health consequences
2022: FAO: International and national regulatory strategies to counter food fraud
2018: FAO: Overview of food fraud in the fisheries sector