The Dangerous Side of Food Fraud

[safefood]

Food fraud occurs when food is used deceptively for economic gain, as such, food fraud is not typically committed with the primary intention of causing harm to consumers. The deception can take forms as diverse as the smuggling of goods across borders to avoid duties and tariffs; falsification of paperwork to misrepresent the special status of food, such as ‘organic’ or ‘kosher’; counterfeiting (copying) of food products by unauthorised manufacturers; switching of one fish species for another; or adding undeclared substances to foods. As these examples elucidate, and because many types of food fraud do not involve any changes to the food product itself, food fraud does not always pose direct risks to food safety.

continue reading