Food fraud prevention and detection

Mislabelling and tampering with food and drink are growing global issues. Fraudsters often replace genuine ingredients with cheaper alternatives, misleading buyers and consumers and increasing the risks associated with allergens or toxicity. Eurofins Food & Feed Testing laboratories provide industry-leading solutions to detect and deter food fraud.

Key services

  • Vulnerability assessments (VACCP) for fraud risk management
  • Supply chain traceability and integrity reviews
  • Development and optimisation of food fraud mitigation strategies
  • Interpretation of food authenticity testing results
  • Auditing support and regulatory documentation
  • Tailored fraud prevention advice and best practice implementation

Exemplary range of matrices

  • Olive oil and vegetable oils
  • Honey and bee products
  • Spices
  • Fish and seafood
  • Meat and meat products
  • Coffee and tea
  • Fruit juice and fruit juice concentrates
  • Wine, beer and spirits
  • Dairy products (specialties)
  • Rice and grains
  • Organic products
  • Non-GMO products

What is Food Fraud?

In the complex world of the global food supply chain, the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) identifies four key categories related to food integrity.

When considering food issues, the distinction often comes down to whether the action was deliberate or unintentional:

  • Unintentional actions fall under food safety or quality issues
  • Intentional actions can be criminal
    • If motivated to harm consumers, the issue is classified as 'Food Defence', and in extreme cases, terrorism
    • If driven by economic gain, it is defined as 'Food Fraud'

Differentiation between intentional and unintentional food adulteration

Understanding food fraud

Food fraud involves the deliberate substitution, addition, tampering, or misrepresentation of food, ingredients or labelling for economic gain. The issue has attracted increased attention following major scandals such as the 2007 melamine crisis in China and the 2013 horsemeat scandal in Europe.

The GFSI (Global Food Safety Initiative) has identified seven types of frauds.

Components of Food fraud

Fraud risk management

Food fraud is complex to detect due to long supply chains involving multiple players, and each product can be at risk of several types of fraud simultaneously. Mitigation begins with understanding the nature of the potential fraud, and requires techniques with tailored detection methods.

The Eurofins network of laboratories is a global leader in authenticity testing, offering advanced analytical technologies and specialist support to help safeguard your brand and protect consumers.

Get in touch

Would you like to find out more about our testing solutions, or do you need tailored analytical support? Contact us today to get in touch with our experts.

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