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Food fraud

What it is and how it happens

Year of publication 2023

Place of publication Santiago, Chile ;

Author Masami Takeuchi

Publisher FAO ;

Product type Presentation

Category Presentation

Language English

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    Food fraud occurs when a food company intentionally deceive its customer about the quality and contents of the foods they are purchasing. While food fraud is often motivated by economic profit, some forms of food fraud can also pose a direct threat to the health of customers and consumers. Detecting food fraud is a challenge because consumers alone cannot detect them, and food fraudsters are usually innovative in the ways they avoid detection. In Asia and the Pacific, the risk of food fraud is estimated to be high, due to the high demand for premium quality food combined with an increasingly globalised food supply chain. This document describes the key aspects of food fraud, and discusses a set of measures that food safety authorities can take in order to stop the long-lasting problem of food fraud. Among these, legal interventions combined with technological developments seem to be promising tools in combatting the phenomenon. The authors suggest that the adoption of a definition of food fraud at the national level could support the identification of targeted actions, and that the alignment with Codex Alimentarius food standards can be of support to national food safety authorities in addressing the problem.
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    Fish fraud is committed when fish is illegally placed on the market with the intention of deceiving the customer, usually for financial gain. However, its precise scale and nature in the wider global food market is largely unknown. This publication presents evidence highlighting the serious consequences of fraud for the fish sector. It describes the different types of fraud that can take place along the fish supply chain, for example: intentional mislabelling, species substitution, overglazing and overbreading, and the use of undeclared water-binding agents to increase weight. This publication shows that combating fish fraud is a complex task that requires the strengthening of national food regulatory programmes and the development of effective, science-based traceability systems and improved methods for fish authenticity testing. It highlights the need for the fish industry to develop and implement systems for fish fraud vulnerability assessment in order to identify potential sources of fish fraud within their supply chains, and to prioritize control measures to minimize the risk of receiving fraudulent or adulterated raw materials or ingredients. The publication also indicates an important role for the Codex Alimentarius Commission – to work in collaboration with countries in order to develop international principles and guidelines designed to identify, manage and mitigate fraudulent practices in food trade and to develop guidelines to standardize food safety management systems for fish fraud vulnerability assessment.
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