Fraud within the food supply chain came to the public’s attention five years ago when horsemeat was detected in processed beef products.

The term “food fraud” became widely used and there were calls for more transparency in food supply chains to regain consumer confidence in products, particularly in the red meat sector.

The UK government commissioned researchers at QUB to review practices within the supply chain.

Last year, a follow-up review by QUB researchers found that attitudes towards food fraud have changed significantly since the horsemeat scandal. “Testing and surveillance systems have been integrated into normal industry practice and the government is more prepared for future incidents,” the report read.

However, those involved in policing food supply chains claim that food fraud did not begin and end with the horsemeat scandal of 2013. “It is a fast-growing issue, but it is not a new problem. The scope of food fraud is huge,” Monique Pellegrino from Danone said at last month’s Belfast Summit on Global Food Integrity.

Global trade

Although surveillance and testing in local food supply chains has improved significantly in recent years, that is not the case in other parts of the world. And with global trading in food products, that means that consumers in any country can still be victims of food fraud.

Most incidents do not affect the health of consumers. Instead, the majority of cases relate to high-value products being substituted for cheaper ingredients, undermining the integrity of the food supply chain.

At the opening of the conference in Belfast’s Waterfront Hall, Professor Chris Elliott from QUB estimated that adulteration of supply chains costs €40bn worldwide each year.

Every 10 days to two weeks we get a new piece of information that leads to a new investigation

Some local examples were given by Peter Whelan from the Food Safety Authority of Ireland.

These ranged from German beef being labelled as Irish origin, to orange juice concentrate substituting pure orange juice, to branded vodka bottles being filled with a counterfeit product.

“Every 10 days to two weeks we get a new piece of information that leads to a new investigation. As long as we get reported wrongdoings, we can investigate them,” he said.

If a case then goes to court, Whelan said that the defendant’s representatives usually know their client is guilty, so they try to find fault with the investigation process. “They attack your procedure to stop the case from ever being a success,” he said.

Whelan also questioned if the fines handed down by judges in Irish courts are large enough to deter criminals from engaging in food fraud. “We had a case where someone was selling Scottish salmon as Irish salmon. The judge decided that was a €500 fine. It was very little,” he told the Belfast summit.

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