Listing local farmers and suppliers on menus and in food retail environments is considered a best practise. It soothes food-savvy consumer demand; providing traceability, quality assurance and – for the retailers and restauranteurs – proving provenance and a committment to sustainable food sourcing. Local, premium ingredients may cost more than generic alternatives, but using them also provides cost-effective marketing opportunities.

With this in mind, is it surprising that some exploit these opportunities through menu and food labelling fraud? Whether committed knowingly or not, Irish food producers experience menu fraud regularly – you just might not hear about it.

What is menu fraud?

Menu fraud is falsely listing local farmers suppliers on menus and food labels. In recent weeks, a Tweet from Wicklow-based Kilmullen Farm publicly asked 1837 Bar and Brasserie at the Guinness Storehouse to remove their name from their menu; saying they had not sold them lamb (they are unable to comment due to ongoing enquiries).

In 2017, Rachel Allen’s Cork city restaurant (now closed) issued an apology to Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms for falsely naming them as the supplier for their mushroom risotto.

According to Good Food Ireland founder Margaret Jeffares, menu fraud is more common than these publicised instances would suggest.

“I’ve had numerous food producers saying restaurants have named their local produce on menus but weren’t using it,” she says.

“When producers contact us about this, it’s for support and advice. They don’t want to jeopardise future sales and it’s no different for producers within retail; they don’t want to be delisted.”

We are not aware of a big problem with errors on food menus

The Food Safety Authority of Ireland (FSAI) does not agree with the term menu fraud; saying it indicates something deliberately deceptive for economic gain, and they are unaware of any deliberate attempts to mislead consumers. In correspondence with Irish Country Living, an FSAI representative explains it is food business’ legal responsibility to ensure all information they provide to the consumer is correct – including menus.

“We are not aware of a big problem with errors on food menus,” they write. “We have only had very few (about two or three) complaints over the past few years. Each complaint is followed up and rectified by the food business.

“If a small producer or farmer has any issue regarding their product being incorrectly listed by another food business, they can contact us through our online complaint form www.fsai.ie/makeitbetter and we will follow up.”

Types of menu fraud

To avoid any negative implications, most food producers won’t discuss menu fraud openly. Irish Country Living anonymously asked several producers if they have ever experienced menu fraud. All of them said they had.

Some food service operations buy in a small amount of premium product to combine with more generic, inexpensive versions; then saying each menu item containing that ingredient is made with the premium product. For larger restaurants with high footfall, it is unlikely that the small amount of premium product ordered goes into each menu item. An example would be to say a pastry is made with artisanal Irish butter when, in reality, it’s made with 90% cheap margarine.

Sometimes fraud occurs at the supplier level

Another form occurs when an operation runs out of a product, but fails to change the menu to reflect this. Whether done knowingly or not, it’s difficult to call out this behaviour if a producer is still regularly or semi-regularly supplying the restaurant.

Sometimes fraud occurs at the supplier level. A restaurant may not realise if a wholesaler or large-scale supplier has stopped buying from a small producer. They may source a cheaper option that looks similar; causing the chef or restaurant owner to unknowingly commit menu fraud by thinking they are still in receipt of the local product.

How it hurts

If producers are being used to sell menu or supermarket items but have not been appropriately compensated, it can hurt their business and reputation. Food producers face similar economic challenges to restaurants – it’s important they are supported and compensated.

Not all restaurants are complicit in menu fraud – some instances are innocent and most producers contacted have said, in most cases, a discreet message to the chef or owner will be enough to solve the issue. The restaurants dedicated to supporting local producers are also inadvertently affected by other restaurants committing menu fraud.

What you can do

The best way to combat menu fraud is to be inquisitive. While it’s clear the onus should not be on the consumer, if a diner has questions regarding menu provenance it is acceptable to ask how ingredients are sourced. Margaret says restaurants who practise good food provenance tend to extensively train staff on each menu item and should easily answer any questions you have.

Bord Bia’s foodservice specialist Maureen Gahan echoes the sentiment that ingredient sourcing information should be readily available for diners.

Now more than ever, it’s important for Irish consumers to support the restaurant trade

“We know from research there is a strong propensity for Irish consumers to look for country of origin information when shopping in the supermarkets,” she says. “We encourage these consumers to look for information on the source of their food when eating out, also.

“Many [restaurants] will name check their suppliers on menus, chalk boards and websites, in addition to using their social media channels to share supplier stories,” she continues. “Now more than ever, it’s important for Irish consumers to support the restaurant trade – particularly those that are in turn supporting local food and drink producers.”

If you have experienced menu fraud, Margaret says one solution could be to apply for PDO or PGI staus, which is the European system for the protection of food names (with a geographic connection).

“There’s potential for producers to protect their name and brand through PDO or PGI designation,” she says. “Work with Bord Bia and the Department of Agriculture to move forward – there are so few products with the status in this country.”