Whilst extremely hazardous cases of global and localized food
fraud are rare in our current climate, unfortunately they still do occur. With
the number of food fraud cases increasing significantly over the past decade,
food safety issues are sure to follow. Additionally, although food fraud is
economically motivated, occasionally accidental cases do occur, which may arise
from poor quality management procedures, factors relating to the environment or
processing and mislabeling.
Recent reports collated by the U.S. Phamcoicel Conventions
(USP) food fraud database have assessed the level of food fraud that is currently
of concern and a potential risk factor for food safety within the food supply
chain. These reports have indicated that meat, milk, fish, spices, cooking oil,
tea, coffee, lemon juice and maple syrup are key foods of concern, which generally
have high economic value and are relatively easy to adulterate.
Food products most at risk of food fraud:
- Beverages (e.g. grape wine, apple and pomegranate juice)
- Coffee and tea
- Fish
- Grain (e.g. rice, durum wheat)
- Honey and maple syrup
- Milk
- Oil (e.g. olive, sesame, palm)
- Organic foods
- Spices (e.g. saffron, turmeric, paprika)
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