Food Fraud

This year's Food Safety Briefing covered a wide range of areas from data sharing to greenwashing to hygienic design. Credit: Getty/VectorMine

Short read

What’s happening in UK food safety?

By Bethan Grylls

In a recent webinar, Food Manufacture brought together four leaders from industry to discuss the latest tools and systems emerging to help mitigate against our biggest food safety challenges. Here’s the highlights…

Don't miss this year's Food Safety Briefing. Credit: Getty/MiguelMalo

News

Don’t miss our 2023 Food Safety Briefing

By Bethan Grylls

This year’s Food Safety Briefing theme is science and data – with four special guest experts from Mars Global Food Safety Center, the Food Standards Agency, Unibloc, and Imprint Analytics joining us to share their knowledge.

Food Manufacture gets insight into the lab in this exclusive feature from Bia Analytical on wheat fraud. Credit: Getty/combomambo

Feature

Looking for fraud in wheat flour

By Dr Terry McGrath

As the war between Russia and Ukraine continues to inflict supply chain difficulties upon Europe’s breadbasket, Bia Analytical looks at how manufacturers can ensure their wheat/flour is genuine.

2023's biggest threats to food and drink manufacturers. Credit: Getty/Richard Drury

Long read

Today’s biggest risks in food and drink manufacturing

By Bethan Grylls

Marsh, a leading insurance broker and risk advisor, recently highlighted several big threats producers should be aware of in 2023. Here we summarise the findings and how one might mitigate against them.

How can you be sure you are getting the blend you have approved? Credit: Getty/Giovanni Magdalinos

Food Forensics

Do you know if your wine is real?

By Alison Johnson

Wine fraud has been reported as far back as Ancient Rome and continues to be a major obstacle in the industry today. So how can you ensure yours is genuine?

Read NSF's Alison's Friel's six ways to protect against and handle food recalls. Credit: Getty/bymuratdeniz

Long read

6 steps to safeguard your brand against recalls

By Alison Friel

With food recalls making headlines more often than not, Alison Friel, director of food consulting and training at NSF, takes a look at how you can safeguard against this growing threat.

Alison Johnson serves up three ways to help deter food fraud. Credit: Getty / Marilyn Nieves

Column: Food Forensics

Up your game when it comes to detecting food fraud

By Alison Johnson

Following the news of recent food fraud incidents, such as the event which recently impacted retailer Booths, Alison Johnson, managing director at Food Forensics outlines three ways of preventing food fraud occurring in your supply chain.

Success in food manufacturing will be about adapting

Long Read

Business Leaders Forum 2023: It’s never been survival of the fittest

By Bethan Grylls

The annual, intimate Business Leaders Forum gave way to a frank and honest discussion, as leaders from the across the UK came together to highlight the many challenges food and drink manufacturers now face, the mistakes made, and what we must do now.

Sanderson: 'The rate of increase in recorded incidences, with the last quarter of 2020 increasing by a staggering 38%, is proof if it were needed that we have an ideal climate for fraud'

Opinion

Challenges of 2020 create an 'ideal climate' for food fraud

By Rick Sanderson

Rick Sanderson (pictured), business development director at Food Forensics, discusses the increased threat of food fraud created by the challenges of 2020 and what food firms can do to mitigate the damage to their businesses.

What are the emerging threats? How can the industry manage them effectively? The Food Safety Briefing will address these questions

Food Safety Briefing takes place on 15 October

By Rod Addy

Food Manufacture's Food Safety Briefing, chaired by chief executive of Campden BRI Steven Walker and sponsored by RSSL, will take place online on 15 October at 3pm.

Consumers have blamed producers for food fraud, according to a new report

Consumers ‘blame producers for food fraud’

By Gwen Ridler

Nearly two-thirds of consumers blame producers for food fraud, according to a new report from the National Farmers Union (NFU) Mutual Insurance Society, fuelled by high profile cases of food fraud in the media.

Nestlé’s Professor John O’Brien said consumers have access to technology once only available in labs

Food test kits raise consumer awareness

By Rick Pendrous

Consumers will in future be far better informed about potential food fraud and food safety incidents because of rapid advances in analytical techniques that are now available to them as cheap test kits, according to the deputy head of Nestlé’s research...

Information from whistleblowers will be treated in confidence, claims FSA

Food fraud remains a threat to UK firms

By Noli Dinkovski

There is “no obvious evidence” of organised crime in the UK food industry, but food fraud remained an ongoing threat, a leading figure at the Food Standards Agency (FSA) has claimed.

Food businesses could learn about fraud protection from the insurance industry: Lisa Jack

Foodex 2016

Food firms could learn from insurance firms on fraud

By Rick Pendrous

Food and drink manufacturers need to learn from other industries, such as the insurance sector, and use a “systems approach” to identifying fraudulent activity in their businesses, a leading academic has suggested.

The great herb hoax: Fraudster are targeting oregano

Food fraudsters targeting oregano a ‘major problem’

By Laurence Gibbons

Food fraudsters are substituting dried oregano with other herbs, such as olive and myrtle leaves, reflecting a “major problem” in the herb and spices sector, according to Professor Chris Elliott.

Tougher penalties are needed to prevent another horsemeat scandal. A cap on fines was removed last week

Beat fraud with tough penalties, as fines unveiled

By Michael Stones

Calls for tougher food fraud penalties have been backed by food safety software company Qadex, as a new law allows magistrates to impose unlimited fines for serious offences.

Complex accounting systems can make companies vulnerable to food fraud, says Jack

Forensic accounting can track food fraud

By Rod Addy

Forensic accounting can track food fraud and must be a weapon in the arsenal of the UK Food Crime Unit, according to Lisa Jack, professor of accounting at the University of Portsmouth. 

Guarding businesses against food fraud is the aim of this one-hour commercial webinar

Fraud webinar helps protect food businesses

By Michael Stones

Arming food and drink managers with the information they need to guard against fraud is the aim of a new commercial webinar from food safety specialist NSF International.

Fraud is costing the food industry £11.2bn a year

Food fraud costs UK firms £11bn a year

By Laurence Gibbons

Food fraud is costing UK food and drink manufacturers a whopping £11.2bn a year, equivalent to 85% of their total profits, a report from the University of Portsmouth has claimed.

Professor Elliott: a core recommendation of his final Review was the creation of a food crime unit

Elliott Review

MPs press for food fraud prosecutions

By Rod Addy

Authorities must be able to trace food fraud cases back to source and prosecute offenders properly, according to MPs commenting on Professor Chris Elliott’s Review into the horsemeat scandal.

The FoodIntegrity project aims to unite scientists worldwide to combat food fraud

UK spearheads €12M EU food fraud project

By Rod Addy

An EU-wide initiative targeting food fraud, costing €12M, has been announced, spearheaded by the UK’s Food and Environment Research Agency (FERA).

The horsemeat crisis led to the FSA's proposed action plan, which also aims to tackle wider issues

FSA tightens net on food fraudsters

By Rod Addy

The Food Standards Agency’s (FSA’s) food safety director Steve Wearne has fleshed out the FSA’s proposed action plan to deal with supply chain crises such as the horsemeat scandal.

Widespread use of DNA testing for horsemeat contamination would be a waste of money, delegates were told at a recent food fraud conference

Market intelligence needed to avoid next food scandal

By Rick Pendrous and Laurence Gibbons

Manufacturers need to use market intelligence and horizon scanning tools to protect themselves against the next food scandal following the horsemeat contamination incidents this year, experts have argued.

Scientists need the most up-to-date technology to stay ahead of fraud

Regulators hunt out food fraudsters

By Rick Pendrous

Fraud is increasing as the price of food and drink rises and this is forcing regulators to put greater resources into hunting out the cheats, it has emerged.

Bottle trouble: organised crime is dropping drugs in favour of food and drink fraud

Criminals drop drugs for food fraud

By Rod Addy

Organised crime is switching to food fraud from activities such as drug trafficking, because detection methods are less developed and penalties are softer.

Spotlight

Chief executive Chris Ormrod will continue to head up the business. Credit: Cakesmiths Cakesmiths to become part of rebranded Onore Food Group The impacted batch of stuffing mix has now been taken out of circulation. Credit: Getty / DronG Tesco recalls stuffing mix because of possible presence of moths The Food and drink industry is the four fastest adopter of AI tech in the UK. Image: Getty, Da-Kuk Food industry fourth fastest adopter of AI tech in UK Cold store workers have previously suffered from serious injuries such as frostbite. Credit: Getty / bluecinema New guidance issued to protect food workers in extreme cold conditions The manufacturer installed solar panels at its facility as part of the project. Credit: Beacon Foods Beacon Foods completes £6m expansion project, installs 1,428 solar panels

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