Dishonest act or omission, relating to the production or supply of food, which is intended for personal gain or to cause loss to another party” PAS96:2017

Also know as Economically Motivated Adulteration (EMA) as described by the Food and Drug Administration in USA (FDA)

“A collective term encompassing the deliberate and intentional substitution, addition, tampering or misrepresentation of food, food ingredients, feed, food packaging or labelling, product information or false or misleading statements made about a product for economic gain that could impact consumer health.” (GFSI) Benchmarking Requirements, 2020

“A systematic approach similar to Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Point (HACCP) aimed at identifying potential food fraud vulnerabilities, assessing and mitigating these with the focus on mitigating public health harm. This procedure and related information should be documented, implemented, maintained and supported by the food safety Management System (FSMS)

The impact of food fraud incidents does vary depending on the nature of the product, fraud type and the scale if the fraud.
Economically motivated adulteration and food fraud effects can include:

• public health
• economic impact
• decreasing customer/consumer confidence

The three stages of developing a VACCP plan are:

• Conducting vulnerability assessment priorities mitigation actions needed
• Building a food fraud prevention plan
• Implement the food fraud prevention plan supported by the FSMS

In this Food Surety course “Developing & Implementing Food Fraud Prevention Plan VACCP” a complete step-by-step process Editable Excel workbook template is explained and provided.

Substitution:
The process of replacing an ingredient or part of the product of high value with another ingredient or part of the product of a lower value.
E.g. replacing cardamom powder with large cardamom powders when it is significantly cheaper.

Concealment:
The process of hiding the low quality of a food ingredient or product.
e.g. hiding information about the country of origin of Sugar to avoid tariffs in certain markets.

Mislabelling:
The process of placing false claims on packaging for economic gain.
E.g. Organic products that are not organic.

Grey Market /production theft / diversion:
Sales of excess unreported products, Products allocated to a certain market appears in another, markets that are irregular however not illegal.

Unapproved enhancements:
The process of adding unknown and undeclared materials e.g. food colouring to food products in order to enhance their quality attributes.
e.g. Using Sudan red dyes to colour paprika, chili powders, and curries, it is known carcinogens and are banned for use in foods.

Counterfeiting:
The process of copying the brand name, packaging concept, recipe, processing methods, etc. of food products for economic gain.
E.g. Copying well known imported wine labels and brands by local producers to sell their product at a higher price.
Dilution:
The process of mixing a liquid ingredient with a high vale with a liquid of lower value.
e.g. Diluting expensive oils like avocado oil and olive oil with cheaper oils to make more money. Similarly, using cheaper honey or even sugar syrup to dilute Mānuka Honey