The Food Authenticity Network have recently published a report reviewing the use of food fraud definitions around the globe.

Food fraud, food adulteration, food crime, food integrity, food authenticity and food counterfeiting are all commonly applied terms to a problem that has existed since the commercialisation of food.

Commissioned by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra), Food Standards Agency (FSA) and Food Standards Scotland (FSS), the Food Authenticity Network undertook an examination of published literature to identify the major definitions related to food fraud and global standardisation activities in this area (with a focus on terminology and testing methods).

The project identifies:

• Ten commonly cited food fraud definitions in the scientific literature, and ten common food fraud definitions identified in the non-scientific literature
• Definitions for economically motivated adulteration (EMA), food authenticity, food integrity and food crime.
• Definitions for eleven different types of food fraud with examples.
• Five standardisation organisations currently engaged in activities to standardise terminology and testing methods.

You can read the report here,

Last year the Nation Food Crime Unit (NFCU) highlighted that an investigation was underway into unlawful processing in the red meat sector.

With support from the NFCU, the local authority continued to investigate identified regulatory offences. This succeeded in the case been brought to court where, on 8^th October 2021, the defendant pleaded guilty to 39 food hygiene offences.

The sentencing hearing took place on 1st December 2021 at Swindon Crown Court, where the defendant received a 10-month prison sentence as well as a prohibition order preventing him from running any food businesses.

The Judge who oversaw the case said, “It was a litany of offending over a prolonged period causing public health risks with potential for fatal consequences” and it was an “intentional and flagrant breach of the law”.

You can read more here

The Groceries Code Adjudicator (GCA) have recently launched their annual survey.

Conducted independently by YouGov, this survey allows you to give honest feedback about your experience of how retailers are complying with the Groceries Supply Code of Practice and any Code-related issues you are facing.

You can access the survey here and it should take around 10-15 minutes to complete. The closing date for responses 27 February 2022.

The GCA aim to publish the results in spring/summer 2022 via the GCA website.

The Food Standards Agency (FSA) have now published the Wave 3 Technical Report from the ‘Food and You 2’ survey.

This is a biennial survey using a push-to-web methodology with households selected to take part in the survey receiving a letter that invited them to complete the Food and You 2 survey online. The survey measures consumer knowledge, attitudes and behaviours related to food safety and other food issues amongst adults in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland.

Fieldwork was conducted between 28 April 2021 and 25 June 2021 and a total of 6,271 adults from 4,338 households across England, Wales and Northern Ireland completed the survey.

Topics covered in the report include:

• Food Hypersensitivities
• Food shopping
• Online Food Platforms
• Healthy Eating
• Food Concerns
• Food we can trust
• Food Security

Main findings

• Most respondents (90%) reported that they were confident that the food they buy is safe to eat
• More than 8 in 10 (83%) respondents were confident that the information on food labels is accurate
• Almost three quarters of respondents (73%) reported that they had confidence in the food supply chain
• Three quarters (75%) of respondents who had at least some knowledge of the FSA reported that they trusted the FSA to make sure ‘food is safe and what it says it is’
• Most respondents (80%) had no concerns about the food they eat, and only 20% of respondents reported that they had a concern. The most common prompted concerns, from a given list of food related issues, were related to the amount of sugar in food (63%), and food waste (61%).
• Across England, Wales, and Northern Ireland, 85% of respondents were classified as food secure (72% high, 13% marginal) and 15% of respondents were classified as food insecure (9% low, 6% very low)
• Most respondents reported that they often check the use-by (84%) or best before (82%) date when they have bought food.
• Most respondents (83%) who go food shopping and take into consideration a person who has a food allergy or intolerance were confident that the information provided on food labelling allows them to identify foods that will cause a bad or unpleasant physical reaction
• Around half (52%) of respondents had ordered food or drink via on online ordering and delivery company (for example, Just Eat, Deliveroo, Uber Eats) and 30% had ordered via an online marketplace (for example Amazon, Gumtree, Etsy)
• Eating habits had changed for most respondents in the last 12 months, with only 19% of respondents indicating that there had been no change in their eating habits

You can access the full detail in the final report and technical report.