Food Fraud in the EU: Analysis of Reports in the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed

Food fraud is a major concern to public health, consumer confidence, and the integrity of the EU food industry. Although the EU legal framework lacks a clear definition for food fraud, it provides regulations like the General Food Law, Food Information to Consumers Regulation, and Official Controls Regulation, which serve as a foundation also for addressing fraudulent practices. The General Food Law was passed in 2002, but the specific criteria for identifying food fraud were not defined until 2019. Nevertheless, incidents such as the dioxin crisis in Belgium in 1999, the illegal dyes crisis in 2005, the melamine crisis in 2008, the Chinese milk scandal in 2008, and the Horsemeat scandal in 2013 highlight the financial and public health consequences of food fraud. In this study, food fraud and adulterations reported in the RASFF database from 2005 to 2021 (n=2031) were analysed to identify the overall pattern and trend. The United Kingdom emerged as a focal point with 31.8% of all food fraud notifications, followed by Italy (9.0%). China and India were identified as the predominant origins of food fraud, constituting 16.94% and 11.96% of the reported cases, respectively. The study found that nuts, nut products, and seeds accounted for the highest proportion of fraud/adulteration cases at 22.01%. Followed by fruits and vegetables (10.49%), and meat and meat products other than poultry (10.44%). Furthermore, the study identified health certificates as the common manipulated aspect in food fraud, representing 40.92% of reported cases. In addition, mislabelling, adulteration, and tampering were common with meat and meat products, whereas document forgery was more frequent with nuts and seeds. Grey market activities were prevalent among dietetic foods, while counterfeiting was primarily observed in soups and sauces. From the findings, it is recommended that the regulatory authorities within the EU collaborate and work together to identify each country’s unique challenges and develop specific prevention strategies accordingly. Further, the collaborative efforts should focus on sharing intelligence, harmonising standards, and developing joint initiatives to combat cross-border food fraud incidents. This initiative should consider and incorporate WTO rules to ensure fair and transparent trade while safeguarding consumers. The EU should also consider developing specialised regulations and standards for each high-risk food category. Targeted campaigns and awareness programs should be launched to help consumers identify vulnerable products and understand labelling regulations.