Food and beverage fraud is a multi-billion dollar problem. Private sector NGO the Transnational Alliance to Combat Illicit Trade (TACIT) estimates that losses from fake, sub-standard or illegal agrifoods cost the global food industry up to $50bn per year – and that’s without counting losses associated with fake alcohol trade.
The World Trade Organization (WTO) says there is no single legal definition of food fraud, making the problem even more challenging to quantify.
But new research published by the Food Authenticity Network in partnership with three major food fraud databases sheds light on the commodities most frequently featured in food fraud reports.
Authored by Selvarani Elahi MBE, the research aggregates data from FoodChain ID, HorizonScan and Safety HUD to come up with a representative picture of this global phenomenon and how it affects key food groups.
Foods most affected by fraud
According to official reports filed throughout 2024 (aggregated through HorizonScan and Safety HUD data), beverages, processed foods, dairy, fruit and vegetables, and cereals were the five commodities that featured in the highest number of food fraud reports in 2024.
Comparing that with FoodChain ID’s food fraud database data – which includes a broader set of sources, such as peer-reviewed publications, news reports, and regulatory alerts – seafood, honey, dairy, spices and beverages (including alcohol) featured in the highest share of food fraud reports in 2024.
Notably, only dairy consistently ranked among the top 3 commodities affected by food fraud in 2024, both according to official reports and FoodChain ID’s own database.
“Although only ‘milk & dairy products’ is common in the top three foods with the greatest number of reports from the two different types of tool / data source used, seven of the commodities are common in the top 10 foods with the greatest number of reports,” Elahi explained.
“In fact, many of these commodities are also common in [the] rolling ten-year period, demonstrating that these foods are being most reported as fraudulent, year on year.”
Looking at the 10-year data provided by FoodChain ID, seafood (15%), meat (11%), dairy (11%) and beverages (10%) featured in the highest number of food fraud reports.
The research stops short of calling those commodities ‘the world’s most fraudulent foods’, however; with the author stating that the higher number of reports is also in part due to how rigorously some product types are tested by regulators and international agencies.
Most common types of food fraud
So what’s the most common type of food fraud taking place globally, according to the data?
Leaning on FoodChain ID data, the report shows that botanical and animal origin fraud were the most prevalent in 2024 and over the last 10 years, with dilution also a major issue. In 2024, the use of non-standard substances was classed in third.
“Botanical and animal origin fraud were the most reported type of food fraud in 2024, followed by use of non-food substance and dilution,” Elahi said. “Of these frauds, using non-food substances in food has the potential to do the most harm as seen in the Sudan dyes in chilli powder and melamine in infant formula incidents.”
Calls for improved data reporting
The report also highlights that food fraud reports form just a tiny fraction of the overall food safety reporting conducted by regulators.
Only around 8% of food safety reports are about fraud, the FAN research found, and no new sources of data had been reported by regulators last year.
“If analysis of official food fraud reports is to be meaningful, more regulatory agencies should publish their data in an open-access format,” Elahi explained.
The lack of a single definition of food fraud or illicit trade is also hampering global efforts to challenge rogue players in the supply chain.
This means governments globally have their own definitions based on the scope of the problem they aim to tackle, according to WTO.
For example, some jurisdictions may regulate food fraud from a food safety and quality perspective; but consumer protection legislation may offer different angles.
To address this, WTO’s Codex Alimentarius Commission has been working on a guidance document on food fraud, which would include a definition of the term and a list of six main types of fraud, including addition, substitution, dilution, counterfeiting, misrepresentation and concealment.
The aim is to provide guidance to food businesses and authorities on prevention, detection, mitigation and control of food fraud; ensure fair practices, and protect the health of consumers.
The document was submitted for approval in November 2024 and is expected to be adopted during 2025.
How are foods targeted by fraudsters?
According to the WTO, milk is commonly subject to food fraud through dilution with water or other substances to increase volume and reduce cost. The same tactic applies to fruit juice and can lead to a decrease in both quality and safety.
In beverages, alcohol is most often targeted, with the World Spirits Alliance estimating that nearly $9bn of fiscal revenue is lost due to counterfeiting each year.
See also: How to spot fake alcohol
Spices can be compromized by using fillers or artificial colours. For example, turmeric is sometimes adulterated with lead chromate, a toxic substance.
Seafood is is subject to substitution and mislabelling, where lower-priced fish species may be labeled as more expensive ones, or farmed fish may be sold as wild-caught.
Meat is affected in the same way, for example by substituting beef for horse meat.
Honey is typically subject to dilution with cheaper sweeteners, e.g. corn syrup or sugar, and mislabelling of origin or floral source can also occur.
Similarly, olive oil can be diluted with cheaper oils, such as sunflower or canola oil, affecting both quality and nutritional value.
