A recent television report by CNBC (the American news giant) brings attention to the important, but relatively unknown issue of food fraud to 3.7 million viewers (at the time of writing).

In the video, the lack of awareness by consumers sits at the centre of the conversation, which points out the scale of the issue with statistics from the Food & Drug Administration (FDA) about food fraud affecting about 1% of global food output at an estimated cost of over $40 billion. 

One such example is fraud in olive oil, where the most benign of frauds involve the labelling as “extra virgin” of lower quality olive oils. More significant frauds involve the replacement of olive oil for cheaper oils like canola oil or even non-food oils (think motor oils and other), to which fraudsters add chlorophyl to give it a greenish tint or flavour with beta carotene to resemble olive oil more closely.  

The video is worth a watch to get a sense of the problem, however, there is a sense that the solutions proposed aim to put the burden on the consumer, as we so often do with many complex issues. But this is not something consumers are equipped to deal with, just as they aren’t equipped to risk assess the banks where they deposit their money or the recycling rate at the recycling company that collects their plastic.

It is in our industry’s best interest that the consumer does not loose trust in the food system. Since there is little the consumer can do to change it, a loss of trust can have profound societal impact, as occurred with the 2008 melamine scandal in China, where sales of milk fell by 30-40% according to the Chinese Dairy Association.  

The industry needs to implement better controls to protect their production. We have the technology necessary to identify food products quickly and effectively, allowing us to detect food fraud in seconds at a marginal cost. It is time for the food industry to lead, by protecting itself from the next crisis rather than wait for it to happen, the impact of consumers of the next one might not be constrained to a single segment.