Food fraud cases dip in 2015, says UK agency

The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) investigated 58 incidents of food fraud or adulteration in 2015, a decline on the previous two years.

All told, the FSA was notified of and investigated more than 1,500 incidents involving food, feed and environmental contamination incidents - a similar number as the previous three years - with fraud and adulteration accounting for 4 per cent of the total, according to the agency's latest annual report.

Pathogenic micro-organisms, allergens, chemical contamination and residues of veterinary medicinal products accounted for the bulk of the cases, making up 18, 14, 12 and 8 per cent of cases, respectively.

The FSA warned against ascribing too much importance to trends compared to earlier years, however, pointing out that many types of incidents occur sporadically - so tend not to be spread evenly across time - and also depend on ongoing enforcement drives.

Among the most high-profile incidents reported by the FSA last year was a case involving Northern Ireland meat processing company Freeza Meats Ltd, which was prosecuted for using cheaper substitutes in place of labelled meat ingredients, misleading retailers and consumers. The prosecution resulted in fines and costs of nearly £115,000 (around $165,000).

An FSA report focusing specifically on food crime released earlier this year examined the scale and nature of the food crime threat to the UK’s £200bn food and drink industry.

The report concluded that the food industry is vulnerable to crime, from "random acts of dishonesty by individual ‘rogues’ to organised fraudulent activity by groups who knowingly set out to deceive consumers or expose them to harm."

It said data from UK law enforcement agencies identifies more than 20 organised criminal groups whose activities are linked to food, drink or animal feed.