Transparency and fraud within the food industry

A UN initiative is World Food Day, which takes place every year on the 16th of October. People and organizations across the globe participate in this  UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) initiative, to raise  awareness of  global issues surrounding food, diet and health and reflect on relevant UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). If World Food Day itself inspires people to think more about the food they eat, the hope is that it also inspires organizations within the food industry to think more about the food they sell. 

Transparency within the food sector

Any business involved in the production, manufacturing or selling of food has both a legal duty and a moral obligation to be totally transparent with consumers about their food – that is with regard to ingredients and nutritional value.

Transparency helps consumers make informed decisions about the food they eat and enables them to make healthy choices. But more than that, being totally clear with consumers about food helps avoid catastrophic and potentially fatal incidents.

Recent events have highlighted the need for total food transparency, especially when it comes to labelling. In 2016, 15-year-old Natasha Ednan-Laperouse died from an allergic reaction to a Pret a Manger baguette that contained sesame. As the BBC reports, the packaging lacked the specific, yet necessary, allergen information that could have saved Natasha's life.

The incident has resulted in the creation of 'Natasha's Law'. Set to be introduced in 2021, the law will require food businesses to include full ingredients labelling on pre-packaged food. Companies will be granted a 2-year implementation period to adjust to the changes.

Current rules stipulate that food prepared on the premises where it is sold need not display allergen information.

Environment Secretary Michael Gove said of the law: 'These changes will make food labels clear and consistent and give the country's 2 million food allergy sufferers confidence in making safe food choices.'

PAS 96:2017: fighting food fraud within the sector

Committing to total transparency within the food industry involves a number of tactics and actions, among them fighting food fraud.

What is food fraud? Essentially, it denotes a dishonest act or omission relating to the production or supply of food. It might involve selling food unfit for purpose (e.g. selling goods knowingly past their use-by date) or deliberate misdescription of food (e.g. making a false claim about the source of an ingredient).

BSI's PAS 96:2017, Guide to protecting and defending food and drink from deliberate attack, has been developed to assist food business managers in improving the resilience of supply chains to fraud and other types of attack.

It explores economically motivated adulteration as a form of food fraud, citing example cases such as fake olive oil exportation and the use of preservatives in milk to extend shelf life. These types of food fraud may not be intended to cause illness and death, however,  they could lead to these consequences.

The guidance helps businesses safeguard themselves against food fraud by offering constructive advice, including:

• understanding the attacker (whether they are an extortionist, extremist, opportunist or irrational individual, etc.);
• the importance of a Threat Assessment Critical Control Point (TACCP) to reduce the likelihood of an attack and reduce impact if there is one;
• an assessment guide (e.g. identifying threats and vulnerabilities);
• critical controls (e.g. controlling access, tamper detection and ensuring personnel security);
• incident response (management of a food protection crisis and contingency planning); and
• review of food protection arrangements.

The above actions relate to safeguarding against food fraud but also to areas such as food defence, food supply and food protection.

Ultimately, PAS 96:2017seeks to provide effective guidance to help organizations within the food industry protect their business and operations across the entire supply chain. Download your free copy today and find out more.