800 new additions to Food Fraud Database

The US Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) has added nearly 800 new records of ‘food fraud’ to its Food Fraud Database, which contains information about foods that are vulnerable to fraudulent manipulation in today’s food supply.

Milk, vegetable oils and spices were among the top categories identified in 2012 research into food fraud. Analysis of new information shows similar trends, with seafood, clouding agents and lemon juice added as further vulnerable categories.

Food fraud is a term that encompasses the deliberate substitution, addition, tampering or misrepresentation of food, food ingredients or food packaging, or false or misleading statements made about a product for economic gain.

A more specific type of fraud - intentional or economically motivated adulteration of food ingredients - has been defined by USP as the fraudulent addition of non-authentic substances. This also includes the removal or replacement of authentic substances without the purchaser’s knowledge for the seller’s economic gain.

“While food fraud has been around for centuries, with a handful of notorious cases well documented, we suspect that what we know about the topic is just the tip of the iceberg,” said Dr Jeffrey Moore, senior scientific liaison for USP and the database’s creator and lead analyst.

“The idea behind the database was to shed some light on this largely uncharacterised space by collecting and analysing the fragmented information in the public domain reported by scholars, regulators and media.

“Ultimately, we hope the database can be used as a tool by food manufacturers, regulators, scientists and others worldwide to help achieve a safer food supply.”

Among the new scholarly records added to the database, the top ingredients represented are olive oil, milk, saffron, honey and coffee (all in the top seven in the analysis of 1980-2010 records), followed by tea, fish, clouding agents and black pepper - none of which was in the top 25 for 1980-2010.

Among the new media and other reports examined, the most-represented products in the database are milk, fish, turmeric, chilli powder and cooking oil (all in the top 12 in 1980-2010), followed by shrimp, lemon juice and maple syrup (none of which was even in the top 25 in 1980-2010).

The USP is actively seeking additions to the database. To add to the database or search this free resource, visit www.foodfraud.org.