Analyses of Food Supply Chains for Risks and Resilience to Food Fraud/Crime

As food supply chains have become increasingly global and complex, new and challenging risks have emerged. One of the risks gaining attention from industry, governments, regulatory bodies and consumer organisations is food fraud conducted for economic gain. The Food Standards Agency says that Food fraud is committed 'when food is deliberately placed on the market, for financial gain, with the intention of deceiving the consumer'. Although there are many kinds of food fraud the two main types are: (1) the sale of food which is unfit for consumption and (2) the deliberate misdescription of food. Both types may directly threaten human health. For example, a cancer causing toxin (called melamine) was added to milk and infant formula in China to increase its protein content. Additionally, swapping one fish species with another could expose consumers to different allergens which could make them sick. In many instances, food fraud can reduce consumer trust in the both the food industry and food safety, and negatively impact on sales, as was demonstrated in the UK horsemeat scandal.

There is a growing concern that in some ways food fraud may be more risky than traditional threats to the food supply as the adulterants used in these activities are often unconventional. Melamine for example was not considered a potential contaminant in the food supply before 2007 and hence was not included in routine quality checks. In addition, current food protection systems are not designed to look for the never-ending number of potential adulterants that may show up in the food supply. As criminal activity by design is intended to elude detection, new tools and new approaches to supply chain management are called for.

This proposal suggests combining theories and methods from psychology, political economy, sociology, anthropology, criminology and law, with natural science disciplines.
In order to develop new approaches to detect possible criminal activity in food supply chains, this project will undertake 34-40 semi-structured interviews with major buyers, brokers, regulators, customers etc. relating to the three food chains which are most prone to food fraud (wheat; fish and red meat). This will help us to determine how fraud can happen and what measures could be put in place to prevent it from happening in the future. Furthermore, using a desk-based approach we will explore how other countries deal with issues of food safety and analyse legal law cases as they relate to fraud. Based on an assumption that fraudsters WILL exploit any intelligence gathering system we will examine current and potential models of data collection and intelligence sharing and test their vulnerabilities to future fraudulent attacks. This will help to develop a novel data collection sharing system that is more robust and secure.

By evaluating a number of risk ranking methodologies used for fraud, food contaminants and emerging food issues, we will develop a risk ranking framework, to classify and highlight food security risks for different food commodities in our chosen supply chains. This will help recognise and prioritise the incentives/pressures to commit fraud, opportunities to commit fraud, and attitudes/rationalisations to justify fraud. A cost-benefit ranking will also be conducted in the risk assessment procedures.

Finally, based on the data gathered for this project and a previous food fraud report we will identify methods of presenting fraud detection/prevention strategies to the public. We will also utilise eight focus groups with consumers to investigate their perceptions, attitudes, behavioural intentions, trust parameters, and expectations in relation to food fraud. Based on the findings we will conduct a survey (with 1000 UK consumers aged 18+ from different socio-demographic groups) to experimentally test the efficacy and feasibility of different fraud prevention strategies for its impact on enhancing consumer trust and increasing sales.

Impact to Industry through change in organisational culture and practices
Through their close involvement in the project design and implementation, both organisations (M&S and Youngs) will gain a key insight into how they could change their practices based on the research findings. We expect to have direct impact on all other retailers (e.g. Tesco, Sainsburys, etc.) working in the same sector as the organisations in the study. Further practices and lessons learned will lead to recommendations for improving risk management strategies. The efficacy of strategies tested with consumers will offer a way forward for food industries to enhance trust and confidence in the food products with a long term impact on sales. The knowledge gained about the environment in which food fraud/crime transpires within the international food system will assist UK suppliers and retailers to implement best practice.

The use of developed model systems in the UK for addressing the knowledge and technological challenges in combating fraud may in the long term increase competiveness through reducing the incidence of food recalls which, in turn, will improve consumer confidence in the UK food supply.

Impact on government departments through contributing towards evidence based policy making and influencing public policies and legislation at local, regional, national and international revel
The interaction with industry and Which? on the Expert Committee will allow the development of feasible and workable recommendations for data gathering as well as flagging up potential problems that can subsequently be communicated to regulators so future legislation/regulation is 'fit for purpose'. This is one of the unique aspects of this proposed research.

These findings will also help regulatory organisations (FSA & DEFRA) to review existing regulations and practices. Impact of food fraud on policy relevant information will be distilled and distributed to decision makers to inform their work around the area of public trust and credibility. The knowledge gained about the environment in which food fraud/crime transpires within the international food system and its effect on the UK will inform policy-makers on best practice for ensuring that food fraud does not taint supply chains.

The models developed will be an advantage for both assessing the risk of compromised food security or fraud and through its implementation could help to maintain UK consumer safety associated with imported foods and ingredients. Capitalising on the team's previous and current involvement in international networks and EU projects would enable the UK to have a major influence on EU level regulation in future.

Impact on public perceptions and behaviours through enhancing consumer trust and industry risk management
We expect to have a direct dialogue with the consumer through the use of traditional and social media such as national and international TV (BBC, ITV, Sky), radio broadcasts at national and local levels, print media including all national newspapers, trade and consumer journals, LinkedIn, Twitter (@QUBFoodProf) and YouTube.