In this episode from legal firm Brodies LLP the panellists discuss the growing popularity of buying and selling Scotch whisky casks, risks of fraud and some cautionary advice for buyers.

Grant Strachan is a partner at Brodies LLP, with a specialist focus on the food and drink sector, and Vikki Bruce is the founding director of CaskNet, a tech start-up that is building a register for Scotch whisky casks. It is hosted by David Lee, an experienced journalist, writer and broadcaster based in Scotland.

Together, they cover a range of issues, including the reasons for consumer interest in Scotch whisky, the process involved when buying a Scotch whisky cask and the legal/regulatory factors to consider, the challenges with unscrupulous brokers, the approach by regulatory bodies, and what buyers can do to minimise the risk of fraud. 

Photo by Thomas Park on Unsplash

The Food Authenticity Network Executive Team (Selvarani Elahi and Mark Woolfe) and the Chair of our Advisory Board, Sterling Crew have been interviewed for an episode of Bruker's Food Authenticity Podcast series.

Listen to both parts of the episode here:

• Part 1 and Part 2

 You can access other episodes in this series with the links below:

• Episode 1: Michael Roberts, Executive Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy, discussing food authenticity and consequences of food fraud on the ecosystem.

• Episode 2: Ron Phipps, president and founder of CPNA International and Vice President of Apimondia Scientific Commission on Beekeeping Economy discussing the impact of food fraud on the honey industry and steps that have been taken to combat the sale of illicit honey.

• Episode 3: Peter Awram & Lawyer Gillian Wade exploring the problem of #honey adulteration from a perspective of both a producer and a legal expert.

• Episode 4: Gordon Burns, technical director, and co-founder of ETS Laboratories. ETS Labs has been in operation for over 40 years, and currently runs specialist independent wine analysis labs based in California’s Napa Valley - one of the United States’ premium wine growing regions
• Episode 5: Professor Michael Roberts, Executive Director of the Resnick Center for Food Law and Policy at UCLA. Michael has been at the forefront of studies into food fraud for almost 20 years, having taught the first ever Food Law and Policy class at the University of Arkansas and Ron Phipps, Vice-President of the Apimondia Scientific Commission on Beekeeping Economy and President of CPNA International, Ltd.

Over a quarter of consumers actively stated that they distrust government authorities and manufacturers (29% and 26% respectively) found the EIT #FoodTrustReport.

What's damaging consumer trust? Anthony Warner - known as The Angry Chef - says: "there's too much information [about food choices]. It's all very confusing."

In this episode of #EITFoodFight, he and Liesbet Vranken explore:

➡️ Food marketing and health claims like 'detox'
➡️ The role of social media influencers
➡️ Where consumers can get trustworthy information.