This study (open access) reviewed published food fraud incidents from 2015 – 2025 that were specific to South Africa.
The authors found multiple examples of instances that are high on global generic watchlists such as fish species mislabelling or meat species substitution. They also report more “local” issues such as counterfeiting of brands, or food adulterated with chemical dyes being sold to impoverished communities. One startling counterfeiting example was fire hydrant water being bottled and sold as branded mineral water.
They conclude that the incident history, particularly the relatively high occurrence of counterfeiting and illicit alcohol, highlights systemic regulatory shortcomings, including inadequate enforcement capacity, insufficient laboratory infrastructure, the absence of a national food fraud surveillance database, and outdated legislative penalties that fail to deter offenders. They recommend establishing a national reporting and monitoring system, enhancing laboratory and inspection capacity, adopting advanced authentication tools, and implementing stricter regulations
Photo by Tobias Reich on Unsplash
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