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Food Fraud Prevention – Types of Products

Welcome! In support of the Food Authenticity Network (FAN) activity, this new blog series reviews key topics related to food fraud prevention. Watch here for updates that explore the definitions of food fraud terms and concepts.

This blog post builds on our previous review of the definition and scope of food fraud and the subsequent blog post on the types of fraud. We will continue the discussion by examining the types of fraud. The next blog post will review the application of quality management and risk management to expand the focus from detection to prevention and risk to vulnerability.

Early food fraud research and publications focused on what food fraud is or how big the problem is. The research evolved into several paths: incident reviews, detection or authentication development, criminology, and strategic management. Some of the strategic management research included our peer-reviewed, scholarly, SCOPUS-listed publication on Defining the Public Health Threat of Food Fraud, Introducing the Food Fraud Initial Screening model (FFIS), Introducing the Food Fraud Prevention Cycle (FFPC), and Defining the types of counterfeiters, counterfeiting, and offender organizations. Together, the research projects revealed that criminals will attack in just about any way imaginable and most quickly and easily. Together, the research projects emphasized that criminals will  attack by ANY fraud act against ANY product. Thus, to holistically reduce food fraud, we need to focus on ALL types of fraud and for ALL products. We can either complain about this very broad scope or be practical and expand our collective focus on all types of fraud and for all products.

Here, the ‘products’ are not individual commodities such as olive oil, seafood, or spices, but are supply chain inventory types of products such as raw materials, ingredients, work-in-process, or finished goods (see MSU Introduction to Supply Chain Management/ SCM303).

The broad focus on ‘all hazards’ – or for food fraud prevention, for ‘all vulnerabilities’ – is consistent with food safety and HACCP. For example (emphasis added): “HACCP is a management system in which food safety is addressed through the analysis and control of biological, chemical, and physical hazards from raw material production, procurement, and handling, to manufacturing, distribution, and consumption of the finished product” (FDA 2017).”

A food fraud incident can occur in any type of product, so all are within the scope of a food fraud prevention strategy.

While a manufacturer or producer has the most control of THEIR raw materials and incoming goods, their customers are worried about fraud at any point along THEIR entire supply chain – or all products.

This blog post will review the food fraud types of products.

Food Fraud & Definition (From various sources including GFSI and SSAFE with definitions from adapted from Supply Chain Management textbooks):

• Raw Materials/ Commodities: A component of a food, feed or packaging that has not undergone processing (GFSI).
• Incoming Goods/ Ingredients: A component that is being received including food, or feed that has undergone processing (GFSI).
• Incoming Goods/ Packaging: A component that is being received including packaging that has undergone processing (GFSI).
• Work-in-process-manufacturing: product that is actively being transformed from ingredients to finished goods.
• Work-In-process-inventory: product that is actively being transformed but is being held idle while waiting for an additional step to complete the transition finished goods.
• Finished goods in inventory: product that has completed a transformation and is ready to deliver to a customer but it is being held in storage.
• Finished goods in the marketplace: product that has completed a transformation and is being held in a location or format that is ready for a customer to procure.
• Distributors, Wholesalers, and Resellers: firms that sell or deliver merchandise to retail stores or other types of customers.
• Returned goods and reverse logistics: the process of moving finished goods that have been distributed to the marketplace back to the origin or a location to receive, dispose, or rework product.
• Waste disposed, used packaging, and off-specification products: products that have been partially consumed or otherwise determined to be used or unacceptable for further use.

The types of food products are intentionally broad – holistic and all-encompassing- to frustrate the criminal against action of any kind.

Watch out for the next blog, which will review the application of quality management and risk management to expand the focus from detection to prevention and risk to vulnerability,

If you have any questions on this blog, we’d love to hear from you in the comments box below.

References:

• Spink, J, and Moyer, DC, (2011) Defining the Public Health Threat of Food Fraud, Journal of Food Science, Volume 75 (Number 9), p. 57-63, URL: https://ift.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1750-3841.2011.02417.x
• Spink, John, Moyer, Douglas C, & Speier-Pero, Cheri (2016). Introducing the Food Fraud Initial Screening Model (FFIS), Food Control, Volume 69, November 2016, Pages 306-314, URL: http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713516301219 .
• Spink, John; Zhang, Guangtao; Chen, Weina & Spier-Pero, Cheri; (2019). Introducing the Food Fraud Prevention Cycle (FFPC): A Dynamic Information Management and Strategic Roadmap, Food Control, 105 (November 2019), 233-241, URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0956713519302567
• Spink, J., Moyer, DC, Park, H., and Heinonen, J. (2013/2017) Defining the Types of Counterfeiters, Counterfeiting, Offender Organizations, Crime Science Journal, Volume 2, Number 8, pp. 1-10, URL: http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/1541-4337.12033/abstract