This literature study, led by the University of Lincoln, was commissioned by the FSA’s National Food Crime Unit in order to inform the advice and guidance they give to food businesses, particularly SMEs, regarding food fraud mitigation.
The report covers a number of areas of recognised best practice including the concept of cumulative prevention steps (“hurdles”) in building a food defence strategy. They can be summarised as increasing the effort (for the fraudster), increasing the risks, reducing the rewards, reducing the temptations and removing the excuses, The authors stress that food business operators can minimise fraud risk by focused supplier approval and procurement processes being embedded in their ‘business as usual’ operations. They recognise the risk that supply chain pressures and practices to deliver low-margin and lower cost food products can promote mindsets and an operating environment where deception, misrepresentation, and fraud occur.
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