Organized crime turns to food scams from activities such as drug trafficking, because of less-developed method of detection and the punishment is more soft.
Speaking to FoodManufacture.co.uk, former officers of Trading standards and food law expert Stuart Shotton cautions the food industry and the people who watched it has to be prepared for an increase in illegal activities.
“Criminals are moving away from drug offences against counterfeit foodstuffs, because they see prison time is greatly reduced. You are looking at 10 years plus for drugs, while half thefor forgery at least. “
Food fraud including fraudulent product claims to include only certified organic ingredients, types of fish that is passed as the other people and products that claim false home countries.
Another common example involves watering down fruit concentrate or replace ingredients like premium blood orange with other varieties. The traditional trade of fake alcohol is also prevalent.