The Food Standards Agency (FSA) has revealed that food crime is costing the UK economy as much as £2bn per year.
In a report published by the food regulator titled The Cost of Food Crime, the cost of food fraud to consumers, businesses and government ranged between £410m and £1.96bn every year – placing a “heavy burden” on the food sector.
People are often unaware that they are a victim of food fraud, but food crime can be seriously harmful to consumers, according to the FSA.
It can involve selling food or drink that isn’t what it says it is, or something that includes cheaper ingredients than the ones listed on the label.
Once a food fraud had been committed, each case was estimated to cost between £16,000 and £151,000 for small cases and between £423,000 and £7.2m for larger cases.
The Food Fraud Working Group, one of the FSA’s industry partners, has now outlined plans to launch a new freephone number for the FSA’s existing food fraud hotline to make it easier for people to share their concerns.
Earlier this year, The FSA’s National Food Crime Unit made an unannounced visit to a premises linked to a Derbyshire farm, where alleged food fraud was taking place.
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CEO of the FSA, Emily Miles said: “The UK has some of the safest and most authentic food in the world, but there will always be a threat of criminality in the food system. Food businesses are the first and most important line of defence and we want to support them.
“This is one of the reasons why we launched a working group to explore together whether some areas of our collective response to food crime can be improved.
“Together, we’re making it easier to share intelligence and information by helping people who work in the food system to share their concerns with us freely and confidentially.
“Our research suggests that for businesses and consumers feeling the financial strain, the cost of food crime still matters.”
Director and co-chair of the food industry intelligence network, Helen Sisson said: “We are pleased to be taking action with the FSA and our partners in the food industry to strengthen the way we can prevent food crime in our supply chains.
“Co-operation and communication between every part of the food system is vital to protect the public and the global reputation of UK food.”
The news comes as over £800m has been stolen from UK supermarkets this year, as almost two in five Brits admit to ‘uplifting’ goods from stores.
