Heading the fight against food-related crimes
One of the most notorious examples of food crime in Europe occurred in 2013 when it was found that a large number of items, including burgers, contained horse flesh. However, what exactly is food crime, and how do we attempt to protect customers?
Any intentional alteration, substitution, mislabeling, or fraud involving food is considered food crime. Food crime is becoming more of a hazard to the public due to a surge in online sales. Counterfeit and subpar food and drink can enter the supply chain at any point, from the local corner store to wholesale domestic and worldwide distribution networks.
In contrast to more overt criminal activity, food crime involves misleading consumers and maybe endangering their health. All kinds of products are impacted by food crime, so we must fight this kind of criminality with greater vigilance now that we have access to the international market.
Maintaining the security of the supply chain
Food Standards Scotland’s (FSS) incident, investigation, and intelligence unit, the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit (SFCIU), spearheads the fight against food crime. It has specialized teams for intelligence, analysis, and investigations that evaluate, create, and implement data from a range of sources, including the general public, food industry whistleblowers, operators of food businesses, and other partner agencies.
In Scotland, we collaborate with partners including Police Scotland and local authorities to create intelligence-driven operations against offenders who aim to benefit from food-related crimes that may endanger the health of victims.
Food crime can have fatal implications even if it is driven by financial gain and can range from simple theft to sophisticated supply chain fraud.
Following SFCIU investigations, a number of food crime cases, including those involving bogus Scottish tea sold to upscale hotels and a powdered chemical supplied to individuals looking to lose weight quickly, have been reported to the Procurator Fiscal since the founding of FSS in 2015.Jamie George, 32, was given a 37-month prison sentence at Stirling Sheriff Court early this year for trafficking 2,4-dinitrophenol (DNP), an extremely dangerous industrial chemical. This case was historic for FSS.DNP is not safe for ingestion by humans and has sadly been linked to at least 33 deaths in the UK since.
During the course of the investigation, 5 kg of DNP, 120 filled capsules, and 10,000 empty capsules were found by FSS staff, police officers, and Falkirk Council employees. His punishment followed a collaborative investigation by the Environmental Health department of Falkirk Council, Police Scotland, and the Scottish Food Crime and Incidents Unit (SFCIU) of FSS.
This is the first DNP case of its sort to be prosecuted in Scotland, and it’s also the first significant criminal inquiry that results in an SFCIU conviction. The sentence makes it very evident that those who are willing to endanger the lives of others in order to profit monetarily from food crime will face the repercussions.
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The three defense lines
There are three main lines of defense that can be employed to combat food crime and guarantee the safety and authenticity of food. These include the food sector and corporations, law enforcement and regulators, and consumers.
I get asked this question a lot: “How can people spot food crime?” My suggestion is straightforward: if something looks too good to be true, like a steep price reduction, especially given the current economic circumstances, or if it makes unrealistic promises about results, the likelihood is that it isn’t real.The Food Crime Risk Profiling Tool, an online tool that FSS just released, enables businesses to evaluate their susceptibilities to criminal activity.By using the tool, companies can evaluate their performance in relation to a number of assertions on various subjects, like how they source.
Those that sign up for the tool will receive an invitation to the free online workshops, which FSS will be hosting later this year to help explore chances to promote authenticity and improve food crime resilience. The sessions are intended to assist businesses through this process.
Winning the fight against food crime requires prevention. We believed that, in order to safeguard companies and, eventually, customers, it was critical to assist the food industry through crime prevention.
Law enforcement organizations need the assistance of the general public, especially those employed in the food and beverage industry, in order to effectively combat food-related crimes, even as we strive to better assist the industry. The free Scottish Food Crime Hotline was established in 2016 by FSS and Crimestoppers to provide the public and business community with a secure location to report any suspicions of food crime. In addition to the 24-hour, seven-day confidential hotline number (08000287926), you can report an issue at any time by visiting Food Standards Scotland’s website.