Food Fraud is the intentional adulteration, substitution, or falsification of food for economic gain. Food Defense is the set of measures to protect the food supply chain against intentional threats.

In the universe of food security, Food Defense and Food Fraud are always in the spotlight due to their great relevance in the sector. These items have become even more present with the publication of ISO 22000:2018, as it is necessary to include them in the analysis of the organization’s context, treating them as relevant external and internal matters.

In addition, the additional requirements of version five of the FSSC 22000 scheme detail the need for a documented procedure and constant updating of both Food Fraud and Food Defense. Therefore, especially for certified companies, there is no doubt that they are essential.

Free Download: SOP Template for Food & Beverage Companies

What is Food Fraud

Food Fraud is a fraudulent and intentional substitution, dilution, adulteration or addition of a product or raw material for the purpose of financial gain. In this way, the person responsible for the fraud increases the apparent value of the product or reduces its production cost.

An example of this illegal activity, well known in the food area, is milk fraud. It can be performed in several ways:

• Addition of water to increase volume;

• Addition of replenishments such as formaldehyde or melamine to mask the addition of water and act as a preservative;

• Addition of preservatives, such as hydrogen peroxide, to destroy microorganisms or prevent their multiplication, increasing the durability of the milk;

• Addition of neutralizers, such as lye, to mask the acidity of microbial fermentation.

This type of economically motivated transgression is the result of a combination of opportunity, motivation, and inadequate control measures. Therefore, to identify and assess potential weaknesses in the manufacturing process, it is necessary to carry out a vulnerability assessment that encompasses the entire chain.

This involves everything from managing suppliers to analyzing your product, thus ensuring its purity and implementing mitigation measures for significant threats. This assessment of threats in food is called the Food Fraud Program, which aims precisely to combat them.

What is Food Defense

Food Defense, on the other hand, is a set of protective measures to mitigate situations of intentional or malicious contamination in food. This is the main difference between the themes.

Although both are related to intentional contamination, the Food Fraud program aims to prevent contamination for economic gain. On the other hand, the Food Defense program seeks to prevent possible sabotage from external sources that wish to harm the quality/safety of a product or input.

The Publicity Available Specification (PAS) norm expresses Food Defense as:

“Procedures adopted to ensure the safety of food and beverages and their supply chains from any forms of malicious attack, including ideologically motivated attacks that may lead to contamination or disruption of supply”.

The two biggest examples of food adulterators due to the lack of a Food Defense program are: unmotivated/resentful employees and competitors.

As with Food Fraud, to avoid this type of contamination, a risk analysis is necessary so that the company can be able to identify its weak points and establish mitigating measures to strengthen food protection.

See also: Free Food Safety Checklist Template

The Difference Between Food Fraud and Food Defense

As you’ve already seen, while Food Fraud is related to fraudulent practices to make a profit, Food Defense focuses on protecting the food supply chain from intentional threats that aim to cause damage.

The difference between Food Fraud and Food Defense lies in the focus and intent behind the actions. So that you don’t get confused ever again, these are the main differences between these two concepts:

Food Fraud:

• Intention: Economic gain.

• Actions: Adulteration, substitution or falsification of food/inputs.

• Examples: Adding cheap undeclared ingredients, removing valuable components, falsifying the origin and quality of products.

Food Defense:

• Intent: Protection against intentional threats.

• Actions: Measures to prevent bioterrorism, sabotage, and other malicious threats.

• Examples: Implementation of strict controls, and surveillance to prevent sabotage by disgruntled employees and/or malicious actions by competitors.

Learn more: Quality Management Toolkit

Conclusion

Whether to prevent a crime via fraud or sabotage, it is extremely important that companies adopt prevention measures that ensure the provision of safe food to customers and consumers, as well as the integrity and continuity of the brand.

The main tool applied to implement this care is risk assessment. Through it, potential threats and vulnerabilities are classified, using probability and impact tables. Then, preventive and control measures are established based on this previous study.

You can count on a solution such as SoftExpert Suite to facilitate this care. With it, technology can help you manage risks, from their initial identifications, through assessment and analysis, to mitigation and monitoring, managing incidents and ensuring the execution of actions.

Our experts can help you identify the best strategies for your company with SoftExpert solutions. Contact us today!