How the food industry experiences and perceives food fraud

Abstract

Food fraud becomes one of the main hazards throughout the food chain. The aim of this study was to explore the experiences and perception of food fraud from a food industry perspective and to analyse attitudes of the production/service food sectors in Serbia and Croatia. In total, 53 companies operating in the food chain were included in this research, 36 from Serbia and 17 from Croatia. A cluster analysis was conducted in order to classify companies according to the relative level of the agreement they attach to food fraud. Also, food fraud risk associated with types of food was calculated. Findings identify mislabelling, counterfeiting and substitution as top three types of food fraud. Cluster analysis confirmed differences in perception of food fraud by different types of companies in respect to their size and food sector they operate. Meat products, dairy products, fruit products and honey are types of food most vulnerable to food fraud. On the contrary olive oil, grain products, spices and sauces are products perceived as least likely to be fraud detected. The risk model recognised olive oil and spices as products with the highest perceived fraud risk. This study provides a valuable insight to companies and food technologists operating in the supply chain on how companies perceive food fraud.