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Food safetyTerm

Food fraud

Food fraud is deliberately deceiving with food for financial gain, for example through substitution, dilution, false origin or incorrect labelling.

Explanation

Examples are replacing an expensive ingredient with a cheaper one, diluting a product, incorrectly stating origin or quality, or reusing rejected products. The fraudster hopes to make a profit without being noticed, and may thereby also endanger food safety.

A widely used approach is called VACCP (Vulnerability Assessment Critical Control Points). You assess for each raw material how vulnerable it is to fraud, for example because of price, scarcity and the length of the chain, and choose measures such as supplier evaluation, extra analyses, audits and checks of proof of origin.

It differs from food defense, which is about intentional harm. In fraud, harm is often a side effect, the aim is profit. Traceability helps with both: with good records you see sooner where something does not add up. Which requirements apply depends on your customers and on the scheme you work with.

Example from practice

A spice importer has each raw material assessed for how vulnerable it is to adulteration. For an expensive spice with a long chain, an extra authenticity analysis is added and purchasing stays with fixed, known suppliers.

© 2026 BrydgeOne. General information, not legal or other professional advice. No rights can be derived from this explanation.

In BrydgeOne

Where you work with Food fraud

Food defense & food fraudDocument TACCP and VACCP assessments. Supplier managementEvaluate and monitor suppliers. Traceability & recallPlan and log recall and traceability drills.
Knowledge base

Keep reading

Food defense and food fraud: the difference, and how to assess them with TACCP and VACCPFood defense and food fraud are about deliberate threats to food, unlike food safety, which is about unintentional hazards. With TACCP you assess attacks and with VACCP your vulnerability to fraud. Here you read the difference, the approach, example measures and what to document.
Glossary

See also

Food defenseFood defenseTraceabilityTraceabilitySupplier evaluationSupplier evaluationHACCPHazard Analysis and Critical Control Points

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