How to tackle food fraud in official food control authorities in Germany

Food Fraud has been a problem for as long as food trade exists in human history. Recent food fraud scandals have attracted particular attention of the public and authorities. The fight against food fraud is still hampered by a lack of a clear definition stating which facts constitute a legal case of food fraud. Against this background, an online survey was conducted in the official food control authorities of the German federal states to obtain an overview of the facts considered as food fraud and to identify factors which, according to the respondents, could be used for the early detection of food fraud. The study was carried out in autumn 2017 with the online software tool Sosci Survey. The data collected was analysed descriptively using Microsoft Excel. The following facts are classified as food fraud by almost all participants: substitution of substances/liquids, imitation of foodstuff, omission of substances/liquids and the concealment of inferior quality of a product. The origin of the foodstuff is considered to be the most important factor in predicting possible food fraud, followed by the product category and price fluctuations. The results of this study show similarities and differences in the understanding of the term food fraud in the official institutions of Germany. Therefore they might be used for the development of a legal definition, which eliminates the identified ambiguities and is a prerequisite for a stringent and congruent fight against food fraud. The identified factors for predicting possible cases of food fraud could be used to develop an early warning system and could thus be part of an overall prevention concept.