Tag Archives: UK

Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

You Know My Methods, Watson

By Susanne Kuehne
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Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food fraud
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database, owned and operated by Decernis, a Food Safety Tech advertiser. Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Food fraud, also known as the intentional adulteration of food for economic gain, is described as a criminal act that in some cases can have a significant impact on consumers, honest producers and societies. The perpetrators utilize loopholes in the surveillance, investigation, enforcement and prosecution of food fraud. A recent publication describes the anatomy of eight example food fraud scandals in the UK to enable investigators to understand, track and prosecute complex fraud cases more efficiently.

Resource

  1. Smith, R., Manning, L., and McElwee, G. (October 11, 2021). “The anatomy of ‘So-called Food-Fraud Scandals’ in the UK 1970–2018: Developing a contextualised understanding”. Crime, Law and Social Change.
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food Fraud Quick Bites

Getting Pinched by Imitation Lobsters

By Susanne Kuehne
No Comments
Susanne Kuehne, Decernis
Food fraud, lobster, white fish
Find records of fraud such as those discussed in this column and more in the Food Fraud Database.
Image credit: Susanne Kuehne

Seafood is a never-ending target for defrauding restaurant and store customers. At an Italian restaurant chain in the UK, a lobster and king prawn dish contained more than one-third white fish in addition to other filler ingredients to lower cost. The dish was shaped to represent lobster meat. No health or safety issues were reported, however, this is yet another example where significantly cheaper ingredients were used to defraud customers. The company made almost $4 million in revenue over the course of several years from this dish alone.

Resource

  1. Chris Wilson (January 14, 2020). “ASK restaurant fined over ‘misleading’ lobster dish”.  BBC.