FOOD FRAUD: An emerging adversity in the global food system.
In the agribusiness space today, am so used to hearing ”supply chain transparency” yet according to WHO about 600 million people get sick annually from ingesting contaminated food. This statistic means that one in ten people suffers from foodborne illness contributing to 420, 000 deaths every year. Sadly, these deaths are caused by fraudsters (fellow humans) who interfere with the supply of food.
The changing industrial processes and the sprawling nature of supply chains across countries make food much more vulnerable to mishaps and contamination. Mislabelling food products, dilution, adulteration, concealment and substitution is simply fraud.
These fraudulent activities occur from the very primary stage where producers are deceived on the quality of inputs such as seed and fertilizer, up to the secondary stage where farmers and food businesses deceive consumers on the quality of food. The media has outlined this skill of food fraud in outraging reports on donkey meat scandals, toxic meat being sold to consumers and various counterfeit alcoholic beverages that result to huge losses as well as reduced consumer confidence.
According to a report released by PwC, the global impact of food fraud and the cost to the economy is estimated to be beyond $40 Billion. Kenya, among other developing economies faces a significant share of this loss.
As the world prepares for the Global Food System Summit 2021 which is just a few days to come, the need for change has never been greater now than ever. It’s time everyone in the food system leverages this opportunity to reshape it to achieve greater transparency. Personally, I look forward to seeing faster innovation, more collaboration and increased transparency in the food and beverage supply chain in the coming days.
