food SAFETY
FOOD FRAUD
DIVISION OF HOTELS & RESTAURANTS, DBPR Did you know? »There » were 52,973 food service licenses issued in Florida in 2016-17. »There » were 41,931 lodging licenses issued in Florida in 2016-17. »That » Hotels & Restaurants conducted 111,449 inspections in 2016-17, from routine to complaint inspections.
Top 10 Food Violations 22 – Food-contact surfaces clean and sanitized 36 – Floors, walls, ceilings and attached equipment properly constructed and clean; rooms and equipment properly vented 14 – Food-contact and nonfood contact surfaces designed, constructed, maintained, installed, located 23 – Non-food contact surfaces clean 08B – Food protection during preparation, storage and display
FIGHTING FOOD FRAUD By DR. QINCHUN RAO
F
ood fraud is a collective term used to encompass the deliberate and intentional substitution, addition, tampering or misrepresentation of food, food ingredients or food packaging, or false or misleading statements made about a product, for economic gain.1 Food fraud not only violates the relevant food regulations but also affects food quality and safety with regard to foodborne illness, such as individual allergies and infection via foodborne pathogens. According to the U.S. Association of Certified Fraud Examiners (ACFE), it was estimated that the typical organization, including within the food industry, loses 5 percent of its revenue to fraud each year.2 If applied to the 2013 estimated gross world product, this translates to a potential projected global fraud loss of nearly $3.7 trillion.2 Food fraud is a global problem with rising incidence rates. The U.S. Grocery Manufacturers Association (GMA) estimates that global adulterated food products cost the industry $10 to $15 billion per year, affecting approximately 10 percent of all commercially sold food products.3 In the EU, about 4 percent of the RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) notifications (110 of 2993) was due to adulteration/fraud in 2016.4 The UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) has estimated 10 percent of the food on the shelf may be adulterated.5 According to the U.S. National Center for Food Protection and Defense (NCFPD) EMA Incident Database, from 1980 to 2013, a) the leading reported type of fraudulent foods was animal products including fish and seafood (31 percent), meat and meat products (7 percent) and dairy products (6 percent); b) 65 percent of the incidents were due to substitution or dilution; and c) in about 30 percent of the incidents, the involved food products were produced in the U.S.6 It was estimated that at least 5-to-7 percent of the U.S. food supply was affected by food fraud.7 Food fraud is also a serious concern for religious and cultural reasons, as well as for those with individual moral aversions.8 Both Muslims 9, 10 and Jews 11, 12 who follow religious law are forbidden from consuming materials derived from pigs and animal blood. It was reported that most of the 6 to 8 million Muslims in North America observe halal laws, particularly the avoidance of pork; however, the food industry has essentially ignored this consumer group.8 It was reported that the major authenticity concerns in meat products for Muslim consumers include pork substitution and undeclared blood plasma.13 To fight food fraud, the Food Safety and Quality Laboratory at Florida State University is devoted to providing solutions to a number of food fraud issues by developing rapid and user-friendly immunoassays to detect undesirable substances or fraudulently added material in foods. Food safety concerns being addressed by our technology include undeclared meat and fish species, specified risk materials, hidden proteins derived from animal bloods and various allergens from animal source foods. Several unique features for our technology include the ability to detect different undesirable substances in all kinds of foods (raw and processed), qualitative and quantitative analysis, species and tissue selectivity, simple sample preparation, sensitivity, rapid and economic.
31B – Hand-washing supplies and hand-wash sign provided
Dr. Qinchun Rao is an Assistant Professor of Nutrition, Food & Exercise Sciences at Florida State University. For more information, please contact Dr. Qinchun Rao at (850) 644-8215 or by email at qrao@fsu.edu.
03A – Receiving and holding PH/TCS foods cold
References
21 – Wiping cloths; clean and soiled linens; laundry facilities 29 – Plumbing installed and maintained; mop sink; water filters; backflow prevention 31A – Hand-wash sink(s) installed, accessible, not used for other purposes
SOURCE: Division of Hotels and Restaurants, Annual Report, 2016-17
42 FA L L
2018
1. Spink, J.; Moyer, D. C., Defining the public health threat of food fraud. J. Food Sci. 2011, 76, R157-R163. 2. Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. Report to the nations on occupational fraud and abuse - 2014 global fraud study. http:// www.acfe.com/rttn-summary.aspx (June 19, 2018). 3. GMA. Consumer product fraud: Deterrence and detection. . http://www.gmaonline.org/downloads/research-and-reports/ consumerproductfraud.pdf (June 19, 2018). 4. European Commission. The rapid alert system for food and feed 2016 annual report. https://ec.europa.eu/food/sites/food/files/ safety/docs/rasff_annual_report_2016.pdf (June 19, 2018). 5. Everstine, K.; Kircher, A.; Cunningham, E., The implications of food fraud. Food Quality & Safety June/July, 2013. 6. Food Protection and Defense Institute. Food Adulteration Incidents Registry (FAIR). https://foodprotection.umn.edu/fair (June 19, 2018).
7. Layton, L. FDA pressured to combat rising 'food fraud'. http:// www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/03/29/ AR2010032903824_pf.html (June 19, 2018). 8. Regenstein, J. M.; Chaudry, M. M.; Regenstein, C. E., The kosher and halal food laws. Compr. Rev. Food Sci. Food Saf. 2003, 2, 111-127. 9. WorldOfIslam. Halal/haraam? http://special.worldofislam.info/ Food/halal_haram.html (June 19, 2018). 10. IFANCA. What is halal? http://www.ifanca.org/Pages/ staticwebpages.aspx?page=whatisHalal (June 19, 2018). 11. Byrne, J. T.; Price, J. H., In sickness and in health: the effects of religion. Health Educ. 1979, 10, 6-10. 12. Kosher Certification. What is kosher? http://www.ok.org/ companies/what-is-kosher/ (June 19, 2018). 13. Nakyinsige, K.; Man, Y. B.; Sazili, A. Q., Halal authenticity issues in meat and meat products. Meat Sci. 2012, 91, 207214.
F LO R I DA R ESTAU R A N T & LO D G I N G A S SO CI AT I O N