New UK Law Holds Organizations Criminally Liable for Food Fraud Committed by Individuals
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Beginning September 1, 2025, changes to UK law will come into effect making it so that large organizations can be held criminally accountable for acts of food fraud committed by an individual within the organization, when the acts of fraud are intended to benefit the organization or its clients.
The new “Failure to Prevent Food Fraud” corporate offence under the Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act will apply to organizations meeting at least two of the following criteria:
- More than 250 employees
- More than £36 million turnover
- More than £18 million in assets.
Small and medium-sized businesses will be exempt, but can be scrutinized under other fraud and corporate liability laws.
To defend against fraud and comply with the new legislation, UK Food Standards Agency’s National Food Crime Unit (FSA’s NFCU) are advising organizations to:
- Assess fraud risk across all departments
- Implement reasonable procedures to prevent fraud that are tailored to the business and proportionate to the risk
- Train staff on recognizing and reporting fraudulent activities
- Monitor and update internal controls regularly.
Organizations that fail to comply may be faced with unlimited fines and further scrutiny under the law.
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