Food fraud is far deeper than a cut-and-dry food safety incident, an instance that is unforeseen and unintentional. Fraud, on the other hand, is committed on purpose. Every business exists for one reason--to make money. Unfortunately, some food companies--or individuals employed by those companies--are willing to do whatever it takes to increase profits by cutting corners, which puts food safety and quality at risk.
Food fraud is the act of purposely altering, misrepresenting, mislabeling, substituting or tampering with any food product at any point along the farm-to-table food chain. Fraud can apply to an overall food product, a single ingredient, or a food’s packaging.