Food Defense

FDA Finds Adulteration in 4 Percent of Honey Samples

Mon, 13 Apr 2026 13:39:46 -0400

In 2025, FDA sampled domestic and imported honey to detect food fraud. Consistent with previous years, the rate of fraud was low, but still high enough to emphasize the ongoing vulnerability of honey to economically motivated adulteration.

Leveraging AI for Food Safety Without Becoming its Victim

nortora@auburn.edu (Robert A. Norton Ph.D.) — Fri, 27 Mar 2026 00:00:00 -0400

This article examines the need to always engage subject matter experts in the analysis of AI results for food safety in the context of biosurveillance and cognitive security.

EU Research Projects to Host Joint Webinar on Threats to Food Safety, Security

Tue, 24 Mar 2026 15:45:57 -0400

The free virtual event will take place on March 31 and will feature four European research and innovation initiatives to discuss how food security can be safeguarded by addressing fraud, crises, cyber threats, and chemical, biological and radiological (CBR) hazards across the food supply chain.

Researchers Analyze Garlic Microbiome to Detect Food Fraud with 90 Percent Accuracy

Thu, 19 Mar 2026 05:30:00 -0400

Garlic carries a distinct bacterial signature reflective of the soil in which it was grown, enabling geographic identification based on microbial composition. A novel method using microbiome data and AI analysis potentially offers a low-cost authentication technique.

EU Launches AI Traceability Platform to Strengthen Detection of Food Fraud, Safety Risks

Tue, 10 Mar 2026 10:08:06 -0400

TraceMap supports national authorities in identifying food safety threats and improving EU-wide coordinated response. A pilot version of TraceMap was recently used to support the investigation of globally distributed cereulide-contaminated infant formula.

FAO Publishes Report on Food Fraud in Fishery and Aquaculture Sector

Wed, 11 Feb 2026 05:30:00 -0500

Food fraud in the seafood sector is a growing and complex issue with serious health consequences, requiring a coordinated effort involving strict enforcement, advanced analytical tools, stakeholder collaboration, and public education.

Report Finds that Food Fraud is on the Rise, Costing Sweden Billions

Tue, 16 Dec 2025 12:06:57 -0500

According to a report by the Swedish Food Agency, food fraud costs Swedish society an estimated $13.6 billion SEK (approximately $1.5 billion USD) annually. The agency is preparing upcoming government directives to implement measures to address the growing problem of food fraud.

Biosecurity in Peacetime and Wartime

Mon, 15 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0500

Most prominent among wartime threats for U.S. food, agriculture, and water systems is the probability of continuous and coordinated cyberattacks and other forms of sabotage.

Beyond Borders: Food Fraud in Global Supply Chains

Wed, 10 Dec 2025 00:00:00 -0500

This article presents data on food fraud in global supply chains and discusses how to identify supply chain vulnerabilities by conducting a food fraud vulnerability assessment.

EU Publishes Food Fraud Tool Mapping Thousands of Cases Since 2016

Wed, 26 Nov 2025 14:20:00 -0500

The European Commission recently published a dashboard that maps all food fraud cases covered in the Joint Research Center (JRC’s) monthly food fraud reports since 2016, including more than 2,000 cases and counting.

Ep. 204. Spink and Fenoff: How to Prevent Food Fraud in Your Supply Chain

Tue, 28 Oct 2025 02:30:00 -0400

In this episode of Food Safety Matters, we speak to Dr. John Spink and Dr. Roy Fenoff about an often misunderstood but urgent topic—food fraud, and specifically how to prevent it in complex supply chains. They also discuss their upcoming food fraud workshop and certificate course to be held the 2026 Food Safety Summit.

A Biosurveillance Ecosystem for Food Safety and National Resilience

Tue, 14 Oct 2025 00:00:00 -0400

This article discusses an Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ISAC) for biosurveillance, with the aim of ensuring food safety as part of a food defense program. ISACs collect, analyze, and disseminate actionable threat information to their industry members and provide members with tools to mitigate risks and enhance resiliency.

FAO to Host ‘AI Meets Food Safety’ Webinar

Thu, 09 Oct 2025 10:33:00 -0400

On October 14, as part of the FAO Science and Innovation Forum, FAO will hold a webinar on the role of artificial intelligence (AI) in enhancing food safety management. Registration for online participation in the event is now open.

Goods Valued at €95 Million Seized in Operation OPSON XIV Targeting EU Food Fraud

Tue, 07 Oct 2025 15:17:08 -0400

The 14^th annual Operation OPSON, led by Europol to crack-down on counterfeit and substandard food and beverages circulating the EU, resulted in the seizure of 11.6 million kilograms of food and 1.4 million liters of beverages.

UK Report Calls Illegal Meat Import Crisis ‘Biggest Threat to Food Safety’

Fri, 12 Sep 2025 07:18:58 -0400

A UK Government report calls attention to the increasing volume of illegally imported meat and dairy to Great Britain, which is often unsafe and unhygienic, posing foodborne illness and zoonotic disease risks. It recommends a coordinated approach to tackling illicit imports.

Shark Meat for Sale in U.S. Often Mislabeled; Can be Endangered, High-Mercury Species

Thu, 11 Sep 2025 07:00:00 -0400

A study has found that the majority of shark meat sold in the U.S. is mislabeled, and can oftentimes be the meat of endangered species that are dangerously high in mercury, like hammerhead.

FDA Sampling Finds One-Third of Imported Ice-Glazed Seafood Products to be Fraudulent

Tue, 02 Sep 2025 13:27:43 -0400

In a testing and sampling assignment conducted from 2022–2024 to determine the prevalence of economically motivated adulteration among imported frozen seafood, FDA found that 36 percent of the samples were violative for short weighting.

Cognitive Security, a Growing Concern for Food Safety: Part 6

Wed, 20 Aug 2025 00:00:00 -0400

This article discusses biosurveillance intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance for food processors, from a system design and operation standpoint.

Four People Arrested in UK for Fraudulently Selling Mixed Rice as Premium Basmati

Wed, 06 Aug 2025 07:00:00 -0400

The UK Food Standards Agency’s National Food Crime Unit (FSA’s NFCU) have arrested four people involved in the distribution and sale of mixed rice in counterfeit “premium basmati” packaging.

New UK Law Holds Organizations Criminally Liable for Food Fraud Committed by Individuals

Thu, 31 Jul 2025 14:17:42 -0400

Beginning September 1, the “Failure to Prevent Food Fraud” corporate offence under the UK Economic Crime and Corporate Transparency Act will make it so that large businesses can be held criminally accountable for acts of food fraud committed by an individual within the organization.

UK Authorities Successfully Enforce Action Against Yet Another ‘Smokie’ Food Fraudster

Thu, 24 Jul 2025 12:12:18 -0400

In the third case involving the illegal sale of “smokie” meat in the UK within the last year alone, the UK Food Standards Agency’s National Food Crime Unit (FSA’s NFCU) has secured a confiscation order of more than £30,000 for the placing of unsafe food on the market.

Retired FDA Leader Offers Specialized Food Defense Training for FSPCA

Mon, 30 Jun 2025 14:49:28 -0400

The FSPCA Intentional Adulteration Vulnerability Assessment (IAVA) course is one way to meet FDA’s requirement for a "Food Defense Qualified Individual."

Cognitive Security, a Growing Concern for Food Safety: Part 5

nortora@auburn.edu (Robert A. Norton Ph.D.) — Mon, 23 Jun 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Part 5 of this article series explores the mitigation of cognitive security threats in social media.

UK NFCU Establishes Control Strategy Priorities for 2025–2026

Mon, 26 May 2025 00:00:03 -0400

The UK National Food Crime Unit’s (NFCU's) Control Strategy for 2025–2026 outlines the unit’s current food crime priorities, bringing focus to its efforts to “prevent food crime, deter and disrupt food criminals, and bring offenders to justice.”

Unit of UK’s FSA Granted Additional Investigatory Powers to Tackle Food Fraud

Tue, 06 May 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Food safety experts say the ability to enter and search premises immediately following the arrest of food fraud suspects will make it much more difficult for criminals to dispose of incriminating evidence and cover their tracks.

FSA Shares Ongoing Efforts to Modernize Meat Industry Regulation

Fri, 25 Apr 2025 14:41:45 -0400

In an April 25 speech, UK Food Standards Agency (FSA) Chief Executive Katie Pettifer described efforts FSA is taking to improve meat industry regulation, including supporting the adoption of new technologies, negotiating international trade agreements, addressing inspector and veterinarian workforce shortages, evaluating inspection charge discounts, and tackling food crime.

Cognitive Security, a Growing Concern for Food Safety: Part 4

Mon, 14 Apr 2025 00:00:00 -0400

Part 4 of this article series explores techniques to identify and mitigate threats emerging from compromised business credentials.

Italian Standards Body Offers New Standard for Method of Detecting Honey Adulteration

Fri, 11 Apr 2025 13:57:32 -0400

Protecting Italian honey authenticity and combatting food fraud, the Italian Standards Body’s (UNI’s) new UNI 11972 standard introduces a new analytical method for detecting honey adulteration based in Nuclear Magnetic Resonance technology.

Four Men, One Business Convicted for Diverting Unsafe Meats Back Into UK Human Food Market

Thu, 03 Apr 2025 09:55:21 -0400

After an investigation by the UK Food Standards Agency, four men and one business have been convicted for diverting meat and animal byproducts that were deemed unsafe for human consumption back into the human food market.

IFT to Hold Four-Part Virtual Workshop on Food Fraud Prevention

Tue, 18 Mar 2025 15:31:32 -0400

In April, the Institute of Food Technologists (IFT) will host a four-part virtual workshop series on food fraud prevention, with a focus on supply chain disruptions and Enterprise Risk Management. The workshop will be led by food fraud expert John Spink, Ph.D.