Food fraud is a growing economic and health problem – but AI and blockchain technology might help combat it

A multi-billion dollar criminal enterprise lurks on our supermarket shelves. Food crime not only hurts our wallets, but additionally threatens public health. This includes activities reminiscent of mislabeling a product, replacing a food or ingredient with one other inferior substance, and even poisoning.

This is a world problem on account of the event of food crime. The complexity of food supply chains, the globalization of food markets and an absence of transparency increase the vulnerability of the food sector. It is due to this fact essential to rethink the way in which we combat food crime using technology.

Food crime is now causing a an estimated $40 billion £31 billion of injury is caused worldwide yearly. The British Food Standards Agency Are defined Food crime as “serious fraud and related crime in food supply chains”.

When we take into consideration food crime, from a Profit-oriented criminal perspectivewe will understand it Dual role Both as a way for criminals to generate dirty money that should be laundered and as a way of laundering illicit funds from other criminal activities.

The food industry is especially attractive to fraudsters since it poses a high risk for fraudsters profitable. Researchers have uncovered two fundamental approaches utilized by scammers high demand products.

First, they aim relatively low-cost on a regular basis foods reminiscent of mineral water or olive oil, as these can engage a big proportion of consumers and thus maximize profits. For example a Spanish and an Italian Investigation in 2023 led to the confiscation of 260,000 liters of olive oil. Investigators found that olive oil labeled as “virgin” or “extra virgin” had been diluted with an inferior variant.

Another example was this Horsemeat scandal 2013, when beef products across Europe were found to contain horse meat. Such meat was greater than 4 times cheaper to provide.

Alternatively, some scammers trick unsophisticated “foodies” into paying higher prices for cheaper food disguised as higher quality products – for instance mask low-cost truffles as exotic Italian truffles.

Unfortunately, our understanding of those complex financial crimes is usually limited, making detecting and stopping food fraud difficult difficult task.

New technology

This is what the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners, a global anti-fraud organization, has found 91% of organizations Companies worldwide have adopted data analytics technology in response to the growing risks of monetary crime. This technology is promising because it might dig out hidden patterns in huge data sets, leading to higher crime detection and prevention.

For example, machine learning can analyze data and discover suspicious activity. It may learn and adapt as recent information becomes available. In the context of food crime, this might mean flagging specific places, people or businesses that might pose a risk.

Since there is restricted evidence on this topic, we consider that further research must be conducted to investigate previous food fraud cases. Identifying recurring themes and patterns using machine learning could develop a greater detection model, which, combined with the expertise of regulators, food manufacturers, distributors and retailers, may very well be a robust tool.

The food industry is undergoing a possible transformation, researchers suggest Blockchain technology could empower consumers to make higher decisions when purchasing food. Blockchain is sort of a secure public ledger that can’t be tampered with. As such, this technology offers the chance to offer everyone, from supermarket chains to individual consumers, the power to simply and securely trace the trail of their food back to its origin. Imagine having the ability to make informed decisions in the shop and knowing exactly where your food comes from.

In AustraliaThe implementation of blockchain technology by some manufacturers in recent times is predicted to assist address the multibillion-dollar problem of food Wine fraud. A Recent study noted that blockchain’s data security and resilience to data corruption are vital features underlying its potential to combat food fraud.

Collaboration is essential

While recent technologies show promise in combating food crime, there are some obstacles overcome. For example, implementing blockchain across the worldwide food supply chain faces challenges challenges These include the dearth of international standards and the difficulties in coping with huge amounts of information. Blockchain technology can also require additional technology, making it expensive for small food producers.

Ultimately, the important thing to combating food fraud is collaboration. We must bring together law enforcement, industry experts, organizations of all sizes, and academics, each with appropriate ethical oversight from their institutions.

Any anti-fraud measures shouldn’t make it significantly harder for consumers to purchase food. If the method becomes too cumbersome, people may find ways around it, which may create recent vulnerabilities within the food system.