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Support for the elaboration of a Guide for fraud prevention in the food industry
Published on 02 April 2020
Spain
This is the good practice's implementation level. It can be national, regional or local.
About this good practice
This document was developed in the context of a public‐private partnership, between the Agriculture Department (Government of Catalonia) and Premiumlab Company having also the support of the University of Barcelona, the Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona and the ACCA, the Catalan organization of food science.
GFSI schemes BRC and IFS include, in their current versions, terms related to food authenticity. Food industry needed a document to help them to control these circumstances.
This Guide was created with the aim to cover the requirements of the food industry regarding the food fraud control, a problem that is a focal point for consumers, the industry and the Government.
Food fraud happens when non-authentic food products are placed in the market, making it a deception for the buyer or consumer. This deception can derive from a deliberate action that is carried out with the intention of obtaining an economic benefit, or it can derive from bad elaboration practices.
The system for food fraud prevention is directly connected with the HACCP system. The aim of this way of working is dual: on the one hand it provides a tool to the entire food business operators in order to prevent suffering a fraud by their own suppliers. On the other hand, it avoids making further costly mistakes in their own facilities.
The main advantage of this system is that it fits perfectly with all type of companies, in any case at any time.
GFSI schemes BRC and IFS include, in their current versions, terms related to food authenticity. Food industry needed a document to help them to control these circumstances.
This Guide was created with the aim to cover the requirements of the food industry regarding the food fraud control, a problem that is a focal point for consumers, the industry and the Government.
Food fraud happens when non-authentic food products are placed in the market, making it a deception for the buyer or consumer. This deception can derive from a deliberate action that is carried out with the intention of obtaining an economic benefit, or it can derive from bad elaboration practices.
The system for food fraud prevention is directly connected with the HACCP system. The aim of this way of working is dual: on the one hand it provides a tool to the entire food business operators in order to prevent suffering a fraud by their own suppliers. On the other hand, it avoids making further costly mistakes in their own facilities.
The main advantage of this system is that it fits perfectly with all type of companies, in any case at any time.
Resources needed
The resources required to carry out the preparation of the guide were human resources.
Evidence of success
As a result of the elaboration of the 1st version of the guide for the food fraud in 2015, several conferences have been held to present that guide and it has also been used to hold training sessions for agri-food companies and thus provide support and advise all interested companies. Another input is that currently the 5th version of the guide has already been published, making visible the good reception and great interest in the guide by companies.
Potential for learning or transfer
This practice is very interesting to share with more companies, administrations or anyone interested, because it involves extensive research and updating of regulations and measures to fight food fraud. The information is presented in a didactic and practical way, which is why it is of great interest to be able to share it and show it in order to continue spreading knowledge and inspiration to other people, or it is even possible that by sharing this information we may receive interesting comments or practical experiences from other countries or regions and that may allow us to continue improving in our field, the food fraud control.
Further information
Website
Good practice owner
You can contact the good practice owner below for more detailed information.
Organisation
Regional Government of Cataluña
Spain
Cataluña
Contact
Agrifood inspector