“The most extreme case of food fraud was the Peanut Corporation of America where, in 2009, the former CEO of the Peanut Corporation of America approved the shipment of peanut butter that had been contaminated with salmonella. Seven deaths were reported as a result, the CEO was arrested, and the business was dissolved.”
“This supply chain of the American food industry was also damaged. A lack of trust from consumers will have a major effect on distributors and puts pressure on where they receive their products from. This could have a knock-on effect on suppliers that are regarded as trustworthy within the industry as a result, with a greater scrutiny being placed on every point in the supply chain….”
“Overall, the largest number of agents qualified to police food fraud are based in the US. The USDA found that with nearly 45,000 organic operations around the globe, this equates to each officer overseeing 583 facilities. However, they are only required to take a sample from 5% of them per year. This could mean that 554 of every 583 organic food sites are carrying out food malpractice without even knowing.”
