VIDEO: Food fraud penalties ‘absolutely not sufficient’, says Prof Chris Elliott

“It’s criminal activity that can hurt people – that can kill people,” said the co-chair of the conference and Pro-Vice Chancellor of Queen’s University Belfast. “In terms of the penalties, are they sufficient? Absolutely not. We’ve got to deal with some very serious criminal elements that are destroying the reputation of the global food industry.”

There was still progress to be made in persuading people to accept food fraud was not a trivial topic, said the author of two influential, government-commissioned reports into the horsemeat crisis of 2013.

More optimistically, there had been significant progress in the food sector’s response to the practice over the past year, said Professor Elliott.

Developments in blockchain

He highlighted increased surveillance, more intelligence sharing and innovations in track and trace technology such as developments in blockchain to assure the integrity of food and drink supply chains.

Watch the video interview to learn how Professor Elliott thought the debate about food and drink fraud had evolved over the past year, based on his co-charing Food Fraud 2018 and the previous year’s conference.

Meanwhile, winning the fight against food fraud depends on meeting four key challenges, said Professor Elliott, in his opening remarks at the conference. Read what those challenges are here.

Also, watch out for New Food’s video interview with conference co-chair Helen Sission, group technical director of convenience food manufacturer Greencore.

New Food’s Food Fraud Conference took place in London on March 1.

Missed food Fraud 2018? You can purchase the conference pack here.