The economic impact of counterfeiting products in the food and beverage industry amounts to millions in lost sales and profits to retailers, producers and suppliers. Fake claims about the content of foods and beverages also pose an unsuspected risk to consumer health, as well as to people who base their food choices on their ethical and religious convictions.
Consumers make their purchases in good faith, putting their confidence in the honesty and integrity of the supply chain. Counterfeiting is at odds with this reasonable assumption that a product is all that it claims to be on its labelling. In contrast to the financial losses facing businesses on the production and supply side, the consequences to consumers can range from simply being deceived about the product’s content, or not benefitting from the anticipated efficacy of the product, to the more severe outcomes of illness and death.
The world was made aware of this danger in 2008, when six babies died and 300,000 babies fell ill after drinking melamine-tainted milk products in China. Another major food scandal broke in Europe in 2013, when it was revealed that horse meat was being labelled as beef from cattle. Although horse meat is suitable for human consumption, the public health issue relates to the type of tests conducted to prove the suitability of the beef for human consumption.
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