The Cost of Food Fraud in the UK: Measurement and Implications

Food fraud is a serious crime. It is typically an organised, entrepreneurial crime that generates significant profits. It compromises the integrity of food systems causing economic harm, illness and death. Understanding the total economic cost of food fraud and its constituent cost drivers supports the development of policies that seek to strengthen the resilience and integrity of the food industry. However, measuring the cost of crime is a very challenging problem. This paper draws on previous cost of crime frameworks to develop a model specifically for food fraud in the UK. The novel features of the model are its use of ‘crime scheme’ as the unit of analysis and the introduction of ‘market cost’, the impact of illicit supplies on the legitimate market. The analysis estimates that the annual economic cost of food fraud in the UK is between £0.4 billion and £2 billion. Drawing on enterprise theory and fraud field theory, a brief analysis of the UK food industry posits an explanation for the low rate of food fraud compared to other fraud crimes. Collective action by the food industry has created an overlapping framework of quality controls that squeezes out fraudulent products and creates a significant barrier to entry for unethical businesses and rogue traders.