Abstract
Background: Food fraud describes deceptive acts that occur at all stages of the food supply chain for economic gain. The COVID-19 pandemic has had devasting impacts on individuals, institutions, and economies. Disruptions in supply chains and regulatory oversight have led to concerns about potential increases in food fraud-related incidents. In addition, the pandemic further exacerbated the issue of widespread and severe food insecurity in Africa, providing optimal conditions for fraudulent agents in the supply chain to perpetrate fraud. However, little is known about how food fraud manifests on the continent.
Scope and approach: This review explores food fraud in the African context, emphasising the impact of COVID-19. The study provides examples of food fraud and challenges of critical stakeholders in the supply chain, including consumers, industry, and regulators in combating food fraud. It also discusses recommendations for researchers and policymakers to reduce fraud and improve the quality and safety of food along the supply chain.
Key Findings and Conclusions: There is consensus that the pandemic has created an environment that makes consumers more vulnerable to food fraud. However, there are significant data gaps on the incidence of food fraud, making statistical comparisons difficult. The monitoring of food fraud incidents, especially in Africa, remains in its early stages, limiting food fraud prevention efforts. Improved data collection and significant investments in testing infrastructure and technical know-how are required for developing evidence-based action plans to combat fraud at both national and intra-continent levels to safeguard consumer health.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 26-32 |
| Number of pages | 7 |
| Journal | Trends in Food Science and Technology |
| Volume | 125 |
| Early online date | 4 May 2022 |
| DOIs | |
| Publication status | Published - Jul 2022 |
Bibliographical note
Funding Information:Concerted and coordinated efforts have been established to minimise the impact of COVID-19 on the food industry, ensuring consumers are less vulnerable to food fraud. For example, the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has pursued initiatives such as extending emergency food aid programs and offering urgent help to smallholder agricultural production through the expansion of e-commerce to avert severe food shortages and support nations in maintaining their food supply chains (Galanakis, 2020). At a regional level, steps are also being taken to build more sustainable and resilient food supply chains. The Feed Africa Response to COVID-19 (FAREC) from the African Development Bank has supported 23 African countries with capital for funding farm input, replenishing food stocks and stabilising food prices (Ali Mohamed et al., 2021). The COVID-19 Recovery and Resilience Agri-finance Project (CORRAP) in Senegal is supporting the recovery of the cereal and legume value chains by providing sustainable access to quality inputs, training for capacity building and the use of digital services for improving market access (Reliefweb, 2020). In Kenya, digital technologies are being used to improve the regulated supply of food commodities, market connections, and regulatory monitoring via ongoing collaborations with agri-tech businesses (Prause et al., 2021).
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 Elsevier Ltd
Keywords
- Africa
- Food adulteration
- Food fraud
- Food safety
- Food security
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Biotechnology
- Food Science
