Food crime costs the UK economy up to £2 billion a year, according to a new report, published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
Food crime costs the UK economy up to £2 billion a year, according to a new report, published by the Food Standards Agency (FSA).
University of Portsmouth researchers worked with the FSA to help estimate the cost of food crime to the UK. „The Cost of Food Crime“ report has found that the cost of food fraud to consumers, businesses and government is between £410 million and £1.96 billion per year.
People are often unaware that they are a victim of food fraud, but food crime can be seriously harmful to consumers, food businesses and the wider food industry. It can involve selling food or drink that isn’t what it says it is, or that includes cheaper ingredients than the ones listed on the label. This activity places a heavy burden on businesses and local authorities, as well as the criminal justice system.
The model to estimate the cost of food crime was developed by a University team involving economists, led by Dr. Adam Cox, and criminologists Dr. David Shepherd and Professor Mark Button. Dr. Edward Smart and Gerald Miller turned the model into a machine learning-led database to calculate an estimate based on reported crimes.
