Food Fraud Is Rising, and the Industry Needs to Respond Differently
A recent article in FoodNavigator highlighted a troubling but increasingly familiar reality for the food sector: food fraud is continuing to rise year on year, driven by economic pressure, complex global supply chains, and more organised, sophisticated criminal activity.
This isn’t a new problem, but the scale and pace at which it is evolving should give the industry pause. As the article notes, high-risk categories such as edible oils, honey, grains, dairy, and herbs and spices remain frequent targets. These are commodities where price volatility, long supply chains, and subtle adulteration methods combine to create persistent vulnerability. What is becoming clear is that traditional prevention methods are struggling to keep up.
Routine quality checks, periodic audits, and reactive laboratory testing remain essential, but on their own they are no longer sufficient. Fraud is increasingly opportunistic and adaptive. By the time non-compliance is detected through conventional means, exposure may already have occurred, with consequences for consumer trust, brand integrity, and regulatory compliance. The real challenge is not testing capability, it is anticipation.
To be effective in today’s environment, food fraud mitigation needs to be risk-based and forward-looking. Businesses need better visibility of where vulnerabilities are emerging, which ingredients and regions warrant closer scrutiny, and how external pressures such as market shifts, climate events, or geopolitical disruption may influence fraud risk before it manifests in product.
At Bia Analytical, this is the problem we are focused on solving.
Our Biametric™ Risk Dashboard is designed to translate complex global data, including trade flows, market signals, geopolitical and climate factors, and known fraud intelligence, into clear, ingredient-level risk insight. AI-driven risk scoring provides context around why risk is increasing, helping organisations prioritise testing, strengthen supplier assurance, and make informed sourcing decisions.
Where laboratory analysis is required, the Biametric™ Portal enables rapid integrity assessment of herbs and spices using rigorously validated chemometric models delivered through the cloud. This removes the need for manual spectral interpretation while maintaining scientific robustness and consistency.
For situations where speed and location are critical, the Biametric™ Portable device supports on-site authenticity screening anywhere in the supply chain, allowing immediate, evidence-based decisions without the delay of external laboratory verification.
Together, these tools are designed to complement, not replace , existing quality and laboratory systems. By turning data into actionable intelligence, they help close the gaps that fraudsters rely on and allow resources to be focused where they matter most.
As FoodNavigator rightly highlights, food fraud is a global and growing challenge. Addressing it effectively requires more than compliance-driven testing. It requires predictive insight, targeted intervention, and a clear understanding of risk across increasingly complex supply chains.
The problem is evolving. Our response must evolve with it.