Hosted by: Kelvin Wood, Certification Body Manager for Safe to Trade at Shield Safety Group
Joined by: Sterling Crew, Strategic Advisor to Shield Safety, President of the Institute of Food Science and Technology, and Chair of the Food Authenticity Network
Overview
This webinar explores the growing threat of food fraud and its impact on consumer trust, public health, and business integrity. With real-world examples and expert insights, it offers practical steps for food business operators to protect their reputation and customers.
Food Fraud: Closing the Trust Gap in Hospitality
Food fraud isn’t just a regulatory issue, it’s a direct threat to consumer trust and business integrity. From olive oil adulteration to counterfeit branded products, this webinar explores how deliberate deception in the food supply chain undermines safety, ethics, and customer confidence. With real-world examples and expert insights, it highlights why visible safety standards and proactive risk management are essential for hospitality businesses looking to protect their reputation and grow through trust.
Key Insights from the Webinar
Viewers will gain valuable knowledge on:
- What is food fraud? How food fraud involves the deliberate deception in the food supply chain, substituting, mislabeling, or adulterating products to increase profit.
- Historical and modern examples: It’s not a new problem. From ancient olive oil scams to modern-day mislabeling, food fraud has existed for centuries and continues to evolve.
- Fraud as a safety risk: Unintended health consequences of fraud such as the melamine milk incident in China, which led to infant deaths.
- Economic losses: The financial impact from food fraud within the UK now reaches £billions, impacting honest businesses and consumers.
- Criminal networks: Increasing shift to food fraud due to lower risks and high profits.
- Consumers impact: From counterfeits to misrepresented dietary claims, food fraud undermines consumer choice and trust.
Expert Perspective
Food fraud is not just a trading standards issue, it’s a public health concern and our expert advocates for vulnerability assessments (VASPs), supplier traceability, and thinking like a criminal to identify risks. Praising the Safe to Trade scheme for embedding food fraud checks into its standards and audits, helping businesses stay compliant and consumer-focused.
Who Should Watch
This webinar is essential for:
- Food Business Operators: To understand how food fraud can impact customer trust, brand reputation, and legal compliance, and what practical steps they can take to protect their business.
- Hospitality Professionals: To learn how visible safety standards and supplier controls can enhance customer experience and reduce operational risk.
- Environmental Health and Trading Standards Officers: To gain deeper insight into how food fraud intersects with public health, enforcement, and consumer protection.
- Supply Chain Managers: To explore how vulnerability assessments and traceability can strengthen supply chain integrity and reduce fraud exposure.
- Ethical and Safety-conscious Customers: To become more informed about how food fraud affects product authenticity, health, and ethical sourcing, and how to shop smarter.
This webinar is a must-watch for anyone looking to understand food fraud and take proactive steps to protect their business and customers. It’s packed with actionable advice, industry insights, and real-life examples that highlight why visible safety standards matter more than ever.
Watch the Full Webinar
Watch the full webinar to learn more about the increasing trend in Food Fraud and how to protect your business and customers.
