Today, the Commission has published its first monthly report on agri-food fraud suspicions. The report compiles information gathered from the Alert and Cooperation Network (ACN), which facilitates the exchange of information between Member States on agri-food controls. The report includes cases of cross-border non-compliance, which ACN members have identified and shared as suspected fraud.

The report covers the full spectrum of the food chain, including food for human consumption, animal feed, food contact materials, animal welfare, plant protection products and veterinary medicine products. In publishing this report, the goal is to share this information in order to support Member States in their risk-based controls and to guide food business operators in assessing their vulnerabilities to fraudulent and deceptive practices. The Agri-Food Fraud report will be published here every month.

Background:

The Official Controls Regulation requires the responsible authorities in Member States to identify and combat fraudulent and deceptive practices along the entire agri-food chain.

The General Food Law Regulation requires operators to perform adequate vulnerability assessments, to identify risks and prevent them from occurring when placing food on the market. It is therefore crucial to grant them information in relation to suspicions of fraud and deceptive practices, as is already the case for notifications of food safety risks.

The IMSOC Regulation defines a ‘fraud notification’ and indicates the key elements to be considered. In this regard, agri-food fraud is “a non-compliance concerning any suspected intentional action by businesses or individuals, for the purpose of deceiving purchasers and gaining undue advantage therefrom, in violation of the rules referred to in Article 1(2) of Regulation (EU) 2017/625”.

For more information and monthly report editions, see: ACN reports and publications and The EU Agri-Food Fraud Network