A systematic review of consumer perceptions of food fraud and authenticity: A European perspective

Publication date: Available online 21 October 2019Source: Trends in Food Science & TechnologyAuthor(s): Helen Kendall, Beth Clark, Caroline Rhymer, Sharron Kuznesof, Jana Hajslova, Monika Tomaniova, Paul Brereton, Lynn FrewerAbstractBackgroundFood fraud results from deliberate criminal intent to adulterate or misrepresent food, food ingredients or packaging, and is motivated by economic gain. Its occurrence has been identified across various supply chains within local, regional and global food systems, including within Europe. Incidents of food fraud may negatively impact on consumer confidence of the food industry and in regulatory mechanisms designed to prevent or mitigate food fraud. A systematic analysis of the impacts of European food fraud incidents on European consumer perceptions and attitudes is presented.Scope and approachThree databases were searched, yielding 15 studies. Thematic analysis of the results yielded six themes “drivers of fraud”, “consumer fraud concerns”, “consumer perceptions and attitudes following a food fraud incident”, “responsibility, accountability and blame” and “consumer behavioural response”, and “supply chain responses”, but not increased food risk perceptions. This may be an artefact of the search language (English) used, the time period of the search (20 years from 1998) and because academic interest in food fraud as a distinct topic of study has been relatively recent, in particular from a risk perception perspect...
Source: Trends in Food Science and Technology - Category: Food Science Source Type: research