Local producers lose $ 2-3 billion a year to product fraud, the latest estimates from AgriFutures Australia suggest, with calls for a coordinated supply chain approach to tackle the problem.

AgriFutures Australia released a new report based on research from Deakin University describing the vulnerability of local products such as beef, veal, fish, wine and shellfish (with a combined annual impact of between 700 million and 1.3 billion dollars) to fraud, damaging Australia’s international reputation as a “powerhouse of food production.”

“Put simply, product fraud deceives consumers into providing them with a substandard product that they know about,” the agency said in a statement.

“Incidents of product fraud are generally linked to shortages or constraints in the supply of raw materials. “

The report identified six key fraudulent practices that are causing economic loss to Australian sectors as a whole. Adilution practices, concealment, forgery, dilution, mislabelling and substitution all contributed to between $ 2 billion and $ 3 billion in losses to the Australian economy each year.

Georgie Townsend, Head of Rural Futures, said that ultimately producers and businesses along the supply chain lose out, with fraud lowering yields and risking damage to the reputation of the brand of these suppliers.

“This work is important for quantifying the situation and gives producers, exporters and retailers market mechanisms and technologies to detect and mitigate fraudulent activity.

“Farmers cannot tackle this problem alone; a coordinated supply chain approach is necessary if we are to overcome the billion dollar problem and eradicate fraudulent practices, ”Ms. Townsend said.

Professor Rebecca Lester of Deakin University, director of the Center for Regional and Rural Futures (CeRRF) said in a statement that many producers were unaware of the risk of food fraud once products were shipped from the farm or boat. This despite the fact that they were undeniably affected financially.

“The industry needs to arm itself with better information on what to look for and strategies for responding to fraudulent activity. Tackling the problem could save the industry up to $ 3 billion a year, ”Lester said.

Lester also noted that while securing the origin of a product was expensive, it was an effective way of preventing the problem rather than solving it.

Fortunately, technology has come a long way and now there are ways to ensure product authenticity through analytical testing of the product itself.

“Technologies such as next-generation DNA sequencing, microarrays and lab-on-a-chip technology offer great potential for efficient, inexpensive and rapid on-site solutions for a wide range of authenticity assays. of products, ”she said.

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