WTO Releases New Report on Food Fraud

Food fraud has become quite the trend globally and, in May 2024, the World Trade Organisation (WTO) published a report on illicit trade in food and food fraud.

The report estimates the 2023 illicit food trade to range from $30-50 billion, not including alcohol-related illicit trade.

The WTO stresses the importance of government participation and the cost- effectiveness of implementing preventive measures to curtail or avoid growth of food fraud. With this in mind, the WTO report recommends several legal instruments to help combat the illicit food trade and food fraud.

One of these is the Agreement on the Application of Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures, which permits WTO members to regulate food imports based on scientific and risk assessment techniques. This approach ties in nicely with what Chile’s SERNAPESCA has been pushing for to adequately certify compliance with official fishing quotas.

The full report is available at www.wto.org/english/res_e/booksp_e/illicit_trade_ in_food_and_food_fraud_e.pdf