About this course
Basic Food Fraud introduces employees to economically motivated adulteration (EMA) — the practice of intentionally substituting, diluting, mislabeling, or misrepresenting a food or ingredient for financial gain, rather than to cause direct public health harm (which is the focus of food defense). Examples the FDA has documented include diluting olive oil with cheaper oils, substituting less expensive fish species for higher-value ones, and adding unauthorized substances to honey or spices to increase apparent volume or value.
There is no single standalone U.S. statute called a "food fraud law," but the FDA actively researches and monitors EMA, and food fraud is explicitly recognized within global food safety frameworks: GFSI-benchmarked schemes distinguish food safety (addressed through HACCP), food defense (addressed through vulnerability assessment against intentional, ideologically motivated adulteration), and food fraud (addressed through a food fraud vulnerability assessment focused on economically motivated adulteration). Because fraud is often designed to be difficult to detect through routine testing, supply chain vigilance and employee awareness are key controls.
This course is intended for all employees, with particular relevance to those in purchasing, receiving, quality, and supplier management roles who interact directly with ingredients and suppliers.
After completing this course, learners will understand what economically motivated adulteration is, recognize common food fraud vulnerability points such as high-value or complex-supply-chain ingredients, and know how to escalate concerns about supplier documentation, pricing anomalies, or ingredient inconsistencies.
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