Food Crime - we need new ways to fight this type of crime

Food offers highly profitable opportunities to criminal actors. Recent cases, from wine and meat adulteration to milk powder contaminations, have brought renewed attention to forms of harmful activities which have occurred in the food sector. Despite several scandals over the last few decades, food has received scant criminological attention and the concept of food crime remains subject to different definitions. This article assesses regulations in the UK and UK authorities’ official reports published between 2013-2018 through a review of academic literature. It charts the evolution of the food crime concept, its various meanings, and different harmful activities associated with food crime, which originate from unlawful acts and omissions. It points out that criminological research needs to address the definitional issue of food crime and inform a more integrated policy approach by considering activities beyond fraud and the protection of safety