A decade ago, the U.S. Grocery Manufacturers Association estimated that food fraud cost the global food industry between $10 and $15 billion per year and the problem has only accelerated since then.
“Fraud drains an estimated $30 to $40 billion every year from the global food industry. The Consumer Brands Association claims that roughly 10 percent of commercially produced food and beverage products are affected by fraud,” wrote TraceGains content marketing specialist Denis Storey in 2020. “But these figures only point to the initial economic cost of food fraud. There are the health costs to consumers poisoned by tainted food, not to mention the cost of the reputation hit on a brand when adulteration occurs.”