Welcome to Taking the Lead, a series of blogs from food industry professionals, covering hot topics across the food and hospitality sector to provide valuable expert insights to food business owners and operators. 

In this article, special guest and internationally recognised expert in food safety, food fraud and food integrity Professor Chris Elliott is here to explore vegetable oil fraud, it’s prevalence and how you can prevent using fraudulent vegetable oils in your business.  

Understanding vegetable oils and their prevalence 

When talking about vegetable oil fraud, it’s important to realise that there are many of these oils sold in supermarkets, convenience stores and are in many of the meals we eat in cafes, restaurants and takeaways. Olive oil, sunflower oil, palm oil and maize oil are probably the best known oils, but oils from peanuts, avocados and coconuts are also widely used in many food products. It’s impossible to say the exact number of products on sale and in use in retail and food service that use these oils, but it’s safe to say that the large majority of processed and packaged foods contain some form of vegetable oil. 

Why are vegetable oils prone to fraud? 

Vegetable oils are one of the top five commodities often quoted as being vulnerable to some form of fraud – spices, fish, meat and honey being the other four in this list. There are many reasons for this, but a few include: 

• Oils are easy to mix and blend 

• Oils are part of very complex supply chains 

• The growing issues with climate change are causing more and more crop failures 

• Global conflicts are adding to the fact that demand often outstrips oil supply 

Types of fraud in vegetable oils 

There are a lot of opportunities for fraud within this group of oils, and can include 

• Mislabelling 

• Claims of being organic 

• Claims of being from particular geographic regions 

• Claims of being ‘virgin’ i.e. mechanically extracted as opposed to chemically 

These frauds are all aimed at duping customers into spending more money on products than they are worth. It’s rare that they have any adverse health implication, but the adulteration of oils can be much more harmful. This is where oils are mixed with inferior forms of oil or toxic chemicals have been added. This can have sometimes fatal consequences. 

Vegetable oil fraud in real life 

The most infamous case of vegetable oil fraud was the toxic oil scandal which happened in Spain in 1981. This incident resulted in over 20,000 illnesses and at least 300 fatalities, with some survivors living with lifelong health conditions.  

The scandal was caused by the consumption of industrial-grade rapeseed oil fraudulently sold as olive oil. The condition was characterised by severe myalgias, eosinophilia and pulmonary infiltrates, and a committee investigating the syndrome identified a high prevalence of chronic conditions among the survivors. 

The blending of vegetable oils with known allergens such as peanut oil and soyabean oil represents another major food safety risk. There have been cases of adulteration reported in the United States and Europe. 

As well as this, the use of industrial dyes, particularly Sudan Red, has been reported frequently in palm oil. This practice increases the value of the oil in the marketplace as they are often priced based on the intensity of their colour. While this form of fraud rarely leads to acute illness or death, it has been shown to cause a range of severe ailments such as atherosclerosis, cardiovascular issues, chronic infections and cancer due to chronic exposure. 

It’s clear from these cases that the risks associated with vegetable oil fraud are substantial, especially in terms of the potential severity to consumers and businesses alike. 

How can you protect your business from the risk of vegetable oil fraud? 

Preventing vegetable oil fraud from harming your business is similar to other types of fraud. You should only use bona fide suppliers – suppliers who are legitimate, trustworthy and reliable who provide authentic and high quality products. These suppliers are expected to adhere to industry standards and regulations, making sure that the products they supply are genuine and not adulterated or misrepresented. Using bona fide suppliers will help you protect yourself and your customers from fraud and potential health risks associated with counterfeit or substandard products. 

These suppliers should also have the highest level of audit certification along with VACCP (Vulnerability Assessment and Critical Control Points) and TACCP (Threat Assessment and Critical Control Points) plans. These are frameworks used in the food industry to improve food safety and integrity by addressing different types of risks. 

• VACCP focuses on identifying vulnerabilities within the supply chain that could lead to food fraud 

• TACCP concentrates on identifying and reducing threats related to food defence, which includes intentional contamination or sabotage 

It’s also recommended to ask for some form of laboratory certification to show that batches being purchased have been tested for their authenticity – but remember that certificates can also easily be faked, so make sure you’re doing your due diligence.  

Testing can be an expensive undertaking but there are some major developments in the pipeline that will allow businesses to rapidly scan vegetable oils onsite and at a reasonable cost to check their authenticity. These measures will go a long way to deterring fraudsters from adulterating vegetable oils. 

Outlook on fraud risks and prevention 

Addressing vegetable oil fraud is critical for making sure both your customers and your business (including your supply chain) is protected. Businesses have to exercise rigorous due diligence when sourcing products, as neglecting this issue can lead to severe consequences, including public health crises, legal repercussions and a loss of consumer trust and confidence. 

The rising prices of vegetable oils further amplify the risk of fraud and adulteration, making vigilance more essential than ever. Effective collaboration between regulators, industry stakeholders and businesses is vital to combat this issue and uphold food safety standards. 

If you’d like to talk to a member of the Food Alert team about anything you’ve read in this article, or any other food safety or health & safety issues, call us on 020 7244 1900 or visit our contact page to request a callback.