National Center for Food Protection and Defense, University of Minnesota, 120 LES Building, 1954 Buford Avenue, St. Paul, Minnesota 55108, USA.
J Food Prot. 2013 Apr;76(4):723-35. doi: 10.4315/0362-028X.JFP-12-399.
Economically motivated adulteration (EMA) of food, also known as food fraud, is the intentional adulteration of food for financial advantage. A common form of EMA, undeclared substitution with alternative ingredients, is usually a health concern because of allergen labeling requirements. As demonstrated by the nearly 300,000 illnesses in China from melamine adulteration of infant formula, EMA also has the potential to result in serious public health consequences. Furthermore, EMA incidents reveal gaps in quality assurance testing methodologies that could be exploited for intentional harm. In contrast to foodborne disease outbreaks, EMA incidents present a particular challenge to the food industry and regulators because they are deliberate acts that are intended to evade detection. Large-scale EMA incidents have been described in the scientific literature, but smaller incidents have been documented only in media sources. We reviewed journal articles and media reports of EMA since 1980. We identified 137 unique incidents in 11 food categories: fish and seafood (24 incidents), dairy products (15), fruit juices (12), oils and fats (12), grain products (11), honey and other natural sweeteners (10), spices and extracts (8), wine and other alcoholic beverages (7), infant formula (5), plant-based proteins (5), and other food products (28). We identified common characteristics among the incidents that may help us better evaluate and reduce the risk of EMA. These characteristics reflect the ways in which existing regulatory systems or testing methodologies were inadequate for detecting EMA and how novel detection methods and other deterrence strategies can be deployed. Prevention and detection of EMA cannot depend on traditional food safety strategies. Comprehensive food protection, as outlined by the Food Safety Modernization Act, will require innovative methods for detecting EMA and for targeting crucial resources toward the riskiest food products.
经济动机掺假（EMA）又称食品欺诈，是指为了经济利益而故意对食品进行掺假。一种常见的 EMA 形式是用替代成分进行未申报的替代，这通常是一个健康问题，因为需要进行过敏原标签规定。正如中国近 30 万例因三聚氰胺掺假婴儿配方奶粉而导致的疾病所表明的那样，EMA 也有可能导致严重的公共卫生后果。此外，EMA 事件揭示了质量保证测试方法中的差距，这些差距可能被有意利用来造成伤害。与食源性疾病暴发不同，EMA 事件对食品行业和监管机构构成了特殊挑战，因为它们是故意行为，旨在逃避检测。科学文献中已经描述了大规模的 EMA 事件，但只有媒体来源记录了较小的事件。我们回顾了 1980 年以来的 EMA 期刊文章和媒体报道。我们在 11 个食品类别中确定了 137 个独特的事件：鱼类和海鲜（24 个事件）、乳制品（15 个）、果汁（12 个）、油和脂肪（12 个）、谷物产品（11 个）、蜂蜜和其他天然甜味剂（10 个）、香料和提取物（8 个）、葡萄酒和其他酒精饮料（7 个）、婴儿配方奶粉（5 个）、植物性蛋白质（5 个）和其他食品（28 个）。我们确定了事件之间的共同特征，这些特征可能有助于我们更好地评估和降低 EMA 的风险。这些特征反映了现有监管系统或测试方法在检测 EMA 方面的不足，以及如何部署新型检测方法和其他威慑策略。EMA 的预防和检测不能依赖于传统的食品安全策略。食品安全现代化法案概述的全面食品保护将需要创新的方法来检测 EMA，并将关键资源集中用于风险最大的食品产品。
