External and internal food fraud prevention in Finnish food businesses

Abstract

This two-part survey study focused on external and internal food fraud vulnerability in Finnish food businesses. The aim of Study 1 was to investigate food businesses' experience of food fraud and their views on food fraud vulnerability and prevention. Study 2 focused on food production businesses’ organizational culture from an internal food fraud prevention perspective. The first survey was targeted at representatives of Finnish food businesses operating in food production, wholesalers, and central firms (N = 98). While many food business operators (FBOs) had experience of fraudulent practices, they often thought that their businesses were well prepared to prevent food fraud. The businesses used different methods in assessing the reliability of their suppliers, such as buying from familiar businesses and using networks to gain information, but public registers, such as the Tax debt register, were rarely used. The second survey targeting the employees of ten Finnish food production businesses (N = 691) underwent logistic regression analysis. Differences in perceived possibility of internal fraud in the business, organizational integrity, and wrongness of certain fraudulent practices were found based on respondent and business characteristics. Specialists and directors less often fully agreed on the possibility of internal fraud than workers. In addition, specialists, directors and experienced employees reported high organizational integrity more often than workers and less experienced employees. The results highlight that food businesses should take notice of both external and internal food fraud prevention by thoroughly assessing the food fraud risks in their operations and enforcing good organizational culture.