Sharp Rise in Fraud for Nuts, Dairy, and Cereals: Q1 2025 Findings from FOODAKAI’s Global Food Fraud Index

Key product categories such as nuts, dairy, and cereals experience significant fraud increases, with emerging risks in garlic and non-alcoholic beverages.

CHICAGO, IL, UNITED STATES, May 8, 2025 /EINPresswire.com/ -- FOODAKAI’s latest Global Food Fraud Index reveals a significant spike in food fraud incidents across high-consumption categories. In Q1 2025, nuts, dairy products, and cereals experienced some of the sharpest increases in reported fraud, with new risks emerging in garlic and non-alcoholic beverages.

The Index—published quarterly—tracks verified food fraud cases reported by global food safety authorities. Findings from the first quarter of 2025 reveal volatile patterns in vulnerable commodities, impacting procurement, quality assurance, and supply chain integrity.

Key Q1 2025 Highlights:
- Nuts, Seeds & Nut-Based Products: +358% rise in incidents, mostly due to species substitution, allergen risks, and origin fraud.
- Dairy Products: Though incident numbers remain low, cases involving counterfeit butter and milk adulteration are rising, indicating early escalation.
- Cereals & Bakery Products: 23% increase, driven by mislabeling, illegal additives, and pesticide-related compliance failures.
- New Risks: Garlic and non-alcoholic beverages appeared as emerging fraud targets for the first time in the Index.

“It is extremely important for the food industry to identify the commodities most at risk from food fraud globally,” says Professor Chris Elliott, Founder of the Institute for Global Food Security at Queen's University Belfast. “FOODAKAI’s Global Food Fraud Index has identified some new threats I was unaware of, while others were high on my radar.”

The report also confirms persistent threats in seafood, with a 74% year-on-year increase due to species substitution and antibiotic misuse in aquaculture.

The FOODAKAI Global Food Fraud Index quarterly provides food manufacturers, regulatory authorities, and supply chain partners with a data-driven snapshot of fraud and adulteration trends, based on verified incidents from global food safety authorities. The Index empowers stakeholders to shift from reactive to predictive risk management.

To stay informed, food industry professionals can sign up for free alerts of globally reported food safety incidents at https://info.agroknow.com/freemium

About FOODAKAI
FOODAKAI provides AI-driven food risk intelligence, tracking global recalls, import refusals, and fraud incidents to help industry professionals stay ahead of emerging threats.

Media Contact
Georgia Briseniou
Georgia.Briseniou@agroknow.com

Georgia Briseniou
Agroknow PC
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