What are the biggest food fraud risks in 2026?

Professor Chris Elliott highlights increasing supply chain complexity, economic pressure and bad actors exploiting regulatory gaps as key drivers of food fraud risk in 2026.

How can AI help detect food fraud?

AI can analyse large datasets to identify anomalies, patterns and risk signals across supply chains, helping businesses detect potential fraud earlier and improve risk management.

How does EUDR impact food fraud prevention?

Regulations such as EUDR increase transparency and traceability requirements, pushing businesses to strengthen data accuracy and supplier verification processes.

What should businesses do to stay proactive against food fraud?

Businesses should maintain up-to-date food safety risk registers, invest in traceability systems, leverage data-driven monitoring and ensure strong supplier governance frameworks.

Why is supply chain resilience critical in food safety?

Resilient supply chains reduce vulnerability to fraud, disruption and compliance failures by improving visibility, accountability and real-time risk monitoring.

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Inside the blue room: Professor Chris Elliott talks food fraud in 2026

By Greer McNally 02/03/2026

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Welcome to the Blue Room, Foods Connected's new insight-led interview series. We'll be talking to our in-house industry experts and other guests about the issues that matter to businesses in the food sector. In this edition we chat with Professor Chris Elliott. The world authority on food fraud discusses the areas being targeted by bad actors, the role AI can play in fraud detection and the biggest food safety challenges the industry is facing in 2026.

In our chat we cover:

What the industry needs to do to stay proactive against bad actors
The importance of a food safety risk list to keep your supply chain food safe and compliant
The pros and cons of AI in the food safety space
How regulations like EUDR are changing the industry's approach to food fraud and food safety in general
And what businesses can do to ensure their supply chains remain resilient as the year progresses

Greer McNally

Greer has over 15 years’ experience writing about trends in the food and retail sectors. She lives in a little village by the sea in Northern Ireland and loves creating content that informs how people think about the food industry. A recent career highlight was interviewing the legend that is Dr Temple Grandin.