Why food crime is so much more than counterfeit chocolate bars.

In recent years, Londoners and tourists in the UK capital will have noticed an influx of American sweet shops. US-themed and decorated with fluorescent colours, these shops advertise candy and snacks imported from the US, as well as souvenirs and vapes. The famous shopping destination of Oxford Street currently counts about 30 of these shops, which are also spreading to high streets outside of London.

Despite their apparent successful spread, these kind of shops have attracted suspicion. They have opened quickly in great numbers, but appear too empty to be commercially viable and profitable enough to survive premier location rents.

In June 2022, Westminster City Council announced it was investigating some of the shops for allegedly selling unsafe and counterfeit goods, and engaging in business rates evasion.

According to reports, some shops have allegedly been selling supermarket chocolate bars wrapped in Willy Wonka packaging and with their prices marked up. Counterfeit chocolate bars may sound like a plot point in a family-friendly heist film, but food crime is a serious global problem.

Food crime and fraud can take many forms, affecting food quality, authenticity and safety. Adulteration, the addition of a foreign substance which is not on the product’s label to lower costs or fake a higher quality, is one example. Substitution, replacing an ingredient with a similar substance of inferior quality, is another.