Food fraud in sub-saharan Africa: awareness, challenges, impacts, and strategies for strengthening food integrity systems

Abstract

Food fraud represents a growing global food integrity challenge with significant implications for food safety, public health, and trade, particularly in developing regions such as Africa. This review critically examines food fraud awareness among key stakeholders, challenges hindering effective control, and resulting impacts on African food systems. Recent peer-reviewed literature was synthesized to evaluate consumer awareness, institutional readiness, and industry practices across diverse African contexts. Findings reveal that food fraud awareness remains generally low to moderate and uneven across countries and stakeholder groups. Over a third of Nigerian consumers were unfamiliar with the term “food fraud” (2024), while Ghanaian studies (2022–2023) reported awareness ranging from 46% to over 70%, depending on the issue assessed. Similarly, Ghanaian and Nigerian consumers expressed the highest food fraud concern in a multi-country sub-Saharan African survey (2022–2023), reflecting lower confidence in food safety and quality. Consumers largely associate food fraud with basic adulteration, while complex forms such as species substitution and origin misrepresentation remain poorly understood. Regulatory and institutional responses are constrained by fragmented governance structures, weak enforcement capacity, inadequate laboratory infrastructure, and limited adoption of advanced detection technologies. Food fraud impacts extend beyond economic losses to public health risks, reduced consumer confidence, and barriers to regional and international trade. The review highlights the need for strengthened regulatory frameworks, improved analytical capacity, enhanced consumer education, and digital traceability systems. Regional cooperation and technological innovation are essential for addressing food fraud and safeguarding food integrity and sustainable food systems across Africa.