Vulnerability Assessment Tool (BRC Method)

Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Click here for step-by-step instructions and estimated time to complete

Links not working? Click 'Enable Content' at the top of your screen

About:
This spreadsheet is a tool that is designed to help food businesses perform a vulnerability assessment for food fraud.
This spreadsheet is designed for businesses that manufacture food in accordance with the requirements of BRC's (British Retail Consortium) GLOBAL STANDARD FOOD SAFETY, which
requires that businesses assess their ingredients and raw materials for vulnerability to economically motivated adulteration, substitution or dilution.
A food fraud vulnerability assessment is similar to a conventional risk assessment, in that it considers the likelihood that food fraud will occur and the likelihood that food fraud will
be detected if it does occur. The likelihood of occurrence versus the likelihood of detection are plotted on a risk matrix to determine the overall risk.
The risk assessment methodology and matrix are based on the recommendations of the British Retail Consortium in their document Understanding Vulnerability Assessment
(2015). To learn more about the method, choose the worksheet (tab) 'About the Method' at the bottom of your screen.

What does it do:

The spreadsheet prompts the user to answer a series of questions about a food ingredient or raw material or a group of materials. Users can also add comments to support the
assessment. The spreadsheet takes the answers and comments and automatically populates a printable risk assessment document containing scope, vulnerability rating, risk
matrix and a complete description of all characteristics that were considered during the vulnerability assessment.
What it does not do:
The tool is suitable for ingredients and raw materials, not for finished products. It is designed to address vulnerabilities within a food business' supply  chain.  It does not address
the threat of fraudulent activities occurring within the business performing the assessment, which means not within the business' own processes or facility(s).
It does not replace the judgement of an expert person, who should review all results and make the final decisions regarding likelihood of occurrence and of detection of food
fraud. Calculated results can be over-ridden by the user.

How to use the Vulnerability Assessment Tool:

Create a new excel file for each material or group of materials. A material group is a family of food ingredients or raw materials that are of similar composition and have similar
supply chain characteristics. If you are unsure of which materials to include within a group, just start with your best guess; when using the tool it will soon be clear whether you can
include more materials within a group and it is simple to expand the scope after you have started if you wish to do so.
Collect information about the material group and use it to answer questions in the worksheets. You do not need all the information on hand to start, you can add or change the
information at any time. Start with your best guess and update your answers as you learn more.

When you have answered all the questions, view and print the results. Section 1 of the results defines the purpose and scope, author, date and review date. Section 2 of the
results contains the vulnerability rating, risk matrix and information about what was considered in the assessment. You can print to paper, print to pdf or copy and paste the results
into a larger document.

Click here for step-by-step instructions and estimated time to complete

The fine print:

While all care has been taken by the author, not all vulnerabilities will be identified by this spreadsheet. A material group that is identified by the Vulnerability Assessment Tool as
being low risk may nevertheless be affected by food fraud as well as other threats to food safety and integrity.

The author and publisher give no assurance whatsoever that the content and/or documents generated with this tool will meet the requirements of any management system
standard, regulatory standard, code of practice, auditing system or any auditor.

Suggested citation: Food Fraud Advisors 2018, Vulnerability Assessment Tool (BRC Method)

Licence agreement:
You may make as many copies of this spreadsheet as you need for ONE food business in one manufacturing location. If you work for more than one food business, for example as a
consultant, please purchase a separate licence for each food business. If you are using this for research or educational purposes please acknowledge the authors Food Fraud
Advisors 2018.

Click here for the full licence terms and conditions

Click here for frequently asked questions Get started

(and their answers)
This page is designed for easy reading, not for printing. If you really want to print it, use landscape orientation, narrow margins and choose scaling 'fit sheet to one page', it will be readable
 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Vulnerability Assessment for Food Fraud

start here

Insert name of material or material group

Ingredient(s) or raw material(s) group
here

Company name Type the name of the food business here

Manufacturing site Site(s) for this assessment

Prepared by Insert your name here

Insert your job title here

Date 22-Feb-23
Review due date 22-Feb-24

Back to Instructions page

Materials included in this assessment

Name of group Insert group name at top of page

Type a description of the group of materials

Description of group here

Briefly describe product range/s that contain

Used in these products this ingredient or raw material

Material names and/or codes included in this assessment

add material names

 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Back to Instructions page

 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Instructions
Define the scope of your food fraud vulnerability assessment on
this worksheet.
Type information into the green boxes.

The information you enter here is reproduced on the front page

of the completed assessment document ('Results section 1'). The
information can be changed at any time by returning to this
worksheet; the results pages cannot be edited directly.
The review due date is a suggestion only, both dates can be
edited.
Defining the group of materials

A material group is a family of ingredients or raw materials that

are of similar composition and have similar supply chain
characteristics. If you are unsure of which materials to include
within a group, just start with your best guess. As you answer
questions on the other worksheets it will soon be clear whether
you can include more materials within a group or not. It is simple
to expand or reduce the scope after you have started; simply
return to this page and add or remove items from the table of
materials.
Vulnerability Assessment; likelihood of occurrence
Insert material name on Scope Worksheet click
this
Likelihood of food fraud affecting this ingredient or raw material
cell to
start then click
on the
Element Question Help Your arrow that
answer appears
L1 Historic incidents Is this material one that Info (link to webpage) here
has been implicated in
previous incidences of
food fraud?
L2 Emerging Have there been any Info (link to webpage)
concerns recent alerts or news
about food fraud for this
material?

L3 Size of market Does the international Info

market for this material
have a large monetary
value?

L4 Price Is this an expensive Info

material?
L5 Price fluctuations Is the price of this material
subject to frequent, large
fluctuations?

L6 Trading properties Is this material traded on Info

specific properties such
as nitrogen content?
L7 Geographic origins Is this material sourced Info
from countries or regions
that are politically
unstable or very poor?

L8 Seasonal Is this material subject to Info

availability seasonal supply issues
(separately to price)?

L9 Direct sourcing Is this material sourced Info

directly from the
manufacturer or grower?

L10 Complexity of Do you consider the Info

supply chain supply chain of this
material to be complex
and/or long?

L11 Ease of access to Is the supply chain of a Info

material type that allows multiple
points of entry for
fraudulent material?
L12 Availability of Are there easily available Info
adulterants or adulterants or substitutes
substitutes for this material?

L13 Complexity and Would this material be Info

cost of committing cheap and simple to
fraud fraudulently adulterate,
substitute, dilute or
misrepresent?

L14 Form of ingredient Is this material purchased Info

in whole discrete pieces
rather than as a powder,
liquid, mince, paste, pre-
mix, slurry or blend?

L15 Special criteria Are there special criteria Info

for this material such as
halal, organic?

L16 Likelihood An automatically Info Very

(Calculated) generated likelihood
likely/certain
(calculated)
L17 User estimate of Choose your own
likelihood estimate of likelihood that
food fraud will affect this
material prior to arrival at
your facility

Back to Instructions page

Forward to Detection worksheet

 Likelihood

then click Detection

on the X
Results
arrow that
appears
here
Very likely/certain to be affected
ood

X
Your Comments Likelihood worksheet instructions
Use this worksheet to help assess the likelihood that food fraud will
affect this material prior to it entering your facility.
You can enter information into the white cells. The blue cells cannot
be edited.
Read the question in column 3 of the table, then choose an answer
by clicking on the cell in column 5 and choosing from the dropdown
list.

Add comments that support your answer or provide more

information (optional).

The information in the results column and the comments you enter
are reproduced in the printable vulnerability assessment document
('Results section 2'). The information in the results page can be
changed at any time by returning to this sheet; the printable results
pages cannot be edited directly.

For help with the questions, click on the links in the 'Help' column.
Delete this text box or drag it off-screen if you wish to enter
comments.
Type your comments about food fraud affecting this material here
Vulnerability Assessment; likelihood of detection
Insert material name on Scope Worksheet
start
Likelihood that food fraud would be detected in this ingredient or raw material
here

Element Question Help Your

answer
D1 Geographic origin Is this material sourced
from countries or regions
that are politically
unstable or very poor?

D2 Direct sourcing Is this ingredient sourced

directly from the
manufacturer or grower?

D3 Complexity of Do you consider the

supply chain supply chain of this
material to be complex
and/or long?

D4 Form of ingredient Is this ingredient

purchased in whole
discrete pieces rather
than as a powder, liquid,
mince, paste, pre-mix,
slurry or blend?

D5 Supply chain Is the supply chain Info

audits audited by your business
or by third parties?

D6 Routine testing Is this material subjected Info

to routine authenticity
tests?

D7 Frequency of Is the authenticity testing Info

testing of an appropriate
frequency

D8 Testing likelihood Are the authenticity tests

of detection likely to detect
adulteration or
substitution?

D9 Packaging Is the product supplied in

tamper-evident packaging
or in secure bulk-handling
containers?
D10 Ease of access to Is the supply chain of a
material type that allows multiple
points of entry for
fraudulent material?

D11 Relevant audits Is the supplier/s of this Info

material subject to
relevant audits, ie those
which consider
adulteration, traceability,
mass balance and
testing?

D12 Special criteria If there are special criteria Info

are they tested for and/or
properly certified?

D13 Likelihood of Info Very unlikely to

detection be detected
Calculated
(calculated)

D14 User estimate of Enter your own estimate

likelihood of here
detection

Back to Instructions page

View and print results

 Likelihood

start
Detection
dient or raw material
here
X
Results

Why are some of these questions

repeated?

Some of the questions on this sheet are the

same as on the Occurrence worksheet. The
questions are repeated on the
recommendation of the BRC in their
document Understanding Vulnerability
Assessment (2015).

Delete this text box or drag it off-screen if

desired.
Very unlikely to be detected
 Detection worksheet instructions
Your Comments Use this worksheet to help assess the likelihood that fraudulent
adulteration or substitution would be detected in this material.

hese questions You can enter information into the white cells. The coloured cells
cannot be edited.

ons on this sheet are the Read the question in column 3 of the table, then choose an answer by
currence worksheet. The clicking on the cell in column 5 and choosing from the dropdown list.
ated on the
f the BRC in their Add comments that support your answer or provide more information
anding Vulnerability (optional).
.
If you wish to copy the answers from another excel file, that will work
x or drag it off-screen if fine.

The information in the results column and the comments you enter are
reproduced in the printable vulnerability assessment document
('Results section 2'). The information in the results page can be changed
at any time by returning to this sheet; the printable results pages cannot
be edited directly.

For help with the questions, click on the links in the 'Help' column.
Delete this text box or drag it off-screen if you wish to enter comments.
Type your comments about the likelihood that food fraud would be detected for this material here
 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Vulnerability Assessment for Food Fraud

Material Enter group name on scope worksheet
Company name Name of food business

Site(s) Site(s) for this assessment

Prepared by Enter your name on the scope worksheet
Enter your job title on the scope worksheet

Date 22-Feb-23

Review due date 22-Feb-24

Purpose and scope

This is an assessment of vulnerability to food fraud, including economically motivated
adulteration, substitution or dilution for the ingredient(s) and/or raw material(s) listed
below. It assesses vulnerabilities prior to receipt and use of the material, it does not
address vulnerabilities within this facility.

Materials included in this assessment

Material group Enter group name on scope worksheet

Description

Used in these Briefly describe product range/s that contain this ingredient or raw
products material

Material names and/or codes included in this assessment

Insert your company's standard document control features here

 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Insert your company's standard document control features here

 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Vulnerability assessment document, section 1: purpose and scope

This is the first page of your completed vulnerability assessment document.

The information on this page can be printed to paper, exported to pdf or you
can copy and paste the results into a larger document. Be sure to add
document control features including page numbers, document identification
and date or version number.
If you are pasting the results from this sheet into a new excel document use
the 'Paste special' function, then choose 'values' to avoid copying formulas
that will look strange in the new spreadsheet.

This sheet cannot be edited. If you wish to change any details, return to the
Scope worksheet.

Delete this text box prior to printing.

Insert your company's standard document control features here

 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Vulnerability Assessment for Food Fraud

Enter material name on scope worksheet

Summary

Material Enter material name on scope worksheet

Likelihood of occurrence of food

Very likely/certain to be affected
fraud

Likelihood of detection of food

Very unlikely to be detected
fraud

Vulnerability Estimate High risk

Food safety warning: adulteration or substitution of any ingredient means a risk to food safety

Likelihood of occurrence
Very unlikely

Fairly likely

Very likely/
Unlikely

certain
Likelihood of detection

Likely

Very likely/certain

Likely

Fairly likely

Unlikely/remote

X
Very unlikely

Key
Red areas = high risk; urgent action is required and regular monitoring may be needed
Yellow areas = medium risk: action is needed with occasional monitoring to mitigate the risk
Green areas = low risk

Insert your company's standard document control features here

 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018

How this conclusion was reached

Assessment of likelihood that food fraud will affect this material

Historic incidents

Emerging concerns

Size of market

Price

Price fluctuations

Trading properties

Geographic origins

Seasonal availability

Direct sourcing

Complexity of
supply chain
0

Ease of access to
material
0

Insert your company's standard document control features here

 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Availability of
adulterants or
substitutes

Complexity and cost

of committing fraud
0

Form of ingredient

Special criteria

Likelihood of Very likely/certain to be affected

occurrence

Assessment of the likelihood that food fraud would be detected

Geographic origin

Direct sourcing

Complexity of
supply chain
0

Form of ingredient

Supply chain audits

Routine testing

Insert your company's standard document control features here

 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Frequency of testing

Testing likelihood of
detection
0

Packaging

Ease of access to
material
0

Relevant audits

Special criteria

Likelihood of Very unlikely to be detected

detection

Insert your company's standard document control features here

 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Vulnerability assessment document: results

This is the second part of your completed vulnerability assessment

document.

The information here can be edited by returning to the Scope worksheet,

Occurrence worksheet and the Detection worksheet. If you disagree with
the results, simply return to the relevant worksheet and change your
estimate of likelihood in the bottom row of the table; the results on this
sheet will update automatically.
The information on this sheet can be printed to paper, exported to pdf or
you can copy and paste the results into a larger document. Be sure to add
document control features including page numbers, document
identification and date or version number.

If you are pasting into a new excel document use the 'Paste special'
function, then choose 'values' to avoid copying formulas that will look
strange in the new spreadsheet.
Delete this text box prior to printing.

Insert your company's standard document control features here

 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Comments

The Vulnerability Assessment Tool does not enforce a limit on the length of
comments that users can add.
However if you added very lengthy comments when performing your
assessment the final parts of some comments may be obscured in this
table.

To fix this problem adjust the row height of affected cells by right clicking
the row number at the left of the screen. Increase the row height until all of
your comments are visible.
Delete this text box prior to printing.

Insert your company's standard document control features here

 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Instructions Back to Introduction

Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Overview:
Create a new excel file for each material or group of materials. A material group is a family of ingredients or raw materials that are of similar composition and
have similar supply chain characteristics. If you are unsure of which materials to include within a group, just start with your best guess. When using the tool it will
soon be clear whether you can include more materials within a group and it is simple to expand the scope after you have started if you want to do so.

Collect information about the material(s) and use it to answer questions in the worksheets. You do not need all the information on hand to start, you can add or
change the information at any time. Start with your best guess and update your answers as you learn more.

When you have answered all the questions, view and print the results. Section 1 of the results defines the purpose and scope, author, date and review date.
Section 2 of the results contains the vulnerability rating, risk matrix and information about what was considered in the assessment. You can print to paper, print to
pdf or copy and paste the results into a larger document.

Step 1 Perform a ‘Save As’ to create a new copy of this spreadsheet with a new name.   Always keep a blank copy on hand for next time.
1 minute
Use one spreadsheet per material or material group. Make a new excel spreadsheet file for each material or material group.

Step 2 Enter some basic information: Go to the Scope Worksheet (click the tab labelled Scope Worksheet at the bottom of your screen or the link to
2 minutes your right) .  Type the name of the material you will be assessing, your name and job role and the date into the boxes in the worksheet.
take me to the Scope worksheet

Describe the material group, then list the materials which are included in this group, plus their codes if desired.

Step 3 Answer questions in the Occurrence Worksheet to estimate the likelihood of food fraud affecting the material. Choose answers from the
20 minutes dropdown lists provided and add comments if desired. This information will be used to estimate the likelihood of food fraud affecting the
material. 

If you disagree with the calculated estimate, there is space to add your own instead. The user's estimate always overrides the calculated take me to the Occurrence worksheet
estimate to produce the final result.

Step 4 Answer questions in the Detection Worksheet to estimate the likelihood that food fraud would be detected for the material being assessed.
5 minutes Choose answers from the dropdown lists provided and add comments if desired. This information will be used to determine the likelihood of
detection if food fraud was to affect the material. 
take me to the Detection worksheet
If you are unsure of an answer, just insert your best guess; you can come back later when you have more information.

Avoid using the excel 'CUT' function in the worksheets. Copy and paste is fine.

Step 5 The answers that were entered in the Occurrence Worksheet and Detection Worksheet automatically populate a risk matrix that shows the
View results overall vulnerability of the material.

View and print results for the material by going to the Results sheets (click on the tabs at the bottom of your screen). There are two sheets of
results.  Section 1 contains purpose, scope and author information. Section 2 contains the risk assessment results, including the risk matrix and Show me the results
the information used to determine the results. These sheets are formatted for printing to paper or pdf for your audit.

Questions? Got questions? 

FAQ (link to website)
Click here for answers to frequently asked questions (FAQ) and to access on-line support.
What next? Now I have a vulnerability assessment. What comes next?
What next?(external link)

Feedback Send us your thoughts using this contact form

… Or post your comments and discuss your results with other users on our Facebook page

Back to Introduction
 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Help with likelihood of occurrence

L3 Size of market Back to

Occurrence
Worksheet
Materials that have markets with large monetary values are those that are traded in very large quantities across many countries or
materials that are very expensive.  Tea, coffee, cocoa, sugar all have markets with a large monetary value.

L4 Price

Use the following as a guide for ingredients and raw materials: If the purchase price is more than USD20 per kg or USD20,000 per
metric tonne or EUR18 per kg or 18,000 per metric tonne answer ‘yes very expensive’. If the purchase price is less than EUR600 or
USD650 per metric tonne, answer ‘no’.

L6 Trading properties

Ingredients and raw materials that are traded on specific properties are those for which the price is dependent on the content of
water, dairy fat, nitrogen (protein), cocoa solids or some other key component. Answer ‘yes’ here if your business pays a price that is
Back to
dependent on a specific property of the material or if your supplier(s) pay a price depends on a property of the material, even if your Occurrence
business pays a flat rate. Worksheet

If you are unsure, speak to your purchasing officer.

L7 Geographic origins

Answer ‘yes’ for this question if this ingredient or raw material originates in a country that is politically unstable or very poor.
 The Global Food Security Index (http://foodsecurityindex.eiu.com/) has specific information about food quality and food safety issues
in 113 countries.

L8 Seasonal availability

Answer 'yes' for this question if this material is affected by seasonal supply issues, separately to price. For example, if you or your
suppliers need to source the material from a different country during different times of the year, or if the characteristics of the material
change significantly in different seasons; perhaps the sugar content is lower in July, for example.

L9 Direct sourcing

Answer ‘yes’ for this question if your business purchases this ingredient or raw material directly from the business that manufactures
it, grows it or slaughters it.  For fish and seafood, answer ‘yes’ if you purchase from the business that is the first on-shore processing
facility.  Answer ‘no’ if the material is purchased from a distributor or importer, trader, broker, wholesaler or retailer.

L10 Complexity of supply chain

Back to
Occurrence
Do you consider the supply chain of this material to be complex and/or long?  An example of a short supply chain is wheat flour Worksheet
purchased directly from a flour mill that processes locally grown wheat.  A complex supply chain is one that involves many different
businesses handling, processing, storing and transporting a product and its component parts.   Most imported materials have a long
and complex supply chain. Most processed food products have long and complex supply chains.

L11 Ease of access to material

Is the supply chain of a type that allows multiple points of entry for fraudulent material?  Entry points for fraudulent materials are
points in the supply chain at which a motivated person could adulterate or dilute the material or substitute an inauthentic material in
its place.  These points are most likely to be places where the material is blended, mixed, ground or where it is stored or transported
in a manner that would allow a motivated person to easily gain access to the material.

L12 Availability of adulterants or substitutes

An example of a material that has easily available adulterants is honey, which can be adulterated with water, sugar syrups and invert
syrups, all of which are easy to obtain. Ground beef can be adulterated with cow offal or horse meat (for example), both of which are
easy to obtain in some parts of the world.

L13 Complexity and cost of committing fraud Back to

Occurrence
Worksheet
Answer ‘yes’ for this question if the material would be cheap and simple to fraudulently adulterate, substitute, dilute or misrepresent.

L14 Form of material

Answer ‘yes’ for this question if the ingredient or raw material is purchased by your company in individual pieces which can be
visually identified as such.  Examples include chickpeas, whole peppers, chicken wings, bananas, frozen berries, rolled oats, coffee
beans, whole cloves.  If this material is purchased as a powder, liquid, mince, paste, pre-mix, slurry or blend then answer ‘no’. If you
are performing an assessment of a mixed food product, such as a cheese sandwich or a berry pie, answer 'no'.
Back to
Occurrence
Worksheet
L15 Special criteria

Answer ‘yes’ for this question if there are special criteria for this product, ingredient or raw material. Examples include (but are not
limited to) halal, organic, non-GMO, grass-fed, free-range, fair trade, extra virgin, cold-pressed, kosher, dolphin-friendly.

L16 Likelihood of occurrence results

This is an estimate of the likelihood of food fraud affecting this material prior to its receipt into your facility. If you disagree with the Back to
results, progress to the row below (L17) and choose your estimate from the dropdown list. Your estimate will be used for the overall Occurrence
risk rating. If you agree with the calculated results there is no need to add your own estimate. Worksheet
 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors 2018

Help with detection worksheet

D5 Supply chain audits Back to Detection

Worksheet
Answer ‘yes all suppliers are audited’ in the Vulnerability Assessment Tool if you know that all the suppliers from whom you purchase
this material and their suppliers are audited by your business or by third parties. Suppliers that have been successfully audited by
third parties will have current certificates of conformance to food safety standards; for example they will be ‘BRC certified’ or ‘SQF
certified’.

D6 Routine testing

A routine authenticity test is a test carried out on a regular, defined basis by your business, a trusted supplier or a third party to
determine whether the material is ‘authentic’. An authentic food or food ingredient is one that is what it is claimed to be. That is, if
the material is claimed to be olive oil, an authenticity test would confirm that the oil has been made from olives; if the material is
claimed to be Spanish olive oil, authenticity testing would check that the chemical profile of the oil matches those of Spanish olives; if
the material is claimed to be virgin Spanish olive oil, the testing would check for the origin, the species and whether the oil is virgin. If Back to
testing has occurred but it is occasional, ad-hoc or one-off then it is not considered routine and you should answer ‘no’ at this Detection
question. Worksheet

D7 Frequency of testing

Is the authenticity testing of an appropriate frequency? If routine authenticity testing does not occur, answer ‘not applicable’. If
routine testing does occur, it is difficult to know whether the frequency is appropriate, even if fraudulent material has previously been
detected during routine testing. Materials that are very susceptible to food fraud – that is the likelihood of occurrence is ‘very likely’ or
‘likely’ – should have a very high testing frequency; testing per batch of incoming goods is best practice. An appropriate frequency of
testing for a less vulnerable material could be based on testing one in five incoming batches.

D11 Relevant audits

Is the supplier of this material subject to relevant audits? Relevant audits are those which consider adulteration, traceability, mass
balance, supplier approvals and authenticity testing. Audits to GFSI food safety standards are ‘relevant’. Most other food safety
management standards adequately address traceability requirements, and some also consider adulteration and mass balance. You
will need to check the applicable standards or audit reports to determine if the supplier audits are considered ‘relevant’ according to
this question.

D12 Special criteria

If there are special criteria are they tested for and/or properly certified? Special criteria include organic status, halal, vegetarian,
gluten-free, non-GMO and origin claims such as ‘Spanish olives’. If there are no special criteria for this material answer ‘not
applicable’. Otherwise, answer according to whether or not those criteria are verified with testing and/or certifications.

D13 Estimate of likelihood of detection Back to

Detection
Worksheet

The Vulnerability Assessment Tool can help you to make an estimate of how likely it is that food fraud would be detected in a
material or ingredient.  No matter what answer the tool calculates, you, with advice from other experts within the business should
carefully consider the evidence and make your own choice.  Add your own choice to the row D14 ‘User rating’.  The overall
vulnerability rating is determined with the ‘User rating’; if a user rating has been entered it will override the calculated result.

Possible impacts of food fraud:

Food safety risks: any adulteration, substitution or dilution of an ingredient should be treated as a serious food safety issue as a first
priority.   There can be direct food safety risks to consumers from contaminated adulterants, allergenic adulterants or unhygienic
handling of the ingredient during any adulteration or substitution.  There can also be an indirect food safety risk to consumers from
adulterants that cause chronic disease, or are carcinogenic or are lacking in nutrients that should be present in an authentic product.

Loss of consumer trust: problems with your product or product group can be catastrophic for your brand.

Indirect risks: adulteration, substitution or dilution of an ingredient indicates a flaw in the traceability of your product, which means
non-compliance with the requirements of food safety standards and regulations.

There are financial risks associated with any incidence of food fraud.  If your company has a Risk Officer or an Enterprise Risk Back to
Management Plan the relevant persons should be informed of the results of your vulnerability assessment and consulted about how Detection
to prioritise the prevention and mitigation planning that should be done for materials that are found to be medium or high risk in their Worksheet
vulnerability assessment.
 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors © 2018

About Food Fraud Advisors' Vulnerability Assessment Tool (BRC

Method)

Table of contents
1 Methodology
2 Descriptors
3 Calculations
4 Risk ratings
5 References

1 Methodology

This spreadsheet is a tool that is designed to help food businesses perform a vulnerability
assessment for food fraud.

It is designed for businesses that manufacture food in accordance with the requirements
of BRC's (British Retail Consortium) GLOBAL STANDARD FOOD SAFETY, which
requires that businesses assess their ingredients and raw materials for vulnerability to
economically motivated adulteration or substitution.

The assessment method that underpins this tool aligns with the recommendations made
by the Global Food Safety Initiative (GFSI) in their technical document Tackling Food
Fraud Through Food Safety Management Systems (2018) in so far as:

(1) It conforms with the guidance for risk management methods described in ISO
31000
(2) It prompts the user to consider historical data, food fraud opportunities, economical
context, fraud capability, complexity of supply chain.

However, it does not make use of a likelihood versus consequences method,

('consequence/probability matrix') as in ISO 31010, but follows the BRC’s
recommendations to analyse likelihood of occurrence versus likelihood of detection of
food fraud. These recommendations are made in Understanding Vulnerability
Assessment (BRC, 2015).

In addition, it is not designed to address all types of food fraud or all types of food items,
focussing only on those types that are specified in BRC Global Standard Food Safety
Issue 7, clause 5.4.2; specifically, ingredients and raw materials and their vulnerability to
economically motivated adulteration, substitution or dilution. It is expected that this
vulnerability assessment tool will also meet the requirements of Issue 8, clause 5.4.2.

As specified in 5.4.2 this tool prompts the user to take into account historical evidence of
substitution or adulteration; economic factors which may make adulteration or substitution
more attractive; ease of access to raw materials through the supply chain; sophistication
of routine testing to identify adulterants; nature of the raw material.

Page 29 of 31
 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors © 2018

2 Descriptors for
Vulnerability Assessment Tool (BRC Method) for Food Fraud

Likelihood of Occurrence

Rating Likelihood of Occurrence

Very unlikely Very unlikely, but food fraud may occur in exceptional circumstances. It
could happen, but probably never will.
Unlikely Not expected, but there's a slight possibility it may occur at some time.

Fairly likely Food fraud might occur for this material at some time.
Likely There is a strong possibility that this material will be affected by food
fraud.
Very Food fraud is expected to affect this material most or all of the time.
likely/certain

Likelihood of Detection

Rating Likelihood of Detection

Very If food fraud affects this material it will almost certainly be detected.
likely/certain
Likely There is a strong possibility that food fraud would be detected if it was
to occur.
Fairly likely Food fraud is fairly likely to be detected.
Unlikely It is unlikely that we would detect food fraud if it occurred.
Very unlikely If food fraud was to occur, it is very unlikely that our systems would
detect it.

3 Calculations of likelihood

To provide a calculated estimate of likelihood of occurrence and likelihood of detection,

the Vulnerability Assessment Tool, performs a series of calculations.

For each question, a ‘good’ answer is awarded a numerical value of 0 points. A 'good'
answer is an answer that corresponds to a lower likelihood of fraud or a higher likelihood
of detection. 'Good' answers are shown in green colour on the worksheets. 'Bad'
answers, those that correspond to an increased likelihood of fraud or a lower likelihood of
detection, are shown in red colour on the worksheets. 'Bad' answers are awarded 1
point. The exception is the question about whether the raw material been implicated in
previous incidences of food fraud (Question L1). For this question, the answer “Yes
many incidences” returns 5 points (= very bad) while “A few incidences” returns 3 points
(= still quite bad). Past history of food fraud is a very good indicator of future risk, more
so than other factors, which is why the scoring for this question is weighted in such a way.
If question L1 is not answered at all, maximum points are assigned and the likelihood of
occurrence will remain at 'Very likely/certain' until that question is answered.

Page 30 of 31
 Vulnerability Assessment Tool, Food Fraud Advisors © 2018

As the points are assigned for each answer, they are averaged and converted to a value
between 0 and 100, with each of the five descriptors assigned to five equal ranges of 20
points each.

All calculated answers can be over-ridden by the user and we recommend that the user
makes their own conclusions as to the vulnerabilities and risks; the calculated ratings are
designed to provide a starting point only, so if they do not make sense for your ingredient
or supply chain they should definitely be changed.

4 Risk ratings for

Vulnerability Assessment Tool (BRC Method) for Food Fraud

In accordance with the quadratic risk matrix method described in BRC's Understanding
Vulnerability Assessment (2015), the overall estimate of vulnerability is determined by
plotting the likelihood of occurrence vs the likelihood of detection on a quadratic matrix.
The colours in the matrix in the Vulnerability Assessment tool are as described in
Understanding Vulnerability Assessment (2015). The colours red, yellow and green
correspond to high risk, medium risk and low risk.

The purpose of a food fraud vulnerability assessment is to understand the risk that food
fraud will affect the material and so determine whether or not actions are required to
reduce the risk. If the assessment shows that a food raw material is at high risk or
medium risk, a food fraud mitigation plan is required. If the material is at low risk of food
fraud, mitigation activities are not required.

High risk; urgent action is required and regular monitoring may be needed

Medium risk: action is needed with occasional monitoring to mitigate the risk

Low risk; no actions required.

5 References
Tackling Food Fraud Through Food Safety Management Systems (GFSI, 2018)
http://www.mygfsi.com/files/Technical_Documents/201805-food-fraud-technical-document-final.pdf

Understanding Vulnerability Assessment (BRC, 2015)

http://www.brcbookshop.com/p/1782/brc-global-standard-for-food-safety-issue-7-understanding-vulnerability-assessme

Page 31 of 31