Food News

In this section we repeated alert notices from the RASFF system of the European commission issued in the previous month, which we thought to be noteworthy and of interest to our clients.

In the meantime you have recognized, that the monthly listing became longer and longer. A repetition in AGROLAB RADAR binds meanwhile many hours, so we decided to stop excerpting this information. In addition the alerts did not differ very much from month to month. The typical threats were also deriving from the known countries. Nuts, raisins and dried fruit with mycotoxin contamination from South of Europe and Middle East countries & USA, salmonella in chicken breast from South America, Poland, and numerous spices (e.g. black pepper from Brazil, which seems really to be a problem!), and seeds with salmonella and always often a too high sulfite content in dried fruit from Turkey etc.

You can analyze the RASFF-site conveniently by yourself using several filter options and limit the notification to those which are of direct interest to your business.

We from AGROLAB GROUP will screen the RASFF listing week by week also in future. From now on we will select and focus only a few really surprising or challenging findings in our opinion, that we will present in this section. Last month we found the following serious alerts noteworthy.

• Ethylene oxide/2-Chlorethanol: 2-Chloroethanol in food supplement from Germany; 2-chloroethanol in roasted peanut flavor from Netherlands; 2-chloroethanol in HPMC capsules from China; 2-chloroethanol in calcium carbonate powder (2x) used in food supplement from Austria and Italy ; 2-chloroethanol in prepared food (instant noodles with special chicken flavor) from Indonesia; 2-chloroethanol in food supplements from Switzerland; ethylene oxide in cinnamon used in brine of herring fillet in oil from Netherlands with raw material from Germany; 2-chloroethanol (0.50 mg/kg - ppm) in guar gum from India, via France; ethylene oxide in vegetable flakes of an instant noodle ready meal from Korea, via the Netherlands; ethylene oxide in herb blend from the Netherlands; ethylene oxide in chili flavoured instant noodles from Philippines; ethylene oxide in ground barley grass powder from China; ethylene oxide in chilli pepper from India; ethylene oxide in food supplements from Italy, France, Spain and USA ; ethylene oxide in turmeric from India; ethylene oxide in various food supplements notified by the Netherlands; ethylene oxide in Torchi spices from Lebanon, via the Netherlands; ethylene oxide in black pepper and in spice preparation from Lebanon, via the Netherlands; ethylene oxide (sum of EO and 2-CE expressed as EO: 14 mg/kg - ppm) in ground cinnamon from Vietnam; ethylene oxide in many agar agar - related products stabilizer mix (Lygomme) and icings from France; ethylene oxide in fruit preparation used in yogurt from France; ethylene oxide in locust bean gum, processed in spice mixtures from Germany; ethylene oxide in Senna Leaf Extract from France;
• Dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs: in goose breast fillets and thighs from Hungary;
• Heavy and toxic metals: Cadmium (0,315 mg/kg) in chilled tuna from Sri Lanka and in Octopus from Vietnam; Mercury in frozen swordfish steaks (Xiphias gladius) from Spain (2x); Increased aluminium content in food supplement from Germany; Novel food korean ginseng and too high content of zinc in food supplement from Netherlands;
• Histamine: Histamine (469 mg/kg - ppm) in anchovies from Tunisia; in organic raw milk cheddar cheese from Ireland;
• Listeria monocytogenes: in cheese from pasteurized goat’s milk from Netherlands; in frozen grilled duck meat from the Czech Republic; Listeria monocytogenes in chilled soup meatballs from Belgium; in ewe's milk cheese, cheese (undefined) and in dried sausages (2x) from France; in chilled sausages from Poland; in pasta from Germany; in Gorgonzola cheese from Italy; in smoked and oiled salted herring fillets from Poland;
• MOSH/MOAH: Mineral oil hydrocarbons in stock cubes (instant broth) from Portugal; Mineral oil (MOAH: 5; 5.3 mg/kg - ppm) in vegetable cubes from Germany; in olive oil of unknown origin notified by the Netherlands;
• Mycotoxins: Aflatoxins in ginger from India via UK and NL; Aflatoxins in Millet Couscous from Senegal (2x); Aflatoxin B1 in basmati rice from Pakistan, via the Netherlands; Aflatoxins in rice from Sri Lanka; Ochratoxin A in children's fruit-oat bar from UK; Fumonisins in maize flour from Portugal; Aflatoxin B1 in ground chili from India; Ochratoxin A above the legal limits in licorice powder notified by Italy; Aflatoxins in nutmeg from Indonesia (2x);
• Nitrosamines: N-nitrosodimethylamine in beer from Germany;
• PAH: in green wheat, roasted (Freekeh) from Turkey; Benzo(a)pyrene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in organic paprika powder from Spain; Garam masala from India contaminated with aromatic hydrocarbons (59.7 µg/kg - ppb); Benzo(a)pyren and PAH in sausage from Poland (2x); Anthraquinone in dried cardamom from Vietnam;
• Pesticides: pesticide residues in green tea from China and in basmati rice from India, via the Netherlands; Linuron in dried dill tips from Germany with raw material from Hungary;
• Pyrrolizidine alkaloids: in oregano from Turkey; in chamomile tea from the Netherlands;
• Salmonella: Outbreak of human salmonellosis associated with consumption of chicken burger meat from Spain;Food poisoning suspected to be caused by Salmonella enterica ser. Typhimurium in dried sausages from France; Salmonella spp. in smoked goose breast from Germany, raw material from Poland; Salmonella enterica ser. Matadi (presence /25g), Salmonella enterica ser. Morehead (presence /25g) and Salmonella enterica ser. Saintpaul (presence /25g) in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Oranienburg, S. Javiana (2) in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella enterica ser. Newport (presence /25g) and Salmonella enterica ser. Saintpaul (presence /25g) in black pepper from Brazil; S. Rubislaw and S. Saintpaul in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Glostrup, S. Agona in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Glostrup in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella enterica ser. Matadi (presence /25g), Salmonella enterica ser. Minnesota (presence /25g), Salmonella enterica ser. Oranienburg (presence /25g), Salmonella enterica ser. Rubislaw (presence /25g) and Salmonella enterica ser. Saphra (presence /25g) in black pepper from Brazil; Poona, S. Matadi, S.Schwarzengrund in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Saintpaul in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella (present /25g) in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Newport, Salmonella Poona, Salmonella Infantis, Salmonella Reading 0:5- and Salmonella Rubislaw in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Rubislaw, Salmonella Freetown, Salmonella Kiambu, Salmonella Newport, Salmonella Poona and Salmonella Sandiego O:5- in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Minnesota, Salmonella Oranienburg, Salmonella Morehead and Salmonella Saphra in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Braenderup, Salmonella Dreetown and Salmonella Abaetetuba in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Javiana, Salmonella Newport, Salmonella Poona and Salmonella Abaetetuba in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Oranienburg, Salmonella Matadi and Salmonella Saintpaul in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Saintpaul in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Poona, Salmonella Javiana and Salmonella Saintpaul in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Newport, Salmonella Javiana and Salmonella Denver in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Sandiego and Salmonella Miami in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Javiana and Salmonella Saintpaul in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Newport, Salmonella Javiana and Salmonella Denver in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Sandiego and Salmonella Miami in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Javiana and Salmonella Saintpaul in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Matadi, Salmonella Rubislaw, Salmonella Saintpaul and Salmonella Poona in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Glostrup, Salmonella Oranienburg, Salmonella Gaminara and Salmonella Minnesota in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Infantis, Salmonella Saintpaul and Salmonella Newport in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Morehead, S. Javiana, S. Braenderup, S. Saintpaul, S. Kiambu and S. Minnesota in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella Morehead and Salmonella Rubislaw in black pepper from Brazil; Salmonella in black pepper from Brazil (5x);
• STEC (shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli (in 25g): in raw milk cheese from France;
  VTEC/STEC in ready dough for cookies from Germany;
• Sudan dyes: Unauthorised colours Sudan 3 and Sudan 4 in palm oil from Ghana;
• THC / CBD: Increased total Δ9-THC content in herbal tea mixture with hemp leaves from Germany; Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol in flavoured wine from Spain; Hemp oil with with high tetrahydrocannabinol content (THC, THC-A) from Croatia;
• Vibrio cholera: in frozen prawns (Litopenaeus vannamei) (presence /25g) from Ecuador;

This time, we have deliberately listed all reports of salmonella findings in Brazilian black pepper in order to demonstrate the increased risk. Pepper is often used to season food only after cooking, i.e. it is often not heated through. We therefore strongly advise having all batches of the spice tested for microbiological safety before using it in the production of spice blends.

YOUR PLUS: Our specialist laboratory for spice analysis, Dr. A. Verwey in Rotterdam, as well as all food laboratories of the AGROLAB GROUP carry out this important analysis for you by means of a PCR test within less than 24 hours. You better always stay on the safe side with us!

Link: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window