Food News

Alert notices from RASFF concerning food (except for fruit & vegetables - see special section)

Alarm

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. 

 

We will refrain from repeating the numerous reports on all mycotoxin and salmonella limit violations but show only a selection to pinpoint the risks. However, we like to put your attention to the fact that in numerous cases missing allergen information was categorized as serious and caused border rejections too.

You can analyse the RASFF-site conveniently by yourself using several filter options and limit the notification to those which are of direct interest to your business. Link: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/search

Chemical Hazards: Product Origin
Acrylamide 939 µg/kg (350 µg/kg) in biscuits Bosnia and Herzegovina
Ethylene oxide (EO) / 2-chlorethanol (2-CE) +) EO 0,37 mg/kg (!) , 2-CE 0,67 mg/kg (!), chlorate +) 0,074 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) Chlorpyrifos +) 0,011 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) Profenofos +) 0,022 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in white sesame unknown, notified by The Netherlands
EO 29 mg/kg  (!!!) (0,1 mg/kg) in non-authorised novel food blue Fenugreek seeds (Trigonella caerulea) Georgia
Furans Furan 90 µg/kg;  2-methyl-furan 15 µg/kg;  3-methyl-furan: 5,7 µg/kg in meals for children Spain, notified by Denmark
Heavy and toxic metals Cadmium 2,8 mg/kg (1 mg/kg)  in zinc citrate trihydrate China
Cadmium in mackerel  Spain, via The Netherlands
Lead 10,4 mg/kg (2 mg/kg) in ground onions Turkey
Mercury 1,5 mg/kg (1 mg/kg) in frozen shortfin mako steaks Spain
Mercury 2,6 & 1,6  mg/kg (1 mg/kg) in frozen swordfish Morocco, notified by Spain
Mercury 1,5; 1,6; 1,8; 2,11 mg/kg (1 mg/kg) in frozen swordfish Spain (4)
Tin 236, 287 & 253 mg/kg (200 mg/kg) in pineapple slices in light syrup Thailand (3), notified by Poland
Hydrocyanic acid, cyanides 234 mg/kg  (150 mg/kg) in  line seed Kazakhstan, via UK
3-MCPD and glycidyl esters (GE) Glycidyl esters 1300 µg/kg (1000 µg/kg) in organic sunflower oil Ukraine
Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 14,5 µg/kg (5 µg/kg), aflatoxins (total)  16,9 µg/kg (10 µg/kg)  in hazelnuts Georgia
Aflatoxin B1 61 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) Aflatoxins (total) 109 µg/kg (!) (10 µg/kg) in pistachios Turkey
Aflatoxin B1 267 (!); 117 (!); 48 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) Aflatoxins (total) 290  (!); 127 µg/kg (!); 51,9 µg/kg ; 30 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in pistachios Iran (4)
Aflatoxins (total) 102,2 µg/kg (!) (10 µg/kg) & Tenuazonic acid 2.380 µg/kg in dried figs Turkey
Aflatoxin B1 2,8 µg/kg (2 µg/kg) in popcorn Italy
Aflatoxins (total) 59,8 (!) & 85,1 µg/kg (!) (4 µg/kg)  in walnut kernel pieces Ukraine
Fumonisins 290 µg/kg (200 µg/kg)  in corn snack for children Finland
Ochratoxin A 32 & 37,4 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) in shelled pistachios USA
Ochratoxin A 46,5 µg/kg (20 µg/kg) in chili spice preparation with raw material from China Germany
Ochratoxin A 15 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) in sultana raisins (2)  China (1), Turkey (1)
Nitrofuranes Nitrofurazon (SEM) +)  4,12 µg/kg (0,25 µg/kg)  in frozen frog legs Turkey
Nitrofurans (AOZ)  >0,5 µg/kg (0,5 µg/kg) in shrimps India
Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) PAH (sum) 0,115 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg) and pesticides: Chlorpyrifos +) 0,037 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) & alpha-HCH +) 0,021 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg ), ß-HCH +) 0,022 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) , gamma-HCH +) 0,017 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in ginger powder India
Pesticides Diazinon 0,36 mg/kg (!)  (0,01 mg/kg)  in dried sliced mandarines Iran
Chlorfenapyr +) 0,29 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg)in dried chopped chili China
Chlorpyrifos +) 1,6 mg/kg (!!!) & 1,4 mg/kg (!!!) (0,01 mg/kg in unauthorized novel food fenugreek leaves (Trigonella foenum graecum) (2) India (2)
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,025 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg ) and Imidaclopride 0,044 mg/kg (0,02 mg/kg) in cinnamon Madagascar, notified by France
Chlorpyrifos +) n.a. (0,01 mg/kg ) in the ingredient rose centifolia incorporated in a food supplement  France
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,027 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg ) in wheat Ukraine
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,08 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg ) in koka nuts France
Carbendazim +) 0,38 mg/kg (1,4 mg/kg), Chlorpyrifos +) 0,026 mg/kg (0,0056 mg/kg),  Fenpropathrine 0,12 mg/kg (0,047 mg/kg),   and thiophanate methyl  0,38 mg/kg (!) (0,025) (MRLs with dryinig factors) in raisins unknown, notified by Belgium
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids 2263 µg/kg (1000 µg/kg) in dried oregano Turkey
Sudan dyes+) and other unauthorized colorants+) Sudan 1 565 µg/kg (!!!) , OrangeII 44.800 µg/kg (!!!) and Rhodamin B 1.140 µg/kg (!!!) in chilli powder Togo, notified by Belgium
Erythrosine (E127) and Brilliant Blue FCF (E133) in biscuits  Philippines, notified by Italy
Sudan IV 3.787 µg/kg (!!!) in palm oil  Côte D'Ivoire
Leucomalachite green in frozen catfish filets (Claria gariepinus)  Vietnam
Sulphites 193,1 mg/kg undeclared in organic coconut sugar processed in France Indonesia
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) +) and Cannabidiol (CBD) +) Exceedance of the Delta9-THC 1.290 mg (!!!) (2,5mg) content in food supplements Germany
unauthorized novel food ingredient hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) in fruit gummies and oil Czech Republic
Cannabidiol (CBD) in food supplements  The Netherlands

  

+) application is prohibited

MRL exceeded: (!) ≥10 times, (!!) ≥50 times, (!!!) ≥ 100 times

 

Microbiological Hazards Product Origin
Bacillus cereus  in prepared dish (Frikadelle with mashed potatoes) Austria
Clostridium perfringens 2,5 x 103 & 630 cfu/g in ground cinnamon Vietnam
E.coli Escherichia coli (4800 cfu /100g) in live clams  Netherlands
E.coli EHEC/EPEC/STEC/VTEC Shigatoxine-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in goat cheese France
STEC in filet americain Belgium
Listeria monocytogenes in 3 out of 5 samples in dumplings (pierogi) with meat filling  Poland
in chorizo Spain
1.5x104 cfu/g (100 cfu/g) in Keta caviar Germany
in kajmak (milk product) Austria
in raw milk cheese & in Brie cheese France (2)
in Munster cheese (690 cfu/g) (recalled!) France
in gorgonzola and mozzarella Italy (2)
Salmonella in cream cake Slovenia , notified by Austria
in black pepper Brazil
in "Tomino" (soft cheese) Italy
in frozen precooked mussels Chile, notified b Italy
in cured raw sausage "Sopressa nostrana" Italy
in dry sausage "Fayet catalan"  Spain
suspicion of Salmonella Newport in spice mixtures from Germany using onion powder from Germany Germany
in curry powder Turkey
in paprika powder China
in pistachio paste Italy
in sesame paste (3) Syria (1), Turkey (2)
in sesame seeds (9) India (1), Nigeria (7)
in snackbar with sesame  Turkey
Norovirus* in oysters (Crassostrea gigas) (3) France (3)

  

Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger