Food News

RASFF Alert notices RASFF concerning food (except for fruit & vegetable - 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 consult 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
Biogenic amines Histamine 652 mg/kg (200 mg/kg) in anchovis Italy
Histamine 500 mg/kg (200 mg/kg) in tuna Senegal, notified by Spain
Biotoxins Quinolizidine alkaloids (total) 22.283 mg/kg (!!!);  lupanine 15.940 mg/kg  (!!) & sparteine 76.9 mg/kg in lupine seeds Lebanon, notified by Germany
Ethylene oxide (EO) /
2-chlorethanol (2-CE) +)		 EO 0,33 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) in rice Thailand
EO 0,028 mg/kg (0,01mg/kg) in chia seeds France
Heavy and toxic metals Mercury 0,73 mg/kg (0,5 mg/kg) in lobster United Kingsdom, notfied by Spain
Mercury 3,9 mg/kg (1 mg/kg) in frozen Mako Spain
Cadmium 1,4 mg/kg (1 mg/kg) in frozen squid  Italy
Lead 1,09  mg/kg in salami Italy
Iodine 2.006 - 2529 mg/kg (!!!) (20 mg/kg) in dried seaweed Hong Kong, via the Netherlands
Mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH/MOAH) MOAH (mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons) 2,8 mg/kg (0,5 mg/kg) in vanilla powder Madagascar
MOSH >200 mg/kg MOAH > 50 mg/kg in olive pomace oil Italy, notified by Poland
Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 38,2µg/kg (8 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 41,1  µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in shelled pistachios Iran, notified by Italy
Aflatoxin B1 25,1µg/kg (8 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 27,5 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in pistachio kernels USA, via Turkey
Aflatoxin B1 230 (!!!), 310 (!!!) & 380 (!!!) µg/kg (2 µg/kg) and Aflatoxin (total) 310 (!!), 500 (!!!) & 590 (!!!) µg/kg (4 µg/kg) in ground nuts (3) Egypt (3), notified by Belgium
Aflatoxin B1 24, 48 & 27 µg/kg (6 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 28, 61 & 68 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in dried figs (3) Turkey (3)
Aflatoxin B1 40,4 µg/kg (6 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total) 44,8 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) & Ochratoxin A 20 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) in dried figs Turkey
Aflatoxin B1  63,5, 83,4(!) & 121,6 (!) µg/kg (8 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 68,5, 88,3 & 131,3 (!) µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in shelled pistachios (3) Turkey (3)
Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) 12 & 11 µg/kg (!) (0,7 µg/kg) in canned fried baby clams with chilli  (Paphia undulata) (2) Thailand, notified by Netherlands (2)
Perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA) 1,9 µg/kg (1 µg/kg) in dried shrimps Thailand
Pesticides Chlorpyrifos +) 0,022 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg)  in fennel seeds China
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,18 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) and Tricyclazole +) 0,049 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in rice Bangladesh, notified by Belgium
Fenamidone 1,9 mg/kg (!) (0,02 mg/kg) in dried basil Israel, notified by Belgium
Bifenthrin +) 0,024 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) & Chlorpyrifos +) 0,06 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in dried apples Ukraine
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,025 mg/kg & 0,026 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg)  in chamomille (2) Egypt  (2)
Anthraquinone 0,17 mg/kg  (!) (0,01 mg/kg) & Chlorpyrifos +) 0,079 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) on dried morels France
Acetamiprid 0,8 mg/kg (!) (0,05 mg/kg), Azoxystrobin 0,8 mg/kg (0,3 mg/kg), Carbendazim +) 1,0 mg/kg (!) (0,1 mg/kg), Chlorpyrifos +) 0,3 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg), Clotiandinin 0,1 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Hexaconazole +) 0,13 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg),  Propiconazole 0,12 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Thiamethoxam 0,24 mg/kg  (0,05 mg/kg)  & Tricyclazole +)  0,7 mg/kg (!) (0,05 mg/kg) in cumin powder  China
Acetamiprid 0,28 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Carbendazim +) 0,6 mg/kg (0,1 mg/kg), Chlorpyrifos +) 0,16 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg), Hexaconazole +) 0,14 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg) & Tricyclazole +)  0,9 mg/kg (!) (0,05 mg/kg) in cumin China
Acetamiprid 1,2 mg/kg (!) (0,05 mg/kg), Carbendazim +) 0,02 mg/kg (0,1 mg/kg), Chlorpyrifos +) 0,22 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg), Imidacloprid 0,16 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Propamocarb 0,7 mg/kg (!) (0,05 mg/kg), Pyraclostrobin 0,37 mg/kg (0,1 mg/kg), Thiamethoxam 0,24 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg) & Tricyclazole +)  0,29 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg) in cumin China
Phthalates and other plasticizers Detection of Phthalates; DEHP >5,0 mg/kg, DINP >8,0 mg/kg, DBO >5,0 mg/kg & DIBP 2,2 mg/kg  in Osmanthus Absolute for Food and Cosmetic Use France
Diethylphthalate (DEHP)  >5 mg/kg in basil essential oil Vietnam, notified by France
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids 1.914 µg/kg (400 µg/kg))  in cumin India, notified by Poland
Sudan dyes+) and other forbidden colorants Sudan IV 19 µg/kg (!) and Azorubine (E122) 580 µg/kg (!) in sumac powder France
Tetrahydrocannbinol (THC) +) and  Cannabidiol CBD +) Non-authorized novel food ingredient hexahydrocannabinol (HHC) in confectionery  Netherlands
Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and unauthorised novel food ingredient cannabidiol (CBD) in CBD oil Austria
Vet. Drug residues  Nitrofuran (metabolite) furazolidone (AOZ) +) 16,6 µg/kg (!) (0,5 µg/kg) in frog legs Vietnam

+) application is prohibited

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

 

Microbiological Hazards Product Origin
E.coli STEC/VTEC Presence of E. Coli VTEC O103:H2 in 99% psyllium fiber India
STEC in raw milk goat cheese France
STEC in sucuk salami Poland
Listeria monocytogenes  in cold smoked salmon United Kingdom
in black pudding France
in gorgonzola Italy
in cheese France
Norovirus in oysters France
Salmonella in onion powder  India 
in black pepper Vietnam
in seasonings with Indian onion powder (2) Spain (2)
in blanched sliced almonds with raw material from Singapore Spain   
in sesame seeds (2) Nigeria (1), Turkey (1)
Other Hazards Origin
Sulphite 19, 20,6, 20,9 mg/kg, 25,9 respectively 47,9 mg/kg, 16 mg/kg and n.d. (<10 mg/kg) not mentioned as allergen on label of shrimps (3) Indonesia (1), Bangladesh (1), India (4)
Presence of swine, bovine and poultry DNA as well as various allergens in various types of instant noodles  China

 

Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger