Food News

Alert notices from 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 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
3-MCPD-& Glycidyl esters Glycidyl esters 1.651 µg/kg (1.000 µg/kg) in dietary supplement  Romania, notified by Netherlands
Acrylamide 529,5 µg/kg (350 µg/kg) in crispy, extruded flatbread Germany
Biogenic amines Amnesic Shellfish Poisoning (ASP) toxins domoic acid >50 mg/kg (20 mg/kg) in scallops UK, notified by Netherlands
Histamine 643,7 mg/kg (100 mg/kg) in tuna filet Netherlands
Histamine 428,5 mg/kg (200 mg/kg) in tuna Sri Lanka, via Netherlands
Cyanides hydrocyanic acid  125 mg/kg (!) (10 mg/kg) in manioc flour  Cameroon, via Belgium
Dioxins 0,89 ng/kg (0,75 ng/kg) in palm fatty acids  Spain
Ethylene oxide (EO) /
2-chlorethanol (2-CE) +)		 EO 4,4 mg/kg (!) (0,05 mg/kg) in laurel leaves Turkey
EO 0,66 mg/kg (0,1mg/kg) in spice mix India
Heavy and toxic metals Cadmium 1,57 & 1,957 mg/kg (1 mg/kg) in frozen octopus (2) India
Mercury 1,9 mg/kg (1 mg/kg) in frozen yellowfin tuna loins Spain, notified by Italy
Mercury 1,5; 1,5;1,9;2,2 & 2,3; mg/kg (1 mg/kg) in frozen sword fish (5) Spain (5)
Mineral oil hydrocarbons (MOSH/MOAH) MOAH (mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons) 8,8 mg/kg (!) (0,5 mg/kg) in roasted coffee France
Mineral oil  hydrocarbons (MOSH) 27,8 mg/kg & mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) 15,4 mg/kg  in rice India
Mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) 3,03 mg/kg in palm oil  UK via the Netherlands
Mineral oil aromatic hydrocarbons (MOAH) 280 mg/kg  in palm mid fraction Denmark, widely distributed
Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 171 µg/kg (!!) (6 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 210,7 (!!) µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in dried figs Turkey
Aflatoxin B1 34,9 µg/kg (!) (2 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 38.4 µg/kg (4 µg/kg) in nut crackers India, notified by Germany
Aflatoxin B1 12,5 µg/kg (2 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 13,3 µg/kg (4 µg/kg) in rice Pakistan
Aflatoxin B1 123 (!!) µg/kg (2 µg/kg) and Aflatoxin (total) 139 µg/kg (!) (4 µg/kg) & Fumonisins 2.140 µg/kg (1.000 µg/kg)  in maize flour Togo, notified by Belgium
Aflatoxin B1 10 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 15,5 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in hazelnut flour Georgia
Patulin 10.500 (!!!!), 160 & 81 µg/kg (50 µg/kg) in various smoothies Netherlands, widely distributed
Ochratoxin A  21 & 14 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) in organic sultanas (2) Turkey (2)
Ochratoxin A  24 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) in dried figs Turkey
Pesticides Chlorpyrifos +) 0,16 (!) mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg)  in cumin powder UK, widely distributed
Thiamethoxam 0,047 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg), Tricyclazole +) 0,12 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) and Aflatoxin B1 5,1 µg/kg (2 µg/kg) in rice India
Anthraquinone  0,46 mg/kg (!) (0,02 mg/kg) & ortho-phenlyphenol +) 0, 27 (!) (0,01 mg/kg) in cardamom India, via UK & Netherlands
Carbendazim 0,6 mg/kg (0,1 mg/kg) in dried chillies Uganda
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,25 (!) mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg)  in ground fennel seeds Spain
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,21 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) on chestnuts Turkey
Acetamiprid 0,24 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Chlorpyrifos +) 1,1mg/kg (!!!) (0,01 mg/kg),  & Tebuconazole +) 4,4 mg/kg (!!) (0,05 mg/kg) in green Szechuan pepper China, notified by Germany
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids 8.860 µg/kg (!) (400 µg/kg) in cumin  Germany
24.231 µg/kg (!)  & 8062 µg/kg (1000 µg/kg))  in oregano (2) Turkey (2)
Sulfur dioxide and sulfites 280 mg/kg (100 mg/kg)  and undeclared in dried, organic shiitake mushrooms China, via France

+) application is prohibited

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

 

Microbiological Hazards Product Origin
Clostridium perfringens in cinnamon Sri Lanka
E.coli    in live mussels (raw material from Ireland) France
in mussels Spain
E.coli STEC/VTEC in frozen hamburger patties Germany
in cheese (2) France (2)
on raw milk goat's cheese Italy
Listeria monocytogenes in walnut sauce Italy
in smoked salmon flakes Norway, notified by Netherlands
in smoked salmon (2) Denmark (2)
in concentrated goat's milk  Netherlands
in raw milk cheese Italy
in cheese (4) France (4)
Norovirus in frozen seaweed salad Egypt
 in oysters (5) France (2),  Irelands (1), Italy (1), Netherlands (1)
in Goma Wakame - frozen seasoned seaweed salad Taiwan, notified by Italy
Salmonella in sliced almonds Spain
in organic onion powder Egypt
in paprika powder Turkey
in chili pepper  China
in walnut kernels (raw material) from the United States Germany
in vegan granulated soya-based meat substitute Germany
in hazelnut paste Turkey
in sesame paste Turkey
in sesame seeds (6) India (5), Nigeria (1)

 

Other Hazards Origin
Allergen: Sulfur dioxide not labelled in shrimps Ecuador
Allergen: Sesame undeclared on bagels Netherlands
Allergen: Peanut 12.500 mg/kg (!)   undeclared on sesame paste  Egypt
Allergen: Unlabelled and too high content of sulphur dioxide in pickled artichoke Egypt
Allergen: Milk not mentioned in ingredient list of tortilla chips  Belgium
Allergen: Unlabelled sulphites in cinnamon sticks destined for France Sri Lanka
Allergens: Mustard and sesame allergens not declared on the label in organic psyllium fiber powder Germany
Allergen: Undeclared crustaceans in instant noodles China, via Italy
Allergen: Undeclared fish protein in frozen black brioche buns Netherlands
Excessive content of vitamin D (Calciferol: 67800 µg/100g) in Olive Drops (food supplement) for infants Germany

 

Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger