Food News

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

Alarm

In this post, we are repeating essential alerts from the European Commission's RASFF system from the previous  month.

 

We will not repeat the information on all the mycotoxin and salmonella limit exceedances, but will show only a selection to illustrate the risks. However, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that in numerous cases, missing allergen information was classified as serious and also led to limit exceedances.

You can easily analyse the RASFF page yourself using various filter options and limit the messages to those that are of direct interest to your company. Link: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/search

 

SEPTEMBER 2024

 

Chemical Hazards: Product Origin
3-MCPD & Glycidylesters 3-monochlor-1,2-propanediol (3-MCPD) 6.643 µg/kg & Glycidyl esters (GE) 4.777 µg/kg in topping oil; 3-MCPD 4.992 µg/kg & GE 263 µg/kg in seasoning with soy sauce powder &  3-MCPD 2.516 µg/kg & GE 4.795 µg/kg in noodles from a prepared noodle dish Bangladesh, widely distributed via Netherlands
3-monochlor-1,2-propanediol (3-MCPD) 1.257 µg/kg & Glycidyl esters (GE) 8.303 µg/kg in sauce; 3-MCPD 2.659 µg/kg & GE 3.154 µg/kg in  noodles in a prepared noodle dish Nigeria, notified by Netherlands
3-Monochloro-1,2-propanediol (3-MCPD) and glycidyl esters in crackers Netherlands
Biogenic amines Histamine 1.850 & 1.429 mg/kg (200 mg/kg) in tuna fillet (2) Sri Lanka, notified by Netherlands (2)
Histamine 330,1 mg/kg (200 mg/kg) in frozen tuna steaks Indonesia
Heavy and toxic metals Cadmium 1,35 mg/kg (1 mg/kg) in mussels Chile, notified by Spain
Cadmium 2,3 mg/kg (1  mg/kg) in squid India, notified by Netherlands
Cadmium 2,0 mg/kg (1 mg/kg) in frozen squid Spain
Lead 2,79 mg/kg & 2,65 mg/kg (2mg/kg) in cinnamon (2) Vietnam (2)
Lead 0,73 mg/kg (0,2 mg/kg) in green lentils Turkey
Mercury 0,97 mg/kg (0,5 mg/kg) in Anglerfish (Lophius budegassa) Tunisia, notfied by Italy
Mercury 1,87 mg/kg (1,0 mg/kg) in swordfish  Ecuador, notiofied by Italy
Mercury 1,8 mg/kg (2), 1,72 mg/kg (1,0 mg/kg) in frozen and in thawed swordfish (3) Spain (3)
Mineral oil residues MOSH/MOAH Mineral oil residues (MOAH) 12 mg/kg (2 mg/kg (>50% fat)) in palm oil Ghana, notified by Netherlands
Mineral oil residues (MOAH) 11 mg/kg (2 mg/kg (>50% fat)) in palm oil Guinea, notified by Netherlands
Mineral oil residues (MOAH) 13 mg/kg & 22 mg/kg (!) (2 mg/kg (>50% fat)) in palm oil Nigeria, notified by Netherlands
MOAH 53 mg/kg (!) (2 mg/kg) in vegetable oil Turkey, notified by Netherlands
Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 57 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) &  Aflatoxins (total) 100 µg/kg (!) (10 µg/kg) in brown beans Ghana
Aflatoxin B1 6,1 µg/kg (2 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 7,7 µg/kg (4 µg/kg) in corn flour Colombia, notified by Spain
Aflatoxin B1 10,3 µg/kg (6 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 17,6 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in dried figs Turkey
Aflatoxin B1 21,62 µg/kg (6 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 26,35 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in dried figs  Greece
Aflatoxin B1 25 µg/kg (5 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total)  33 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in raw hazelnut kernels Turkey
Ochratoxin A 17,4 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) A in dried raisins Afghanistan, via Turkey
Ochratoxin A 43 µg/kg (15 µg/kg) A in nutmeg Indonesia
Ochratoxin A 7,7 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) in Basmati rice Pakistan
Ochratoxin A 15,4 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) in sultanas Turkey
Ochratoxin A 19 µg/kg (8µg/kg) in diced dried figs Turkey
Pesticides Chlorpyriphos +) 0,038 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) & lambda-Cyhalothrin 0,12 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) in green tea China
Chlorpyriphos +) 0,045 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in ground turmeric Vietnam
Prometryn +) 1,0 mg/kg (!!!) (0,01 mg/kg) in limeflower (Lindenblüten) Bulgaria, via Austria
Dimethoate 0,093 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) & Permethrin +) 0,81 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) in green mint Cambodia
Acetamiprid 0,15 mg/kg  (0,05 mg/kg) & Chlorpyrifos +) 0,076 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in masala spice  India 
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,029 mg/kg  (0,01 mg/kg) in mustard seeds Ukraine , notified by Polands
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,03 mg/kg (0,07 mg/kg) in cumin seeds India
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,14 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) in saffron Iran
Carbendazim 0,37 mg/kg (0,1 mg/kg) & Chlorpyrifos +) 0,05 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in cumin Syria, notified by Netherlands
Dichlorvos 0,75 mg/lg (!!) (0,01 mg/kg) in almonds USA, via Spain to France
Thiamethoxam 0,123 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) & Tricyclazole +) 0,094 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg)  in Basmati rice India
Triadimefon +) 0,021 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg); Tridimenol +) 0,072 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) & Triflusamide in raisins China
Chlorfenapyr +) 0,256 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) & Procymidone 0,218 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) in dried green Jalapeño pepper China
Acetamiprid 1,3 mg/kg (!) (0,05 mg/kg), Azoxystrobin 1,0 mg/kg (0,3 mg/kg), Carbendazim +) 0,52 mg/kg (!) (0,1 mg/kg), Chlorpyrifos +)  0,68 mg/kg (!!) (0,01 mg/kg),  Clothianidin 0,14 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Cypermethrin 0,4 mg/kg (0,1 mg/kg), Flonicamid 0,56 mg/kg (0,1 mg/kg), Hexaconazole +) 0,26 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Thiamethoxam  0,26 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Tricylazole +) 1,0 mg/kg (!) (0,05 mg/kg)  in cumin powder India
Clothianidin 0,21 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Dinotefuran +) 0,036 mg/kg 0,01 mg/kg), Famoxadone 0,21 mg/kg  (0,05 mg/kg), Hexaconazole+) 0,41 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Kresoxim-methyl 0,25 mg/g (0,05 mg/kg), Picoxystrobin +) 0,43 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Propiconazole 0,33 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Thiamethoxam 0,28 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Tricyclazole +) 3,0 mg/kg (!!) (0,05 mg/kg) & Trifloxystrobin 0,13 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg)  in cumin seeds India
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,4 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg), Clothianidin 0,043 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg), Cryomazine 1,5 mg/kg (!!!) (0,01 mg/kg), Emamectin 0,01 mg/kg (0,002 mg/kg), Flonicamid 0,25 mg/kg (0,03 mg/kg), Imidacloprid 0,11 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg), Mepiquat 0,65 mg/kg (0,09 mg/kg) in dried mushrooms China
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids, Tropanalkaloids etc. Ergot sclerotia (ergotalkaloids > 400 µg/kg in wheat gluten Belgium
Sum of all positive ergot alkaloids 241.5 µg/kg in wheat France
Tropane alkaloids 32 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) in polenta Italy
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids 2.210 µg/kg  & 4.384 µg/kg (1.000 µg/kg) in dried oregano (2) Turkey (2)
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids 6.701 µg/kg (!) (400 µg/kg) in ground cumin Turkey
Pyrrolizidin alkaloids 1.749 µg/kg (400 µg/kg) in food supplement Italy
Tropane alkaloids 32 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) in polenta Italy
Sudan dyes and other forbidden colorants +) Unauthorized color E110 Sunset Yellow FCF 103 mg/kg (35 mg/kg) in popcorn Latvia
Leucomalachite green 1,47 µg/kg (0,5 µg/kg) in green yellow catfish Vietnam
Suilfite, SO2 Undeclared sulphur dioxide 49 mg/kg in dried organic shitake China
Veterinarian drugs Dihydrostreptomycin 1.320 µg/kg in bovine meat (muscle and offal) France

 

+) application is prohibited

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

 

Microbiological Hazards Product Origin
E.coli in clams (2) Italy (2)
in mussels  (2)  Germany (1), Italy (1)
Listeria monocytogenes in Serano ham Spain
in smoked bacon Poland
in  raw milk cheese France
in  cheese France
in smoked salmon  Lithuania (1), unknown, widely distributed (1)
in Mozzarella Italy
Salmonella in sweet pepper (spice) China
in mussels (2) Germany( 2)
in cheese (S. Newport) Poland
in Tahini  Lebanon, notifed by Germany
in black pepper  Brazil
in sesame seeds  India
Vibrio Vibrio vulnificus in gambas Ecuador
Vibrio cholerae and vibrio parahaemolyticus in frozen raw white shrimps (Penaeus vannamei) Ecuador

 

Other Hazards Origin
Allergens: Undeclared allergen (gluten) in Teriyaki sauce  Thailand
Allergens: Pre-packaged Lebanese bread delivered by French FBO without any mention of allergens on the label and without any other mandatory information Belgium
Allergen egg undeclared in lasagne bolognese Netherlands
Allergens: Undeclared allergen mustard in wasabi nuts Netherlands
Non-authorized novel food Lithiumorotat in food supplement UK, notified by Austria
Non-authorized novel food Monk Fruit in food supplement Australia, notiofied by Austria
Non-authorized novel food Zeolite in food supplement USA, notified by Austria
Non-authorized novel food ingredients CBD and CBN-P in fruit gums Netherlands
Non-authorized novel food Argyreia nervosa in food supplement Netherlands, notfied by Austria
Non-authorized novel food ingredient berberine in food supplement USA via UK, notified by Austria
Non-authorized novel food Thiamintetrahydrofurfuryldisulfid (TTFD) in food supplement USA via UK, notified by Austria

Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger