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

 

JUNE 2024

 

Chemical Hazards: Product Origin
Antibiotics & Veterinary drug residues Chloramphenicol +) 0,22 µg/kg (0,15 µg/kg) in chicken meat  Slovenia
Gentamycine 1533 µg/kg (750 µg/kg) in veal meat Netherlands
Nitrofuran (metabolite) furazolidone (AOZ) +) 1,41 µg/kg (0,27 µg/kg) in frog legs  Vietnam , notified by Spain
Antioxidants Diethyl phthalate (DEHP) 45 - 150 mg/kg (!!!) (0,6 mg/kg) in basil oil  Vietnam , notified by Netherlands
Biogenic amines Histamin >600 mg/kg (200 mg/kg) in tuna (Thunnus obesus) (2) Spain (2)
Cannabinoids (HHC,THC, CBD) Unauthorised novel food hexahydrocannabinols (HHC) 3510 mg/kg (!!!) in fruit gums Netherlands, notified by Germany
Ethylene oxide (EO) /
2-chlorethanol (2-CE)  (sum of 2-chloroethanol and ethylene oxide, expressed as ethylene oxide) +)		 EO 13 mg/kg (!!!) (0,1 mg/kg) in mixed Masala powder India
EO 2,7 mg/kg (!) 0,1 mg/kg   in spice mixture India
Heavy and toxic metals Arsenic 10,8 mg/kg in catfish Suriname, notfied by Netherlands, widely distributed
Cadmium 1,5 mg/kg (1,9 mg/kg) in frozen squid Vietnam, notified by Netherlands, widely distributed
Mercury 1,8 mg/kg & 1,7 mg/kg (1,0 mg/kg) in swordfish (Xiphias gladius) (2) Spain (1), Portugal (1)
Mercury 1,3 mg/kg (1,0 mg/kg) in blue shark slices Portugal, notified by Italy
Cadmium 0,62 mg/kg (0,25 mg/kg) & Mercury 2,83 mg/kg (1 mg/kg) in frozen swordfish loins Spain, notified by Italy
Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 95,8 (!), 18,4 µg/kg (6 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total)  174,8 (!), 21 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in dried figs (2) Turkey (2)
Aflatoxin B1 8,1 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) & Ochratoxin A >15 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) in rice Pakistan
Aflatoxin B1 88 µg/kg (!) (8 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 125,2 µg/kg (!) (10 µg/kg) in shelled pistachios Turkey
Aflatoxin B1 419 mg/kg (!!!), 87,3 µg/kg (!) (2 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 488 µg/kg (!!!), 108 µg/kg (!) (4 µg/kg)  in peanuts in shell (2) Egypt (2)
Aflatoxin B1 9,9 µg/kg (2 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total)  10,86 µg/kg (4 µg/kg) in pearl millet flour India, via Italy
Aflatoxin B1 5,21 µg/kg (2 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total)  5,44 µg/kg (4 µg/kg) & Fumonisins 2656 µg/kg (1000 µg/kg)  in white maize flour Serbia, notified by Switzerland
Ochratoxin A  28,28 µg/kg (3 µg/kg) in organic wheat flakes (with raw material from France) Germany
Ochratoxin A  7,9 µg/kg (5,0 µg/kg) in Basmati rice Pakistan
PFAS Perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) 3,8 µg/kg (0,7 µg/kg) in frozen cooked yellow clam meat (Paphia textile) Vietnam, notified by Italy
Pesticides Glufosinate +) 2,1 mg/kg (!) (0,5 mg/kg in Adzuki beans Argentina, notified by Poland
Profenofos +) 1,1 mg/kg (!!!) (0,01 mg/kg) in dried beans Sri Lanka, notified by Switzerland
Acetamiprid 0,16 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Anthraquinone 0,23 mg/kg (!) (0,02 mg/kg), Imidacloprid 0,12 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), lambda-Cyhalothrin 0,04 mg/kg  (0,01 mg/kg) in Yunnan black leaf tea Vietnam, notified by Poland
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,03 mg/kg  (0,01 mg/kg)  in organic raisins Uzbekistan
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,049 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in ground coriander India
Chlorpyrifos +) 1,1 mg/kg (!) (0,1 mg/kg) in dried coriander leaves Iran
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,029 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in organic coffee Peru, notified by France
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,27 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) & Carbendazim +) 0,4 mg/kg (0,1 mg/kg) in dried chili Tanzania, notified by Netherlands
Ethion 0,24 mg/kg (0,1 mg/kg) in dried chili India, notified by Italy
Acetamiprid 6,2 mg/kg (!!!) (0,05 mg/kg), Azoxystrobin 17 mg/kg (!!!) (0,3 mg/kg), Carbendazim +)  0,85 mg/kg (0,1 mg/kg),
Chlorpyrifos +)  0,18 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg), Clothianidin 1,5 mg/kg (!!) (0,05 mg/kg), Dimethoate +) 0,11 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg), Imidacloprid 0,9 mg/kg (!) (0,05 mg/kg), Metalaxyl 0,13 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Propiconazole 0,29 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg) & Thiamethoxam  0,68 mg/kg (!)  (0,05 mg/kg) in cumin seeds		 India
Acetamiprid 0,13 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Chlorpyrifos +)  0,12 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) , Clothianidin 0,28 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Thiamethoxam 0,41 mg/kg (!) (0,05 mg/kg) & Tricyclazole +) 0,42 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) in cumin seeds India
Cypermethrin 2,2 mg/kg (!) (0,1 mg/kg), Chlorpyrifos +) 0,065 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) & Thiamethoxam 0,22 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg) in whole black cumin  India
Acetamiprid 0,064 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg); Imidacloprid 0,034 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) & Thiamethoxam 0,04 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg in rice  Pakistan, notified by France
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,042mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in rice Pakistan
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,062mg/kg  (0,01 mg/kg) in tea India
Thiamethoxam +) 0,033 mg/kg  (0,01 mg/kg ) & Tricyclazole +) 0,032 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in rice India
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,202 mg/kg (0,0518 mg/kg) in mint (dried) Turkey
Dinotefuran +) 0,2 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg), Lambda-Cyhalothrin 0,18 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg), Tolfenpyrad +) 0,077 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) & Triadimenol +)  0,14 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) in green tea China
Diafenthiuron +) 0,94 mg/kg (!!) (0,01 mg/kg) in tea China
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids 5.381,4 µg/kg  & 2.259 µg/kg (1.000 µg/kg) in oregano (2) Turkey (2)
512 µg/kg in sage Spain
Sudan dyes and other forbidden colorants +) Leucomalachite green 0,90 µg/kg & 0,87 µg/kg (0,5 µg/kg) in fish (Clarias gariepinus) Vietnam (2)

+) application is prohibited

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

 

Microbiological Hazards Product Origin
Bacillus cereus in chilli sauce China
in mascarpone Italy
Clostridium spp. Clostridium botulinum toxins in pickled mushrooms Russia, notified by Germany
EHEC, STEC STEC in various beef products Netherlands
STEC in beef Brazil
Listeria monocytogenes in éclair au chocolat France
in goat milk cheese France
in Mozarella cheese Italy
in  Gorgonzola mascarpone" Italy
in ground hazelnuts Turkey
in smoked salmon Ireland
in in raw milk butter Belgium
in smoked trout fillet Poland
Norovirus in oysters Netherlands
Salmonella in desiccated coconut  Philippines via Netherlands
Salmonella in tahini  (2) Egypt (1), Turkey (1)
Salmonella Anatum in rubbed dried basil  Egypt
in shelled sunflower kernels Bulgaria
in sesame seeds (7) Egypt (1), Nigeria (4), Turkey (1), Uganda (1)
Vibrio spp Vibrio vulnificus & Vibrio parahaemolyticus in shrimps China, notfied by Netherlands
Other Hazards Origin
Allergens: Undeclared allergen soy Vega pate Netherlands
Allergens:  sesame seeds undeclared in bagels and in packaged baguette Netherlands (2)
Allergens:  Sesame in ready-to-cook product Germany
Allergen 'fish' not mentioned in the ingredient list of a prepared meal Belgium
Allergen: Undeclared milk in food supplement (2) Singapore, via Netherlands (1), via Germany (1)
Allergen: Egg undeclared on the Italian label in biscuits from Bangladesh Bangladesh, notified by Italy
Allergens: High content of gluten in gluten free pasta Romania
Allergens: Undeclared allergen (almonds) in thyme  Morocco, notified by Spain
Allergen celery undeclared in cucumber salad Netherlands
Horsemeat in circulation whose identity is incorrect Netherlands, distributed to Belgium & France
Too high content of capsaicin in 3 different kinds of strong chili flavoured noodles South Korea, notified by Denmark, widely distributed

 

Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger