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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-monochlor-1,2-propanediol (3-MCPD) & Glycidylesters (GEs) | 3-MCPD 4599 µg/kg & GEs 2073 µg/kg in nacho mexicanos | China |
| 2900 µg/kg (1000 µg/kg) Glycidol in palm oil | Indonesia | |
| Ethylene oxide (EO) / 2-chlorethanol (CE) +) |
EO 1,1 mg/kg (!) (0,1 mg)kg) and Ochratoxin A 132 µg/kg (15 µg/kg)in grounded nutmeg | India via Turkey |
| EO 0,28 mg/kg (0,1 mg)kg) and Chlorpyriphos +) 0,095 (0,01 mg/kg) in turmeric powder | India via Turkey | |
| EO 0,81 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) in cumin seeds | India | |
| EO 0,043 mg/kg (0,025 mg/kg) in masala | India | |
| EO 12 mg/kg (!!) (0,02 mg/kg) in food supplements | India | |
| Furans | furan and its derivatives in roasted ground coffee | Germany |
| Heavy and toxic metals | Cadmium 0,26 mg/kg (0,1 mg/kg) in white sesame seeds | Bolivia |
| Cadmium 5,6 mg/kg in frozen whole Indo-Pacific squid | Italy | |
| Aluminium 37100 mg/kg and lead 12,7 mg/kg (3 mg/kg) in and unauthorised novel food ingredient zeolite | Austria | |
| Increased aluminium content 186 mg/kg in glass noodles | Vietnam | |
| Histamine | 876 mg/kg & 2868 mg/kg (!) (200 mg/kg) on tuna loins | Sri Lanka (2) |
| Hydrocyanic acid | >150 mg HCN/kg, & 124 mg/kg (20 mg/kg) in apricot seeds | Germany |
| Mycotoxins | Aflatoxins in rice | Pakistan |
| Aflatoxin B1 29 /16,49 / 19,21 & 86,2 µg/kg (!)(6 µg/kg) Aflatoxins (total) 40 / 17,99 /19,84 & 105,2 µg/kg (!) (10 µg/kg) in dried figs | Turkey (4) | |
| Aflatoxin B1 14 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) Aflatoxins (total) 19 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in whole nutmeg | Indonesia | |
| Aflatoxin B1 90,92 (!) & 47,8 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) Aflatoxins (total) 97,52 & 51,4 µg/kg (10 µg/kg/15 µg/kg) in (organic) pistachio kernels | Iran (2) | |
| Aflatoxin B1 90,92 µg/kg (!) (8 µg/kg)) in pistachios | Netherlands | |
| Aflatoxin B1 45 & 16 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) Aflatoxins (total) 50 & 18 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in pistachios | Turkey (2) | |
| Ochratoxin A 14,5 µg/kg in shelled sunflower seeds | China | |
| Patuline in apple sauce | Netherlands | |
| PAH | Benzo(a)pyren and PAH in smoked sprats | Latvia |
| Benzo(a)pyren 21,2 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) and PAH total 192,.7 µg/kg (50 µg/kg) in Jalapeno green | unknown via Netherlands | |
| Pesticides | Chlorpyrifos +) 0,062 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in rice | Pakistan |
| Tricyclazole +) 0,049 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in rice | Netherlands | |
| Tricyclazole +) 0,033 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in Basmati rice | India | |
| Carbendazim, propiconazole and tricyclazole in rice | Paraguay | |
| Tolfenpyrad +) 0,057 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg in instant black tea extract powder | China | |
| Anthraquinone +) 0,051 mg/kg (0,02 mg/kg) sum of folpet and phtalimide expressed as folpet 0,31 mg/kg (!!) (0,01 mg/kg) in green tea | China | |
| Dinotefuran +) 0,12 mg/kg (!) (0,01m mg/kg) and Tolfenpyrad +)0,1 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) in green tea | Ukraine (raw material: China) | |
| Anthraquinone +) 0,12 mg/kg (0,02 mg/kg) in yerba mate | Argentina | |
| Fenpropathrin 0,15 mg/kg (!) & 0,14 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) in pepper | Egypt (2) | |
| Actamiprid 0,154 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg), Azoxystrobin 0,4 mg/kg (0,1), Carbendazim +) 0,237 / 0,366 mg/kg (!!) (0,01) Thiophanate-methyl 0,233 (!) (0,01), Chlorpyrifos +) 0,024 mg/kg (0,01), Propiconazole 0,068 mg/kg (0,01) Imidacloprid +) 0,382 mg/kg (!!) (0,01), Propargite 0,218 mg/kg) (!) (0,01) in pickled vine leaves | Egypt | |
| Chlorpyrifos +) 0,12 mg/kg, Lambda-cyhalothrin 0,19 mg/kg and 4 other actives n/a in crushed chili pepper | Egypt | |
| Chlorpyrifos +) 0,08 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in fennel seeds | Turkey | |
| Chlorpyrifos +) 0,025 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg), Thiamethoxam 0,33 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg) and Tricyclazole 1,7 mg/kg (!) (0,05 mg/kg) in cumin seeds | India | |
| Malathion 0,04 mg/kg (0,02 mg/kg) in pistachios | USA | |
| Acetamiprid 0,28 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Chlorpyrifos methyl +) 0,36 mg/kg (!) (0,01), Thiamethoxame 0,15 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Thiophanate-methyl 0,25 mg/kg (0,10mg/kg) in Fenugreek leaves | India | |
| Pyrrolizidine alkaloids | 11.608,3 (!!) µg/kg (200 µg/kg) in Hayatea herbal tea with peppermint, mentha pulegium (pennyroyal), sage, verveine, and oregano | Morocco |
| 2470 µg/kg (400 µg/kg) in camomile tea | France | |
| 700 µg/kg (150 µg/kg) in black tea | Poland via Austria | |
| in oregano (n/a) | Turkey | |
| 1148.9 µg/kg (400 µg/kg) in cumin seeds | Turkey | |
| 702 µg/kg (400 µg/kg) in ginkgo biloba extract | France | |
| 1.187 µg/kg (500 µg/kg) in pollen | Poland | |
| Sudan dyes +) and other unauthorized colorants +) | Sudan III in palm oil (n/a) | Ghana |
| Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) +) and Cannabidiol (CBD) +) | Unauthorized novel food ingredient cannabidiol (CBD) in hemp aroma extract and in in food supplements | Austria (2) |
| Cannabidiol (CBD) in food supplements offered online | UK | |
| total THC limit exceeded in hemp seed oil | Italy | |
| Titanium oxide (E171) +) | in food supplements (2) | USA (1), United Kingdom (1) |
| in food colourings itended for decorative purposes | Spain | |
| Tropane alkaloids | Atropin 29 µg/kg (!!) (1µg/kg) Scopolamin 23 µg/kg (!) (1 µg/kg)in organic hulled millet | Poland |
+) application is prohibited
MRL exceeded: (!) ≥10 times, (!!) ≥50 times, (!!!) ≥ 100 times
| Microbiological Hazards | Product | Origin |
| E.coli EHEC/EPEC/STEC/VTEC | STEC in frozen croissants | France |
| Listeria monocytogenes | in vegan cheese (2) and foie gras alternative (1) | France (2) |
| in smoked salmon (2) | Denmark (1), France (1) | |
| in crumbled blue cheese | Denmark | |
| in hummus (2) | Netherlands (2) | |
| in thermised milk sheep's cheese | France | |
| in gorgonzola | Italy | |
| in goat cheese | Croatia | |
| in Mortadelle | Italy | |
| in leverkaas | Belgium | |
| Salmonella and Listeria in mixed meat platter | Belgium | |
| Salmonella | in Keulse Smeerleverworst | Netherlands |
| Salmonella entritidis in eggs | Netherlands | |
| in black pepper (6) | Brazil (6) | |
| Salmonella typhimurium in chilled turkey fillets | Poland | |
| in sesame seeds (7) | India (1), Nigeria (6) | |
| Staphylococci | Staphylococcus aureus 2,7 x105 CFU/g in pasta | Italy |
| Vibrio spp. | in frozen octopus | Senegal |
| in frozen shrimps | Venezuela | |
| Norovirus* | in oysters (Crassostrea gigas) (7) | France (5), Ireland (1), Norway (2) |
| Other Hazards | Origin |
| Foreign bodies (living worms) in canned peas | Poland |
| Unauthorised GMO and labelling deficiencies in rice noodles | Thailand via Netherlands |
| E-trade of bread prepared with a herbal tea of dried flowers of Clitoria ternatea (unauthorised novel food) | Spain |
| Transition of MOSH and MOAH from packaging material into spelt porridge from Poland | Poland |
YOUR PLUS: Our laboratory AGROLAB Dr. Blasy-Dr. Busse is allowed to work with pathogenic food viruses and offers also analysis for Norovirus and Hepatitis A virus.
Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger
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