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 client.

 

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 analyze the RASFF-site conveniently by yourself using several filter options and limit the notification to those which are of direct interest to your business: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/search

 

NOVEMBER 2024

 

Chemical Hazards: Product Origin
Biotoxins Diarrhoeal shellfish poison toxins (DSP) in medium and large tellins France
Heavy and toxic metals Lead 0,24 mg/kg (0,1 mg/kg) in bovine muscle meat  Brazil, notified by Italy
Mercury 2,2 mg/kg (1,0 mg/kg) in thawed prepared sword fish loins Spain
Mercury 1,6 mg/kg (1,0 mg/kg) in frozen swordfish Spain
Hydrocyanic acid, cyanides Hydrocyanic acid >150 mg/kg (20 mg/kg) in apricot kernels Uzbekistan, via Austria notified by Spain
Mineral oil residues MOSH/MOAH Mineral oil residues (MOAH) 200 mg/kg (!!!) (2 mg/kg in food supplement Germany
Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 55,8 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 52,7 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in pistachio ice cream base Italy, notified by Germany
Aflatoxin B1 17 (5 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 19 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in Basmati rice Pakistan
Aflatoxin B1 >10; 12,34; 14,6; 15,2; 15,4; 19; 24,4; 26,2; 27; 32; 40; 41,55; 56,1; 96,8 (!);100 (!) µg/kg (6 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total) 23,1; 33,8; 16,35; 16,8; 16,83; 21; 31,4; 51,5; 45,4; 55; 52;  66,45; 140,9 (!); 102,8 (!); 152 (!) µg/kg (10 µg/kg)  in dried figs (14) Turkey (14) (!)
Aflatoxin (total) 13,7; 15,2: 20,8 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in dried figs (3) Turkey (3)
Aflatoxin (total) 15,7; 22,0 (10 µg/kg) & Ochratoxin A 49; 18,7 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) in dried figs (3) Turkey (3)
Aflatoxin B1 11,1; 36,6; 45,3 µg/kg (6 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total) 31,2; 40,8 ; 47,9 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) & Ochratoxin A 26,7; 180,7 (!); 39,1  µg/kg (8 µg/kg) in dried figs (3) Turkey (3)
Aflatoxin B1 2,6; 47,1 µg/kg (6 µg/kg) & Ochratoxin A 70; 16 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) in dried figs (2) Turkey (2)
Aflatoxin B1 15,9 µg/kg (6 µg/kg) in dried figs  Turkey
Aflatoxin B1 15,7 (2 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total) 18 µg/kg; (4 µg/kg)  in organic blanched groundnuts Egypt, notified by Netherlands
Aflatoxin B1 17,2; 21,6; 70,8 µg/kg (8 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total) 18,8; 24,5 µg/kg ; 74,9 (10 µg/kg) in pistachios (3) Turkey (3)
Aflatoxin B1 36,4 µg/kg (8 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total)  38,2 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in roasted pistachios Turkey
Aflatoxin B1 5,4 µg/kg (2 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total) 6,1 µg/kg (4 µg/kg) in Basmati rice Pakistan
Aflatoxin B1 26 µg/kg (!) (2 µg/kg); Aflatoxins (total) 29 µg/kg; (4 µg/kg)  in buckwheat flour Netherlands
Ochratoxin A 14,3 µg/kg (2 µg/kg) A in mulberries Turkey
Ochratoxin A 4,3  (3 µg/kg) A in rye flour Poland
Ochratoxin A 16 µg/kg 35 µg/kg) in Basmati rice India
Ochratoxin A 11 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) in pusa Basmati brown rice India
Ochratoxin A 11,9; 19; 19,8; 22,4; 29,1; 33,2; 41,8; 66; 65,8; 71; 101 (!); 102 (!); 186 (!); 190 (!) µg/kg (8 µg/kg) in dried figs (13) Greece (1), Turkey (12) (!)
Polyaromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) Benzo(a)pyren 12,3 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) ; 51,2 µg/kg (50 µg/kg) in black pepper Vietnam, notified by Netherlands
PAH (sum) 95,4 µg/kg (50 µg/kg) in panax ginseng extract China
Pesticides Chlorpyriphos +) 0,08 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg),  Clothianidin 0,25 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Thiamethoxam  0,28 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Tolfenpyrad 0,026 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) & Triazophos 0,38 mg/kg (!) (0,02 mg/kg)  in cumin Syria,  notified by Denmark
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,058 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in curry spice Germany
Chlorpyrifos +) 0,034 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg), Chlorfenapyr +) 0,11 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg)  & Propargite 0,10 mg/kg (!) (0,01mg/kg) in grilled pickeled peppers Greece
Chlorpyrifos-methyl +) 0,019 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in Chia seeds Argentina
Thiamethoxam 0,084 mg/kg (0,04 mg/kg) in black-eyed beans Myanmar
Chlorpyriphos +) 0,018 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg), Fenpropathrin +) 0,049 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg), Methomyl +) 0,012 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg ) & Thiodicarb +) 0,059 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in raisins Turkey
Pyrrolizidine alkaloids, Tropanalkaloids etc. Opium alkaloids 161 mg/kg (20 mg/kg) in poppy seeds Turkey
Tropane alkaloids 31,8 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) in polenta Austria
Sulfur dioxide, sulfites E220 sulfur dioxide 3.602 mg/kg (2.000 mg/kg) in dried apricots Turkey

+) application is prohibited

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

 

Microbiological Hazards Product Origin
Bacillus cereus on lemon and ginger infusion France
E.coli (VTEC, STEC) STEC in minced meat (mutton and beef) Iceland, notified by Germany
Listeria monocytogenes in cheese France
in hot smoked bacon 92% Poland
in salmon cream cheese, used in ready-to-eat products Belgium
in smoked trout Belgium
in sheep’s Tomme cheese France
Salmonella in pistachio powder and macarons Italy / France , widely distributed
in mussels packaged in the Netherlands Netherlands
in chocolate cake Belgium
 in raw material for 4 types of hummus Belgium
in pasteurized egg white Italy 
in Luganega sausage Italy 
 in sesame seeds (10) (!) Chad (1), India (1), Mali (1), Nigeria (7)
 in sesame paste (Tahini) Lebanon, notfied by Germany
Staphylococci Staphylococcus aureus in soft cheese France
Vibrio spp Vibrio vulnificus in frozen raw whole shrimps India
Yersinia Yersinia enterocolitica in raw milk France

 

Other Hazards Origin
Allergens: Undeclared allergen soy on vegan jackfruit rendang Netherlands
Allergens: Undeclared allergen fish on potato gratin with truffle Belgium
Allergens: Undeclared allergen milk at sorbet in rice dough Germany
Allergen: Gluten-undeclared 69 mg/kg in snacks Spain, notified by Germany
Level of monacolin K in red yeast rice exceeding the daily limit France
Muscimol in jellies  Netherlands

 Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger