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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 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:
DECEMBER 2024
| Chemical Hazards: | Product | Origin |
| 3-MCPD & Glycidylesters | 3-monochlor-1,2-propanediol (3-MCPD) 3.530 µg/kg (2.500 µg/kg) in palm oil with raw material from the Netherlands | Poland |
| Biogenic amines | Histamine in average 2.698 mg/kg (!) (200 mg/kg) in chilled tuna | Sri Lanka, notfied by Italy |
| Hitamine 841,5 µg/kg (400 µg/kg) in sardinella fillets | Morocco, notified by Germany | |
| Biotoxins | Amnesia toxins (ASP) 28,6 µg/kg & 53,37 µg/kg (20 µg/kg) in shellfish | France |
| Dioxins and dioxin-like PCBS | 4,94 pg TEQ/g (2,5 pg TEQ/g) in beef kidney fat | Netherlands |
| Dyes +) | Orange II +) >125 µg/kg in chili powder | Ghana, notfied by Belgium |
| Rhodamin B +) 337 (!) µg/kg in chili powder | Bangladesh, notified by Belgium | |
| Heavy and toxic metals | Arsenic (inorganic) 0,12 mg/kg (0,02 mg/kg) in baby food (cream rice) | Italy |
| Cadmium >2 mg/kg (1 mg/kg) in Moroccan cuttlefish | Spain | |
| Cadmium 2,567 mg/kg (1 mg/kg) in frozen squid | Portugal | |
| Cadmium 1,8 mg/kg (1 mg/kg) and Lead 0,79 mg/kg (0,2 mg/kg) in beef kidneys | UK, notified by France | |
| Lead (>0,05 mg/kg) in biscuits for infants with spelt milk and eggs free | Italy | |
| Mercury 6,6 mg/kg (1,0 mg/kg) in frozen slices of porbeagle (Isurus oxyrinchus) | Ecuador, notified by Spain | |
| Mercury 1,6 mg/kg (1,0 mg/kg) in frozen/thawed sword fish | Spain | |
| Copper 85% and Zinc 14,7% in edible gold foil | China | |
| Hydrocyanic acid, cyanides | Hydrocyanic acid (HCN) 217 mg/kg (150 mg/kg) in organic flaxseed, from Kazakhstan, via Czech Republic | Netherlands |
| Iodine | 65,31 mg/kg in dried seaweed | China, via Netherlands |
| 472 µg/kg & 317 µg/kg (200 µg/kg) in roasted seaweed (2) | South Korea (2) | |
| Mycotoxins | Aflatoxin B1 32,7 (!) µg/kg (2 µg/kg) & suspicion of presence GMO in maize | Romania |
| Aflatoxin B1 13,5; 21; 22,7; 26; 33; 44; 131 (!); 180 (!) µg/kg (6 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total) 23,9; 24; 25,8; 29; 35,1; 101 (!); 199 (!); 210 (!) µg(kg (10 µg/kg) in dried figs (8) | Turkey (8) | |
| Aflatoxin B1 64 (!) µg/kg (6 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total) 180 (!) µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in dried figs | Spain | |
| Aflatoxin (total) 23,1 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in dried figs | Turkey | |
| Aflatoxin B1 25,2 (!) µg/kg (2 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total) 28,8 µg/kg (4 µg/kg) in shelled peanuts | Egypt, notified by Italy | |
| Aflatoxin B1 9; 11; 11,8; 12,1 µg/kg (6 µg/kg) in dried figs (4) | Turkey (4) | |
| Aflatoxin B1 16,3 µg/kg in pistachio cream | Germany | |
| Aflatoxin B1 21,9; 24,4; 56; 62,32 µg/kg (8 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total) 30; 26,4; 61,8; 68,51 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in pistachios (4) | Turkey (4) | |
| Aflatoxin B1 21,5 µg/kg (5 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total) 22,7 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in shelled pistachios | Iran | |
| Aflatoxin B1 34,5 µg/kg (8 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total)36,5 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in pistachios | Iran | |
| Aflatoxin B1 12,3 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) in hazelnut kernels | Azerbaijan | |
| Aflatoxin B1 17,9 µg/kg (8 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total) 20,7 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in shelled pistachios | USA, via Turkey | |
| Aflatoxin B1 38,9 µg/kg (8 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total) 41,4 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in shelled pistachios | USA | |
| Aflatoxin B1 25,6 µg/kg (8 µg/kg), Aflatoxins (total) 28,7 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in shelled pistachios | Turkey | |
| Aflatoxin B1 20 µg/kg (!) (2 µg/kg); Aflatoxins (total) 22 µg/kg; (4 µg/kg) in groundnuts | USA | |
| Fumonisins 3.260 µg/kg (1.000 µg/kg) in organic corn flour | Italy, widely distributed | |
| Ochratoxin A 97,7 (!) µg/kg (5 µg/kg) A in roasted antep shelled pistachios | Turkey | |
| Ochratoxin A 20 µg/kg (15 µg/kg) in ground nutmeg | India | |
| Ochratoxin A 10 µg/kg (3 µg/kg) in organic rye flour | France | |
| Ochratoxin A 14; 19,3; 21,92; >25 (2); 59,7; 87 (!); 94,1 (!); 172,5 (!); 227 (!); 390 (!) µg/kg (8 µg/kg) in dried figs (11) | Turkey (11) ! | |
| Pesticides | Chlorpyriphos +) 0,033 & 0,052 mg/kg (0,02 mg/kg) in ginger powder (2) | India (2), notfied by Belgium |
| Cyproconazole 0,064 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg) & Propiconazole 0,13 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg) in ground coriander | Poland | |
| Chlorpyrifos +) 0,022 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg), Chlorfenapyr +) 0,07 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) & Lufenuron 0,013 mg/kg (0,01mg/kg) in black-eyed peas | Madagascar | |
| Ethylenoxide/ 2-Chlorethanol +) 2,1(!) & 1,7 (!) mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg) in sesame seeds | Guatemala , via UK & Netherlands | |
| Fluazifop-P 0,023 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in roasted paprika in infusion | Greece | |
| Acephate +) 0,45 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) & Methamidophos +) 0,39 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) in mung beans | Brazil, notfied by Netherlands | |
| Chlorpyriphos +) 0,021 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in green tea | Russia, notfied by Germany | |
| Acetamiprid +) 0,23 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Difenonazole +) 0,24 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg), Pyridaben +) 0,30 mg/kg (0,05 mg/kg) & Tolfenpyrad +) 0,23 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg) in green tea | China | |
| PFAS | Perfluorooctane sulphonic acid (PFOS) 3,2 g/kg (2 µg/kg) in carp (Cyprinus carpio) | Spain or Italy, notfied by France |
| Pyrrolizidine alkaloids, Tropanalkaloids etc. | Pyrrolizidine alkaloids 6.156 µg/kg (1.000 µg/kg) in dried orgeano | Turkey |
| Pyrrolizidine alkaloids 920 µg/kg (400 µg/kg) in cumin with raw material from India | UK, via Netherlands | |
| Pyrrolizidine alkaloids 4.235 µg/kg (1.000 µg/kg) in dried majoram | Egypt, notified by Poland | |
| Pyrrolizidine alkaloids 869 µg/kg (400 µg/kg) in cumin | Germany | |
| Rye ergot 305 µg/kg (150 µg/kg) in organic spelt flour | France | |
| Rye ergot sclerotia 0,03% & 0,19% (0,02%) in wheat (2) |
France (2) | |
| Sulfur dioxide, sulfites | E220- sulfur dioxide 4.579 mg/kg (2.000 mg/kg) in dried apricots | Afghanistan |
| Sulfites 506,7 mg/kg (150 mg/kg) in frozen shrimps | Venezuela, notified by France | |
| Veterinary drug residues | Ivermectin+) 18 µg/kg (!!!) (0,01 mg/kg) in frozen Broadhead catfish | Vietnam, notified by Netherlands |
| Malachite green +) 5,6 µg/kg in catfish | Vietnam | |
| Nitrofuran metabolite furazolidone +) 1,54 µg/kg in frozen prawns | India |
+) application is prohibited
MRL exceeded: (!) ≥10 times, (!!) ≥50 times, (!!!) ≥ 100 times
| Microbiological Hazards | Product | Origin |
| E.coli | in mussels | Spain |
| E.coli (VTEC, STEC) | in raw milk cheese (2) | France (1), Italy (1) |
| in frozen beef carpaccio with meat from Argentina | Germany, via Greece | |
| Listeria monocytogenes | in unsalted lactic butter | Portugal, notified by Netherlands |
| in frozen tempeh cubes | Netherlands | |
| in gorgonzola (dolce) >100CFU | Italy | |
| in raw milk goat’s cheese | France | |
| Norovirus | in dates | Iran |
| in chilled oysters | Netherlands, via Sweden | |
| Salmonella | in Eurostar (train) meal tray | Italy |
| in mussels from Spain | Italy | |
| in cumin | Turkey | |
| in black tea (2) | China, notified by Poland (2) | |
| in ground melon seeds | Netherlands | |
| foodborne outbreak suspected to be caused by alfalfa sprouts in Norway, with alfalfa seeds from Italy | Italy, Norway | |
| in hulled sesame seeds | Turkey | |
| in sesame seeds (2) | Turkey (1), Uganda (1) | |
| in prepared salmon with raw material from the Netherlands | Italy | |
| Vibrio spp | Vibrio vulnificus in frozen raw whole shrimps | Ecuador |
| Other Hazards | Origin |
| Level of Vitamin D too high 250 µg/drop, caused severe hypercalcemia hypervitaminose D in food supplement | Germany |
Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger
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