Food News

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

Alarm

In this article, we repeat important alerts from the European Commission's RASFF system from the past month.

 

The table is even clearer. We sort the notifications by product group, using the headings in the RASFF system and the countries of origin in the second column as a guide. You know your raw materials, products and their origins best. This enables you to swiftly determine whether any notifications in the rapid alert system are relevant to you. We have classified notifications marked as 'serious' as relevant in the system. We generally refrain from repeating measured values and comparing maximum permissible levels of individual contaminants. In addition, we will largely stop issuing warnings about microbiological contamination in the following product groups: meat and meat products, poultry and poultry products, fish and seafood, and milk and milk products. For ten years, there have been recurring reports on known pathogenic germs every month. Furthermore, these perishable foods are usually unavailable by the time our report is published.

 

We continue to list notifications concerning dried and processed fruit and vegetables (excluding frozen goods) under 'Food Notifications'. However, we group all seafood and algae together in one product group, deviating from the RASFF product group classification system. You can easily evaluate the RASFF page yourself using the various filter options to limit the notifications to those of direct interest to your company. Link: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/search

 

October 2026

Chemical Hazards:

Product  Group Origin Hazard Notification
Cereals and bakery products India Mycotoxins  Ochratoxin A in rice
Netherlands Industrial contaminants High content of glycidyl esters in wasabi rice crackers
Poland Mycotoxins Ochratoxin A in type 720 rye flour (2)
Cocoa and cocoa preparations, coffee and tea  China Pesticides Excessive levels (up to >100 times MRL) of genotoxic and reproductive-toxic pesticides (10 actives, thereof Chlorpyriphos +) ) in a tea-like product 
Italy Mycotoxins Ochratoxin A in caramel flavoured ground coffee (listed under "Other food products")
Confectionary Czechia  Unauthorised ingredients High level of delta-8-THC +) and delta-9-THC +) in fruit gummies
Dietetic foods, food supplements and fortified foods     China Mycotoxins Ochratoxin A 110 µg/kg (!! ) in food supplements
Germany Formulation Increased intake of beta-alanine from food supplements for athletes
Hungary Unauthorised ingredients Presence of Sildenafil +) in a food supplement 
Peru Unauthorised ingredients Presence of Sildenafil +) in a food supplement 
USA Unauthorised ingredients Unauthorised substance Tadalafil +) in food supplement offered online for sale 
Dried fruits (nuts see below) Turkey Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in dried organic figs
Turkey Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in dried figs (3)
Turkey Mycotoxins Ochratoxin A in dried (organic) figs , thereof samples with 265 µg/kg (!!), 264 µg/kg (!!), 190,1 µg/kg (!) and 99 µg/kg (!) (8 µg/kg) (9)
Turkey Mycotoxins Ochratoxin A in diced dried figs
Turkey Mycotoxins Ochratoxin A in fig paste
Turkey Mycotoxins Ochratoxin A and Aflatoxins in dried figs (2)
Fats and oils Guinea Unauthorised colour  Sudan red IV +) in palm oil with destination Germany 
Indonesia Industrial contaminants Glycidyl esters in palm oil
Fish, crustaceae, bivalve molluscs, cephalo-& gastropods and product thereof France Biogenic amines Histamine in thawed yellowfin tuna steak 
France Heavy metals Mercury in vacuum swordfish loin 
Italy Biogenic amines Presence of histamine 5478 mg/kg (!) (100/200 mg/kg)in frozen tuna fillets 
Italy Heavy metals Presence of cadmium in cleaned squid above the limits 
Myanmar Environmental pollutant PAH in dried smoked pangasius hypophtalmus 
Spain Biogenic amines Histamine >2000 mg/kg (!) (100 / 200 mg/kg) in frozen tuna
Spain Biotoxins Diarrhoeic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) toxin okadaic acid in canned cockles (Cerastoderma edule) raw material from Portugal
Spain Heavy metals High content of mercury in swordfish fillet and frozen swordfish (2)
Spain Heavy metals Mercury in defrosted Albacore tuna (Thunnus albacares)
Spain Heavy metals Mercury in blue shark
Tunisia Heavy metals Mercury in grouper, notified by Spain
Vietnam Environmental pollutant MOAH 10,3 mg/kg (!) (1 mg/kg) in preserved ground anchovy Mam Nêm Xay; notified by The Netherlands
Herbs and spices Egypt Pesticides Chlorpyrifos +) in fennel seed powder
Germany Biotoxins Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in threshed and dried organic savory 
India Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in chili crushed
India Pesticides Exceedance of Chlorpyrifos +) in celery seed
Spain Pesticides Chlorpyrifos +) in peppercorns 
Syria Biotoxins Tropane alkaloids in dried mint, via The Netherlands
Syria Pesticides Chlorpyriphos +)  0,231 mg/kg (0,07 mg/kg) in dried mint
Thailand Pesticides Dimethoate, Omethoate and Hexaconazole +) in Marum Blade (Moringa oleifera) 
Honey and royal jelly Nepal Biotoxins Grayanotoxin in honey, via The Netherlands
Meat and meat products France Mycotoxins Excessive ochratoxin A 116 µg/kg (!!) (3 µg/kg)in French dried ham 
Nuts, nut products, pulses and seeds Argentina Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in groundnuts or peanuts (10 !)
Bulgaria Mycotoxins Ochratoxin A in black sunflower seeds in shell 
Cameroon Pesticides Chlorpyrifos +)  0,14 (!) mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in groundnuts
China Pesticides Chlorpyrifos +) in pumpkin seeds
Nicaragua Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in groundnuts (3), thereof a sample with Aflatoxin B1 25 µg/kg (!) (2 µg/kg) 
Turkey Mycotoxins Ochratoxin A in black sunflower seeds in shell 
USA Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in almond kernels
USA Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in raw peanuts
USA Mycotoxins Exceedance of MRL for total aflatoxins in raw shelled pistachios, via Turkwy
Other food products/mixed Philippines Environmental pollutant MOAH in Lobster Crackers 

+) Application prohibited

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

 

Microbiological Hazards:

Product  Group Origin Notification
Eggs and egg products Italy Salmonella in pasteurized egg white 
Spain Salmonella enteritidis in eggs
Fish, crustaceae, bivalve molluscs, cephalo-& gastropods and product thereof Denmark Detection of listeria monocytogenes in smoked cod
France E. coli in clams
Ireland Escherichia coli in live mussels 
Italy E. coli in clams (2)
Italy Escherichia coli levels exceed limits in mussels with raw material farmed in Spain 
Lithuania Listeria monocytogenes was detected in 25 g samples (5 out of 5) of cold-smoked Atlantic salmon fillet 
Netherlands Detection of salmonella in mussel 
Spain E.Coli in mussels 
Spain High levels of E. coli  4900 cfu/100g (!)  (230cfu/100g)in Japanese clam (Ruditapes philippinarum) 
Spain Norovirus in razor clams
Vietnam Detection of Vibrio vulnificus in a batch of shrimp
Herbs and spices France Salmonella in various herbs
Italy Salmonella spp. in organic dandelion leaves
Milk and milk products France Listeria monocytogenes in raw milk farmhouse Camembert
Italy Presence of STEC *E. coli* in raw milk cheese 
Nuts, nut products and seeds Egypt Salmonella detected in Pure Sesame Tahini 
Italy Clostridium botulinum in blanched sliced almonds 
India Salmonella spp. in sesame seeds (2)
USA Salmonella spp. in almonds
Other food products France Listeria detected Fine bulgur wheat salad 
Prepared dishes and snacks  Italy Listeria monocytogenes in veal with tuna sauce (Vitello tonnato) 
Netherlands Listeria monocytogenes in prepared air meals

Other Hazards:

Product  Group Origin Hazard Notification
Cereals and bakery products Spain Allergens Presence of undeclared gluten in buckwheat toast labeled “gluten-free”
Confectionary Germany Allergens Peanut - undeclared - allergens - faulty labelling or claims
Ices and desserts Poland Allergens Detection of undeclared egg protein in icecream 
Other food products & Prepared dishes and snacks Austria Allergens Undeclared allergen sulphites in boiled potato (was originally notfied under Fruit & vegetables)

Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger, AGROLAB GROUP