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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 |
| Acrylamide | 561,57 µg/kg (400 µg/kg) in airy wholemeal crackers | Germany |
| Ethylene oxide (EO) / 2-chlorethanol (2-CE) +) | 2-CE 197,8 mg/kg (!) in seasoning mix | Pakistan |
| 2-CE 10,2 mg/kg (!) (0,1 mg/kg) in turmeric | Lebanon | |
| EO 2,8 mg/kg (!) & 0,91 mg/kg (0,02 mg/kg) (!) in food supplements | India (2) | |
| EO (no value) in salsa dips | Mexico | |
| EO 0,1 mg/kg in fennel seed powder | India | |
| 2-CE 0,26 mg/kg (!)in spice mixture | India | |
| Heavy and toxic metals | Cadmium 1,83 & 1,24 mg/kg in frozen seafood mix | China |
| Hydrocyanic acid | 238,1 mg/kg (150 mg/kg) in lineseed | Kazakstan, via UK |
| 257,9 mg/kg (150 mg/kg) in lineseed | Canada | |
| 3-MCPD and glycidyl esters | 3-MCPD: 3946 µg/kg (1250 µg/kg) & glycidyl esters 4273 µg/kg (100 µg/kg) in wafers | Jordan via Netherlands |
| Mineral oil, MOSH, MOAH | Mineral oil components (MOSH and MOAH) in rice oil | Thailand via Netherlands |
| Mycotoxins | Aflatoxin B1 13 µg/kg (2 µg/kg), aflatoxins (total) 14 µg/kg (4 µg/kg) in rice | Pakistan |
| Aflatoxin B1 8,5 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) in ground nutmeg | Turkey | |
| Aflatoxin B1 21,2 µg/kg (8 µg/kg), aflatoxins (total) 54,2 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in almonds | Spain | |
| Aflatoxin B1 14, 36, 48 & 106 µg/kg (!) (6 µg/kg) ; Aflatoxins (total) 26, 40, 117 & 237 µg/kg (!) (10 µg/kg) in dried figs | Turkey | |
| Aflatoxin B1 35,9 µg/kg (!) (2 µg/kg) in popcorn | Netherlands | |
| Aflatoxin B1 9,3 & 37,5 µg/kg (!) (2 µg/kg) Aflatoxins (total) 9,3 & 40,4 µg/kg (!) (4 µg/kg) in corn for making popcorn | Turkey via Netherlands | |
| Aflatoxins (total) 11,2 µg/kg (4 µg/kg) in organic popcorn | Turkey | |
| Aflatoxin B1 15 µg/kg (2 µg/kg) in halva | Turkey | |
| Aflatoxin B1 18 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) in nutmeg | Indonesia | |
| Aflatoxin B1 5,6 µg/kg (2 µg/kg) in rice | Pakistan | |
| Aflatoxin B1 10,5 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) & Aflatoxins (total) 13,6 µg/kg (10 µg/kg) in hazelnut meal | Georgia | |
| Ochratoxin A >500 µg/kg (!!!) (5 µg/kg) in pistachios | Turkey | |
| Ochratoxin A 20,6 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) in raisins | Turkey | |
| Ochratoxin A 30,1 µg/kg & 91 µg/kg (!) (8 µg/kg) in raisins | Uzbekistan (2) | |
| Ochratoxin A 24 µg/kg (8 µg/kg) in dried figs | Turkey | |
| Citrinin >150 µg/kg in food supplement | USA | |
| Patulin >25 µg/kg in apple puree and in apple/strawberry puree | France (1), Belgium (1) | |
| Nitrofuranes | Nitrofuran (metabolite) 13,2 µg/kg (0,5 µg/kg) in frozen raw vannamei shrimp | Vietnam |
| Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) | >80 mg/kg (50 mg/kg) in food supplement | France |
| Pesticides | Chlorpyrifos +) 0,055 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in corn to make popcorn | Spain |
| Buprofezin 0,026 mg/kg (0,01), Chlorpyrifos +) 0,032 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg), Ethion +) 0,22 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg), Profenofos +) 0,2 mg/kg (!) (0,01 mg/kg), Tricyclazol +) 0,04 mg/kg (0,01mg/kg), Fipronil +) 0,05 mg/kg (!) (0,005 mg/kg) und Fenpropathrin +) 0,026 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg) in crushed dried Chilis |
India | |
| Chlorpyrifos +) 0,35 mg/kg (!!) (0,005 mg/kg ) in dried green raisins | Afghanistan | |
| Chlorpyrifos +) 0,02 mg/kg (0,01 mg/kg ) and chlorate +) 2,1 mg/kg (0,5 mg/kg) in quinoa | Peru | |
| Chlorpyrifos +) 0,026 mg/kg (0,01) and thiophanate methyl 0,11mg/kg (0,1) in chamomile flower | Egypt | |
| Pyrrolizidine alkaloids | 24000 µg/kg (!) & 17000 µg/kg (!) (1000 µg/kg) in (organic) oregano | Greece (2) |
| 1448 µg/kg (1000 µg/kg) in dried oregano | Poland | |
| Sudan dyes +) and other unauthorized colorants +) | Leuco-malachite green-in frozen catfish | Vietnam |
| Sulphites | 216 mg/kg (135mg/kg) in cooked shrimp | Spain |
| Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) +) and Cannabidiol (CBD) +) | cannabidiol (CBD) and hemp flavour extract and increased tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) content in organic hemp flavour oil | Austria |
| Novel food (cannabinoids) in food supplements | Czech Republic | |
| Cannabidiol (CBD) in food supplements | Netherlands | |
| Cannabidiol (CBD) in candies and drops | Austria (2) | |
| Tropane alkaloids | Atropine 526 (!!!), 114 (!) & 105 µg/kg (!) (5 µg/kg) and scopolamine 300 (!!), 31,6 & 40,1 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) in organic dark teff flour | Germany |
| Atropine 16,7 (5 µg/kg) and scopolamine 2,3 µg/kg (5 µg/kg) in popcorn, produced with raw material from the Netherlands | Germany |
+) application is prohibited
MRL exceeded: (!) ≥10 times, (!!) ≥50 times, (!!!) ≥ 100 times
| Microbiological Hazards | Product | Origin |
| E.coli | in clams | Italy |
| E.coli EHEC/EPEC/STEC/VTEC | Verotoxin-producing Escherichia coli (VTEC/STEC) in beef tartar | Poland |
| Shigatoxine-producing Escherichia coli (STEC) in cheese | France | |
| STEC in beef tenderloin | Argentina | |
| Listeria monocytogenes | in meat-based products "Equine Sfilacci" | Italy |
| on butter | France | |
| in dry sausages | France | |
| Salmonella | in frozen shrimps | Bangladesh via Netherlands |
| in black pepper (3) | Brazil (3) | |
| in smoked paprika powder | Spain | |
| in paprika powder mild | Turkey | |
| in sesame seeds (9) | Nigeria (8), Turkey (1) | |
| Staphylococci, coagulase-positive | in Reblochon cheese | France |
| Norovirus | in oysters (Crassostrea gigas) (11) | France (7), Netherlands (2), Sweden (1), unknown (1) |
| in truffles (Venus verrucosa) | Croatia |
Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger
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