Food recalls in EU – Week 6 – 2014

This week on the RASFF database (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) we don’t have any recall from consumers in EU in the alert notification. We have one information for attention notification, followed by recall:

– Pathogenic micro-organisms: Listeria Monocytogenes in smoked sprats, following conmpany’s own check. Origin and notificatio from Belgium, distributed also to Luxembourg.

Between the alert notifications, followed by a withdrawal from the market of the product:

– Composition: high content of iodine in baby food, following company’s own check. Origin and notification from Netherlands, distributed also to Austria, Czech Republic, Germany, Russia and Turkey;

– Composition: high content of iodine in baby formula, following company’s own check. Origin Netherlands, notification from Germany;

– Composition: high content of iodine in dried seaweed, following an official control on the market. Origin South Korea, notification from Germany, distributed also to Austria;

– Composition: unauthorised colour Sudan 4 in red chilli peppers, following an official control on the market. Origin Netherlands/Lebanon, notification from France;

– Composition: high content of iodine in dried seaweed, following an official control on the market. Origin South Korea/Netherlands, notification from Germany, distributed also to Austria;

– Composition: high content of iodine in dried seaweed, following an official control on the market. Origin South Korea, notification from Germany, distributed also to Austria;

– Pathogenic micro-organisms: Norovirus in frozen cooked clams, following an official control on the market. Origin Vietnam, notification from Spain, distributed also to Cuba, Gibraltar, Italy and Portugal;

– Pathogenic micro-organisms: Salmonella Enteritidis in chilled chicken drumsticks, wings and legs, following an official control on the market. Origin  Poland, notification from Italy;

– Pesticide residues: ethephon in table grapes, following an official control on the market. Origin South Africa, notification from Netherlands, distributed also to Finland, Germany and Denmark;

– Foreign bodies: glass fragments in buckwheat bread, following a consumer complaint. Origin and notification from Germany, distributed also to Austria, Italy, Luxembourg, Poland and Switzerland;

– Heavy metals: cadmium in organic cocoa, following an official control on the market. Origin Ecuador (raw material), Germany (processed). Notification from Germany, distributed also to Italy and Austria;

– Heavy metals: mercury in frozen swordfish steaks, following an official control on the market. Origin Vietnam (via Netherlands), notification from Germany.

Regarding border rejections we have, among the others, Salmonella Schwarzengrund in skinless boneless spiced turkey breasts from Brazil, Salmonella in laurel leaves powder from Turkey, norovirus in live clams from Tunisia, parasitic infestation with Anisakis of chilled eels and mackerel from Morocco, poor temperature control of frozen white grouper from Mauritania, aflatoxins in groundnut from United States and in dried figs from Turkey. Absence of health certificate(s) for spicy blend of chickpeas flour noodles, groundnuts and rice flakes from India and  for powdered groundnut dessert from China, via Hong Kong. Unauthorised use of colour E 110 – Sunset Yellow FCF in cocktail nuts and in mixed crackers from Singapore, E 385 – calcium disodium ethylene diamine tetra acetate (CDEDTA) unauthorised and unauthorised food additive brominated vegetable oil (BVO) in lemon soda and soft drinks from the United States, unauthorised use of colour E 102 – tartrazine in pickled radish from China, unauthorised substance prometryn in roasted seaweed and chlorfluazuron in tea from China, unauthorised irradiation of freeze-dried organic goji powder from the United States, unauthorised substances chromium amino acid chelate and potassium aspartate in food supplement from the United States and anthraquinone and unauthorised novel food ingredient Siraitia Grosvenorii in herbal food supplement from the United States. Lamb shank from Australia contaminated with faeces. Chlorpyriphos-ethyl in mint from Morocco, fipronil in red chilli peppers from the Dominican Republic, propargite and oxamyl in strawberries from Egypt, tolfenpyrad in green tea from China and carbendazim in basmati rice from India. High content of aluminium in dried noodles from China and suffocation risk as a result of the consumption of and E 407 – carrageenan unauthorised in mini cup jelly from Singapore.

For feed, in Denmark we have a seizure of linseed for too high content of cyanide in linseed. Origin Germany. Border rejection for Salmonella spp. in pet food from Mauritius and aflatoxins in groundnut kernels from Sudan.

For food contact materials we have a recall from consumers, following an information for attention notification:

– Migration: migration of formaldheyde in salad bowls, following an official control on the market. Origin China, notification from Italy.

Moreover, we find border rejections for:

– steel water boiler kettle from China unfit for use as food contact material (steel AISI 201);

– migration of chromium from stainless steel jars with lids and from pizza cutters and migration of manganese and too high level of overall migration from blade of mixer from China;

– migration of nickel from beaters from Hong Kong.

Related articles

• Food recalls in EU – Week 5 – 2014 (www.foodlawlatest.com)
• Food recalls in EU – Week 4 – 2014 (www.foodlawlatest.com)
• Food recalls in EU – Week 3 – 2014 (www.foodlawlatest.com)
• Food recalls in EU – Week 2 – 2014 (www.foodlawlatest.com)
• Food recalls in EU – Week 1 – 2014 (www.foodlawlatest.com)