Food recalls in EU – Week 28

This week on the RASFF database (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) we have two recalls from consumers in EU in the alert notifications:

– Organoleptic aspects: too low acidity in white lasagna sauce, following company’s own check. Origin Switzerland, notified by United Kingdom, distributed also to Ireland;

– Composition: unauthorised substance sibutramine and sildenafil in food supplement, following an official control on the market. Origin Netherlands, notified by France.

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

– Heavy metals: mercury in frozen swordfish steaks, following an official control on the market. Origin Spain, notified by Italy;

– Pathogenic micro-organisms: Listeria Monocytogenes in chilled smoked salmon, following company’s own check. Origin Poland, notified by France;

– Poor or insufficient controls: inadequate thermal processing in frozen cordon bleu, following company’s own check. Origin Germany, notified by Netherlands;

– Pesticide residues: metamidophos in pattypan, following a company’s own check. Origin South Africa, notified by Netherlands, distributed also to Belgium, Czech Republic, Estonia, Lithuania, Qatar, Romania and United Kingdom;

We have also a seizure for suspicion of shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli in frozen deer meat from Germany. Notified by Belgium, distributed also to Italy.

Amongst border rejections we have aflatoxins in peanuts from China, salted pistachio nuts from Iran, shelled pistachios from Turkey, groundnut kernels from India (via Egypt) and Bombay biryani spice mix from Pakistan. Ochratoxin A in chili powder from Mexico, high count of Enterobacteriaceae in brine shrimp eggs from China, poor temperature control of frozen shallow-water cape hake from Namibia, residue level above MRL for oxytetracycline in frozen shrimps from Vietnam, carbendazim in green tea extract from China and in fresh lemons from Argentina, formetanate and clofentezine in fresh peppers from Turkey, etoxazole in green beans and chlorothalonil in snow pea from Kenya, imazalil and orthophenylphenol in oranges from Egypt, methamidophos, monocrotophos and acephate in okra from India, bitertanol and abamectin in yard long beans from the Dominican Republic, dithiocarbamates, malathion, lambda-cyhalothrin, dimethomorph, azoxystrobin, boscalid, myclobutanil, pyraclostrobine and quinoxyfen in vine leaves in brine from Turkey.

For feed, we have a border rejection for Salmonella Spp. in fish meal from Mauritania.

For food contact materials we have a border rejection for migration of chromium and of manganese from stainless steel strainers from China.

Related articles

• Food recalls in EU – Week 27 – 2014 (foodlawlatest.com)
• Food recalls in EU – Week 26 – 2014 (foodlawlatest.com)
• Food recalls in EU – Week 25 – 2014 (foodlawlatest.com)
• Food recalls in EU – Week 24 – 2014 (foodlawlatest.com)
• Food recalls in EU – Week 23 – 2014 (foodlawlatest.com)