Food recalls in EU – Week 35/2014

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:

– Pathogenic micro-organisms: Listeria Monocytogenes in salads with pasta, following company’s own check. Origin France, notified by France, distributed also to Belgium and Luxembourg;

– Allergens: undeclared gluten, egg and mustard in burger sauce, following company’s own check. Origin Belgium, notified by Belgium, distributed also to France.

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

– Biotoxins: Paralytic Shellfish Poisoning (PSP) toxins in chilled scallops, following an official control on the market. Origin Norway, notified by Norway, distributed also to Netherlands and Spain;

– Food additives and flavourings: undeclared sulphite in dried apricot, following a border control. Origin Uzbekistan, notified by Latvia, distributed also to Poland;

– Mycotoxins: aflatoxins in pistachio nuts, following an official control on the market. Origin Iran (via Poland), notified by Slovakia;

– Pathogenic micro-organisms: Listeria Monocytogenes in ham, following company’s own check. Origin Germany, notified by Germany, distributed also to Denmark and Sweden;

– Pathogenic micro-organisms: Listeria Monocytogenes in enoki mushrooms, following company’s own check. Origin South Korea, notified by Netherlands, distributed also to Bahrain, Belgium, Finland, France, Spain, Switzerland and United Kingdom;

– Pathogenic micro-organisms: Listeria Monocytogenes in smoked halibut fillets, following company’s own check. Origin Belgium, notified by France;

– Pesticide residues: carbendazim in pitahaya, following company’s own check. Origin Vietnam, notified by Netherlands, distributed also to Austria, Denmark, Germany, Greece, Italy, Russia and Switzerland.

In Italy we have also a seizure of frozen kebab from Germany, due to the presence of Salmonella.

Amongst border rejections we have:

– aflatoxins in pistachios from Iran, in crushed ground chilli powder from India and in ground nutmeg from Indonesia (via United States);

– too high content of colour E 102 – tartrazine, unauthorised animal ingredient (egg white) and unauthorised use of colour E 132 – indigotine / indigo carmine in noodles from Japan;

– unauthorised use of colour E 127 – erythrosine in and insufficient labelling (tartrazine E102) of sugar coated fennel seeds from India;

– shigatoxin-producing Escherichia coli in frozen lamb meat from New Zealand;

– norovirus in frozen cooked whole brown clams from Vietnam;

– unauthorised genetically modified (Cry1Ab) rice vermicelli from China;

– chlorpyriphos, dimethomorph, boscalid, kresoxim-methyl, pyraclostrobin and metrafenone in pickled vine leaves from Turkey;

– triazophos, acetamiprid and imidacloprid in green tea from Turkey;

– methomyl and thiodicarb in sweet peppers from Turkey;

– undeclared sulphite in dried prunes from Uzbekistan;

– residue level above MRL for copper in vine leaves from Turkey;

– histamine in frozen yellowfin tuna from Panama;

– poor temperature control of frozen shrimps from Peru and of frozen octopus and white grouper from Mauritania;

– dioxins and dioxin-like polychlorobifenyls in palm kernel fatty acid disillate from Malaysia;

– absence of health certificate(s) for chilled seabream from Senegal unfit for human consumption;

– sunflower meal from Ukraine infested with moulds (visible mould growth on the surface and inside the product, color changed to greygreen with brown and green spots, repulsive odor).

For feed, we don’t have any relevant notification this week.

For food contact materials we have border rejections for migration of formaldehyde and of melamine from melamine boards from China and melamine plates from Hong Kong. Outer coating coming off from knives from China.

Related articles

• Food recalls in EU – Week 34 – 2014 (foodlawlatest.com)
• Food recalls in EU – Week 32-33 – 2014 (foodlawlatest.com)
• Food recalls in EU – Week 31 – 2014 (foodlawlatest.com)
• Food recalls in EU – Week 30 – 2014 (foodlawlatest.com)
• Food recalls in EU – Week 29 – 2014 (foodlawlatest.com)