Food recalls in EU/Week 40 – 2014

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

– Allergens: undeclared soia in pasta e wholemeal pasta moose-shaped, following company’s own check. Origin Sweden (via Germany), notified by Spain, distributed also to Australia, Belgium, Canada, Cyprus, Finland, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Poland, Russia, United Kingdom and United States;

– Allergens: traces of egg in chocolate fudge cake kit, following a consumer complaint. Origin United Kingdom, notified by Ireland;

– Biotoxins: Diarrhoeic Shellfish Poisoning (DSP) toxins – okadaic acid in canned mussels, following company’s own check. Origin Spain, notified by France;

– Pathogenic micro-organisms: Listeria Monocytogenes in soft white brie cheese made from goat milk, following company’s own check. Origin Denmark, notified by Denmark, distributed also to Sweden;

– Pesticide residues: fenamiphos in red grapefruits, following company’s own check. Origin Zimbabwe (via South Africa and the Netherlands), notified by Denmark, distributed also to Belgium, Croatia, Czech Republic, France, Germany, Norway.

Between the information for attention, followed by a recall from consumers:

– Food additives and flavourings: undeclared sulphites in soup stocks, following an official control on the market. Origin China, notified by United Kingdom.

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

– Composition: unauthorised substance 1,3-dimethylbutylamine (nor-DMAA) in food supplement, following company’s own check. Origin Canada (via the Netherlands), notified by Netherlands, distributed also to Austria, Bosnia Herzegovina, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Portugal, Slovenia, Sweden and Switzerland;

– Foreign bodies: glass fragments in potato starch, following a consumer complaint. Origin Poland, notified by Poland, distributed also to Germany;

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

– Heavy metals: mercury in food supplement, following an official control on the market. Origin Hong Kong (China, via the Netherlands), notified by Sweden.

– Packaging defective/incorrect: bulging packaging of canned olives, following company’s own check. Origin Spain, notified by Italy:

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

– Pesticide residues: carbendazim, omethoate, dimethoate and thiophanate-methyl in grapes, following company’s own check. Origin Tunisia, notified by Netherlands, distributed also to Poland and Russia.

Amongst border rejections we have:

– aflatoxins in peanuts from China and in apricot kernels from Uzbekistan, via Afghanistan;

– too high content of sulphite in dried apricots from Turkey and in sliced coconut from Lebanon;

– unauthorised substance dichlorvos in dried beans from Nigeria;

– cinnamon from Indonesia and salted horse casings from Argentina infested with moulds and insects;

– residue level above MRL for oxytetracycline in frozen seafood mix and frozen squid and shrimps skewer from Vietnam;

–  triazophos, acetamiprid, and imidacloprid in tea from Hong Kong;

– benzo(a)pyrene and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons in non-refined soybean oil from Ukraine;

– prohibited substance nitrofuran (metabolite) nitrofurazone (SEM) in frozen catfish from Vietnam.

For feed, we have border rejections for aflatoxins in birdfeed groundnuts from Brazil and Salmonella spp. in fishmeal from the United States. 

For food contact materials we have a border rejection for migration of primary aromatic amines from nylon serving tongs from China.

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