Food recalls in EU – Week 20/2015

This week on the EU RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) we can find the following notifications:

1. Alerts followed by a recall from consumers:

– Allergens: undeclared gluten (111.5; 746 mg/kg – ppm) in gluten free crisps from Ireland, following a consumer complaint. Notified by Ireland, distributed also to United Kingdom;

– Foreign bodies: metal pieces in potato salad from the United Kingdom, following company’s own check. Notified by United Kingdom, distributed also to Ireland;

– Foreign bodies: dead mouse in unsalted organic crunchy peanut butter from the Netherlands, following a consumer complaint. Notified by United Kingdom, distributed also to Ireland, Norway and Spain;

– Foreign bodies: plastic fragments (1 <–> 2 cm) in frozen gluten and wheat free chicken goujons from the Netherlands, following a consumer complaint. Notified by Ireland;

– Pathogenic micro-organisms: norovirus (presence/25g) in frozen blueberries from Chile, following an official control on the market. Notified by France, distributed also to Belgium and Luxembourg;

– Pathogenic micro-organisms: Salmonella spp. (presence/25g) in raw milk camembert from France, following company’s own check. Notified by France, distributed also to Germany, Poland and Sweden.

2. Information for attention/for follow up followed by a recall from consumers:

– Foreign bodies: metal pieces in carrot & swede mash from the United Kingdom, following company’s own check. Notified by United Kingdom, distributed also to Gibraltar;

– FCM (Food Contact Materials): colour migration from plastic bowls from China, following a consumer complaint. Notified by Greece, distributed also to Bulgaria, Cyprus, Kosovo, Romania and Macedonia.

3. Alerts followed by a withdrawal from the market:

– Allergens: undeclared egg in cod burger from the Netherlands, following a food poisoning. Notified by Sweden;

– FCM (Food Contact Materials): migration of cadmium (0.52 mg/item) and of lead (4.0 mg/item) from glass mugs from China, following an official control on the market. Notified from Poland, distributed also to Czech Republic, Hungary, Romania and Slovakia;

– Food poisoning suspected to be caused by organic quinoa flake from Bolivia, packaged in Denmark. Notified from Norway;

– Mycotoxins: ochratoxin A (6.4 – 40 µg/kg – ppb) in buckwheat flour from France, following company’s own check. Notified by France, distributed also to Belgium.

4. Seizures:

In Denmark we had a seizure of chopped hazelnuts from Turkey for aflatoxins (B1 = 9; Tot. = 26 µg/kg – ppb).

5. Border rejections:

• absence of health certificate(s) for curry leaves from India and for seaweed instant rice noodles from Thailand, dispatched from Hong Kong
• aflatoxins (B1 = 14.3; Tot. = 18.2 µg/kg – ppb) in groundnut kernels and in nutmegs (B1 = 36.7; Tot. = 38.1 µg/kg – ppb) from India
• aflatoxins (B1 = 18.7 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachios from Iran
• aflatoxins (B1 = 24.0; Tot. = 26.3 µg/kg – ppb) in pistachio nuts from the United States
• aflatoxins (B1 = 9; Tot. = 26 µg/kg – ppb) in chopped hazelnuts from Turkey
• chlorpyrifos (0.36 mg/kg – ppm) and fenitrothion (0.05 mg/kg – ppm) in olives in brine from Egypt
• chlorpyrifos-methyl (0.606 mg/kg – ppm) and lambda-cyhalothrin (0.273 mg/kg – ppm) in sweet peppers from Turkey
• diazinon (0.023 mg/kg – ppm) and fenitrothion (0.06 mg/kg – ppm) in olives in brine from Egypt
• dried headless trevally (Carangidae) from Vietnam infested with moulds
• poor temperature control (between -7.9 and -12.8 °C) of frozen common octopus (Octopus vulgaris) from Mauritania
• Salmonella spp. (presence /25g) in frozen boneless skinless spiced half turkey breasts from Brazil
• Salmonella spp. (presence /25g) in sesame seeds from India
• Salmonella Stanley (2 out 3 samples /25g) in dried black fungus from Vietnam
• unauthorised irradiation of extract of red rice from China
• unauthorised novel food ingredient Phellinus linteus in food supplement from the United States
• unauthorised substance carbaryl (1.73 mg/kg – ppm) in beans from Madagascar
• unauthorised substance carbendazim (0.024 mg/kg – ppm) in dried lentils from Turkey
• unauthorised substance carbendazim (0.06 mg/kg – ppm) in basmati rice from India