Adulteration, pesticides and unauthorized ingredients were among the fraud and non-compliance issues recently discussed by European countries.
The number of suspicions of food and other fraud raised by EU Member States fell in November. The number of 232 warnings has decreased compared to the 292 in October. This compares to 213 in September and 222 in August. There were 325 reports in July, 265 in June, 281 in May, 341 in April, 345 in March, 318 in February and 277 in January.
The problems mentioned are possible fraud. Non-compliance may lead to investigations by authorities in EU Member States. Details come from a monthly report published by the European Commission.
Data includes suspected cross-border fraud topics shared between members of the Alert and Cooperation Network (ACN) and sourced from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), the Administrative Assistance and Cooperation Network (AAC) and the Agri-Food Fraud Network (FFN).
It covers food, feed, materials that come into contact with food, animal welfare for farm animals, plant protection products and veterinary products that end up as residues and contaminants in food and feed.
The aim is to help national authorities set up risk-based controls to combat fraudulent and deceptive practices, assist the food sector with vulnerability assessments and identify emerging risks.
Overview of non-conformities
A total of 85 notices mentioned fruit and vegetables, the majority of which were non-compliant due to pesticide residues. Grains and bakery products come in second with 27 warnings. Dietary foods, nutritional supplements and fortified foods came in third, with confectionery in fourth place.
Most problems came to light through border inspections or market controls. A total of thirteen were found after consumer complaints and twenty after internal company checks.
Five alerts involved the United States in November. They include sodium benzoate in soft drinks, tartrazine in pickles and THC in gummies.
Cases of product tampering included repackaging of honey after the expiration date, carbon monoxide, nitric oxide and nitrous oxide in tuna from Vietnam, titanium dioxide in cakes and croissants from Germany, and other oils in olive oil from Turkey and Lebanon.
Record fraud incidents included a change in the expiration date of rice from Egypt, a grass-fed claim on beef from Austria and the falsification of the certificate of origin for animal feed.
Other issues raised included kratom in products from the Czech Republic and Indonesia, betel nuts from Britain, glyphosate in buckwheat from Poland and pears from Italy, and arsenic in strawberry juice concentrate from Germany.
There were quality and traceability defects in eggs from Ukraine, an unlicensed apricot seed operator in Poland, and unregistered food supplements sold online.
Several non-compliance cases listed ingredients not allowed in the EU and pesticides above maximum residue limits (MRL). Other warnings were due to issues with traceability, transport temperature or products failing border controls.
Illegal fishing
Meanwhile, law enforcement authorities from France, Portugal and Spain have arrested 62 people involved in suspected illegal fishing of molluscs in Portugal and Spain.
Europol experts from the environmental crime unit made their expertise available to the Member States involved.
A total of 30 tons of molluscs and 6 tons of glass eel worth €10 million ($10.4 million) were taken from the fish market.
The gangs mainly fished for Japanese mussels, which are consumed by locals and tourists in the coastal areas especially during the holidays. They falsified the documentation of seafood to make it fit for human consumption.
An investigation identified groups involved in the trade of cockles or glass eels, depending on the season, in France, Portugal and Spain. People would fish illegally in Portugal and send the molluscs to Spain.
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