There was a slight increase in food fraud and other non-compliance cases that were discussed by European countries in March.
The number of reports reported was 237 in March 2025, which rose compared to 214 in February, but compared to a record high of 345 in March 2024.
Problems included are potential fraud. Non-compliance can evoke an establishment of research by authorities in the EU member states. Details come from a monthly report published by the European Commission.
Data includes suspected cross-border fraud subjects that are shared between members of the Alert and Cooperation Network (ACN) and picked up from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (Rasff), Administrative Assistance and Collaboration Network (AAC) and the Agri-Food Fraud Network.
The objectives are to help national authorities set up risk-based checks to combat fraudulent and misleading practices, to help the food sector with vulnerability assessments and identifying risks.
A total of 81 notifications mentioned fruits and vegetables, where the majority is non-compliance because of pesticides residues. Dietetic food, nutritional supplements and reinforced foods were second with 34 notifications and grain and bakery products, third with 13.
Most problems were discovered by border inspections or market controls. On 26 occasions, the detection method was the internal check of a company and 11 times it was a complaint from the consumer. One alert was detected due to food poisoning. The concern was raised three times after whistleblower information.
Selected breaches
The United States concerned six reports in March. They include benzoic acid in soft drinks, titanium dioxide and cannabidiol (CBD) in sweets and unauthorized ingredients in food supplements.
Cases of the mess with product include sodium nitrate in sausages from Bulgaria, mechanically separate meat (MSM) from Poles and sulfur dioxide in turkey meat from Ireland.
Sudan 1 was found in chili powder from China, while Sudan 3 was detected in paprika powder. Sudan dyes were also present in red pepper powder from Syria.
Record messing incidents varied from the quality of olive oil of Turkey, ground meat or MSM from the Netherlands, falsification of organic certification documents about products from Germany, to the absence of commercial documents with pork tenderloin from Hungary.
A report concerned Ireland and one horse that was presented in a slaughterhouse with forged medical records.
There was an unauthorized operator and unsuitable transport conditions of poultry meat in Poland. In Germany, a warning was raised about a non -registered company that deals with dates and in Latvia there was an unauthorized operator for caviar and fish. A case of products of animal origin was labeled as products of non-animal origin from Thailand.
In the Netherlands, 145 sheep intended for slaughter did not come to the slaughterhouse and in Hungary 200 pigs were not delivered to their destination.
Various non-compliance ingredients mentioned that are not authorized in the EU, traceability defects, items that skip border controls and pesticides above the maximum residents (MRL).
Food -related inventions
In other news, the European Patent Office has unveiled a list of 10 innovators who have been nominated for the 2025 Young Inventors Prize.
Pilar Granado, Pablo Sosa Domínguez and Luis Chimeno from Spain were recognized for their smart labels for food and Sandra Namboozo and Samuel Muyita from Uganda for their bags to extend the shelf life of fruit.
The Spanish team developed biodegradable labels to control the freshness of food in real time. By detecting bacterial growth, the labels offer a solution to prevent food poisoning and reduce food waste. The technology uses intelligent indicators (molecules) in the label. As bacteria multiply, they generate connections that interact with the indicator on the label, which gradually changes color.
The Ugandan team created bags to help small farmers and retailers reduce waste, while fresh products make it more available. Sachets are placed in fruit boxes during storage or transport, where they release a mix of volatile organic compounds (fox). These connections work on braking ethylene production, which slows down the maturation. Pilot tests with the National Agricultural Research Organization of Uganda showed that mangos were stored with the bags for 33 days fresh, while without them only 11 days lasted.
Three prizes are awarded to excellent initiatives and the public can vote online for the winner of the People’s Choice that will be revealed during a ceremony in Iceland on June 18.
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