Pesticide residues dominate the latest set of changes made by the European Commission to the level of inspections on imported products.
The revised legislation determines the number of official controls and special conditions for food and feed of non-animal origin imported into Europe. Rules are adjusted every six months.
Decisions are based on reports in the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) and information from documents, identity and physical inspections by EU countries in the first part of 2024.
The requirement that each consignment of sesame seeds from Ethiopia be accompanied by an official certificate stating that all sampling and analysis results demonstrate compliance with EU rules has been removed, but identity and physical checks for Salmonella will continue at a frequency of 50 percent.
There is no change in the 20 percent checking frequency on tahini and halva from sesame seeds from Syria, or the 50 percent checking frequency on black pepper from Brazil for Salmonella.
From ethylene oxide to pesticides
The need for an official certificate stating compliance with testing requirements for turnips from Lebanon due to Rhodamine B contamination has been relaxed. Turnips prepared or preserved in vinegar, acetic acid, brine or citric acid are checked at 50 percent.
Controls for ethylene oxide contamination of sesame seeds from India have been reduced from 30 to 20 percent. Controls on food supplements containing plant-based ingredients have been reduced from 20 to 10 percent.
Vanilla extract from the United States will continue to be checked for pesticide residues at a frequency of 20 percent. Peanuts and peanut butter checks remain at 20 percent for aflatoxins. Pistachios and products made from pistachios sourced from the US and shipped from Turkey to the EU are checked for aflatoxins at a frequency of 30 percent.
Certain peppers from Sri Lanka no longer require an official certificate showing aflatoxin compliance with each shipment. Member States will continue to control 50 percent of imports.
Checks for pyrrolizidine alkaloids on dried oregano from Turkey have been increased to 30 percent of shipments. All consignments of cumin seeds from Turkey must be accompanied by an official certificate stating that the sampling results demonstrate compliance with EU limits for pyrrolizidine alkaloids. A transition period means that under certain conditions, these seeds may enter the EU without this certificate until March 8 this year. Shipments are also inspected at a frequency of 30 percent.
More checks will be carried out on Zara lemons from Bangladesh, durian from Vietnam, black-eyed beans from Madagascar, okra and cumin seeds from India and peppers from Rwanda due to pesticide residues. Stricter controls on long beans from the Dominican Republic have been abolished and reduced to 20 percent for oranges from Egypt.
British checks and Swiss agreement
In December 2024, temporary official controls and emergency measures also came into force on a number of high-risk foods and feeds of non-animal origin entering Britain.
Sesame seeds and tahini and halva from sesame seeds from Turkey and Syria will be checked for Salmonella by 10 percent. 30 percent of sesame seed shipments from India will be sampled for Salmonella. The number of checks on black pepper from Brazil for Salmonella is the same as in Europe.
Enoki mushrooms from China and South Korea will be checked for Listeria at a 20 percent frequency.
Meanwhile, the European Commission and Switzerland have reached an agreement that will create a common food safety area covering the entire supply chain. Switzerland is not a member of the European Union.
This move will replace the multiple sets of rules that currently govern bilateral agricultural and food flows with a single rulebook and integrated control system. The aim is that Swiss and European companies will benefit from clearer and more transparent rules.
Animals, plants, food and feed will circulate between the EU and Switzerland under the same rules as within Member States. Consignments from other countries will be subject to the same sanitary and phytosanitary checks upon arrival in Switzerland as in any other Member State.
Switzerland has also been able to maintain some stricter standards that differ from those of the EU. Examples of this are genetically modified organisms and animal welfare. Each party will continue to develop its own agricultural policy.
(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)