The number of food safety warnings and fraud investigations exchanged between European Member States increased in 2023.
The European Commission, which runs the Alert and Cooperation Network (ACN), said there was a significant increase in the number of notifications compared to 2022.
The network includes the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed Network (RASFF), the Administrative Assistance and Cooperation Network (AAC), the Agri-Food Fraud Network (FFN) and the Plant Health Network (PHN).
There was an 8 percent increase in the number of RASFF reports to 4,695 reports, of which almost 4,200 reported food. Most reports by origin concerned Turkey, China, Poland, India, the Netherlands and France.
As in previous years, more than a third of the reports concerned border rejections, mainly involving pesticide residues in fruit and vegetables from Turkey, followed by Egypt and India. The most common pesticides were chlorpyrifos, acetamiprid, ethylene oxide and 2-chloroethanol.
Salmonella in Polish poultry
There were more than 150 reports of Salmonella in poultry products from Poland. 85 alerts reported aflatoxins in nuts and seeds from the United States.
Pathogenic microorganisms were the second most common hazard category in food. Salmonella was the most common, followed by Listeria monocytogenes, E. coli and norovirus, all mainly in products of animal origin.
There were 48 foodborne outbreaks reported in the RASFF. Norovirus was identified as the likely cause in 17 cases, Salmonella in 11 cases, Listeria in five cases, histamine poisoning in two cases and E. coli in two cases. Eighteen incidents involved multiple countries.
As part of the investigation into a multi-country Salmonella outbreak traced to chicken kebabs from Poland, traceability deficiencies were also discovered and suspicion of falsified labels was raised. Poland has created two reports to investigate the fraud angle of the cases.
Data analysis of kebab products revealed 61 cases in 2023 across the RASFF, AAC and the FFN. One problem involved undeclared meats such as chicken, turkey or horse. Eleven reports involved suspicion of fraud. Some reports related to meat substitution with the presence of chicken meat, turkey, pork and horse meat in kebabs.
In October 2023, Switzerland issued a RASFF notification following high concentrations of capsaicinoids in hot chip tortillas manufactured by a Czech company. The product was distributed through many European wholesalers to 23 countries and three non-EU countries, and was also available online.
Czech authorities initially said consumers had been sufficiently informed by the manufacturer about the extreme spiciness, and stressed that each package contained gloves to handle the chip. However, German authorities said the warning in English was not enough. In November, the Czech Republic suspended sales of the product. Then a chip with a lower capsaicin content was sold.
Highlights of AAC and Fraud
The administrative assistance and cooperation system allows Member States to report violations of EU food safety law that do not pose a health risk. There was an increase of 24 percent with 3,166 reports.
The majority were related to non-compliant fruit and vegetables, mainly due to pesticide residues, followed by mislabelling, such as unauthorized health claims for food supplements. Germany created the most reports, followed by Bulgaria and Austria.
The Agri-Food Fraud Network (FFN) recorded a 26 percent increase in reports, with 758 suspected fraud. Belgium, Germany and France reported the most. The illegal trade in cats and dogs remained a major problem. Other suspicions related to meat substitution, adulteration of honey and mislabeled olive oil.
The most frequently reported product category was meat and meat products other than poultry. Common problems included substitution of ingredients or types and misleading labelling.
Live animals (excluding pets) were the second most reported category and, as in previous years, mainly concerned horses. Suspicions of fraud were divided between smuggling and falsification of mandatory documents, such as pet passports and health certificates.
Honey and royal jelly remained in the top three notified product categories. The main reported practice was adulteration of honey by dilution with sugar syrups. An increase in the incidence of fats and oils was observed. The majority concerned quality or mislabelling, with lower quality olive oil being sold as extra virgin olive oil.
The most commonly reported suspected fraud for fish products was substitution with lower value species or undeclared addition of water. The European Commission has started planning a coordinated EU action on short-term weighing of fishery products. Short-weighting occurs when there is misrepresentation by including the additional weight gained through different practices in the net weight. Emphasis will be on practices such as the use of black glazing, water addition, additives and breading.
Also, 1,075 AAC notifications and 1,625 RASFF alerts were flagged as potential fraud, triggering deeper inspections or investigations by Member States.
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