Food News

Alert notices from RASFF concerning food (except for fruit & vegetable see special section)

Alarm

In this article, we repeat important alerts from the European Commission's RASFF system from the past month.

The table is even clearer. We sort the notifications by product group, using the headings in the RASFF system and the countries of origin in the second column as a guide. You know your raw materials, products and their origins best. This enables you to swiftly determine whether any notifications in the rapid alert system are relevant to you. We have classified notifications marked as 'serious' as relevant in the system.

 

We generally refrain from repeating measured values and comparing maximum permissible levels of individual contaminants. In addition, we will largely stop issuing warnings about microbiological contamination in the following product groups: meat and meat products, poultry and poultry products, fish and seafood, and milk and milk products. For ten years, there have been recurring reports on known pathogenic germs every month. Furthermore, these perishable foods are usually unavailable by the time our report is published.

 

We continue to list notifications concerning dried and processed fruit and vegetables (excluding frozen goods) under 'Food Notifications'. However, we group all seafood and algae together in one product group, deviating from the RASFF product group classification system.


You can easily evaluate the RASFF page yourself using the various filter options to limit the notifications to those of direct interest to your company.

FEBRUARY 2026

Chemical Hazards:

Product  Group Origin Hazard Notification
Cereals and bakery products France Mycotoxins Ergot in wheat
Pakistan Mycotoxins Aflatoxin in Basmati Brown Rice
Cocoa and cocoa preparations, coffee and tea China Pesticides Chlorpyrifos +) in tea
India Biotoxins Pyrrolizidine alkaloids 7.980 µg/kg (!) (200 µg/kg) in black tea
Slovakia Biotoxins Pyrrolizidine alkaloids in herbal tea
Dietetic foods, food supplements and fortified foods Belgium Unauthorised ingredients Dexamethason +)  3.600.000 µg/kg and Cyproheptadine +)  24.000 mg/kg in food supplement
Slowenia Pesticides Ethylene oxide +) (sum of 2-chloroethanol (92 mg/kg)  and ethylene oxide, expressed as ethylene oxide (0,023 mg/kg)) in food supplements
Thailand Unauthorised ingredients Sibutramin +) in food supplement, notfied by Belgium
USA PAH Benzo(a)pyrene and sum 4 PAHs in Valerian Root 
USA Vitamins  too high vitamin D content in food supplements from the USA and sold online, notified by Poland
Dried fruits (nuts see below) Turkey Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in dried figs (3)
Turkey Mycotoxins Ochratoxin A in dried figs (10)
Turkey Mycotoxins Ochratoxin A 320 µg/kg (!)  (8 µg/kg) in dried figs (6)
Fats and oils China Industrial contaminants 3-MCPD 18.000 µg/kg (!) in fish oil
Fish, crustaceae, bivalve molluscs, cephalo-& gastropods and product thereof India Heavy metals Cadmium in frozen cephalopods (octopus), notified by Spain
Spain Heavy metals Mercury above legal limits in frozen red tuna steaks (1) and sword fish (1)
Vietnam Veterinary drug residues Crystal violet +) in frozen fillets of fish
Food additives and flavourings Germany Unauthorised colouring Presence of Sudan IV +) in natural paprika flavoring from India via Germany
Herbs and spices Spain Pesticides Cadmium in red roasted peppers 
Meats and meat products, other than poultry Belgium Veterinary drug residues Oxytetracycline in beef 
Milk and milk products Ireland Biotoxins Cereulide in infant formula, follow on formula and FSMP, widely distributed
Netherlands Biotoxins Cereulide in infant formula
Nuts, nut products, pulses and seeds     Argentina Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in peanuts
Argentina Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in groundnuts
Bolivia Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in groundnuts, via USA
Brazil Mycotoxins Brazil nut kernels with Aflatoxin B1 (2)
Bulgaria Heavy metals Aflatoxins in groundnuts
China Mycotoxins Nickel in sunflower kernels
China Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 106,63 (!!)(2µg/kg) and total aflatoxins 142,99 µg/kg (!) (4 µg/kg) in roasted and crushed peanuts
Georgia Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in inshell peanuts 
Iran Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in hazelnuts (3)
Iran Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in pistachio kernels from Iran, dispatched from Türkiye 
Spain Environmental pollutants & pesticides Aflatoxins in shelled pistachios
Turkey Mycotoxins Chlorpyrifos +) & MOAH 14 mg/kg (!) (1 mg/kg) in student oats
Turkey Mycotoxins Aflatoxins above permitted limits in pistachios in shell 
USA Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in peanuts  (2)
USA/ UAE Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 58 µg/kg (!) (2 µg/kg) and aflatoxins (total) 66 µg/kg (!) (4 µg/kg) in peanuts  
USA Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in pistachios from the United Arab Emirates, via USA
USA Mycotoxins Aflatoxins above permitted limits in pistachios kernels, dispatched from Türkiye (2)
Other food product & prepared dishes and snacks Netherlands Unauthorised ingredients Undeclared allergen mustard in Chicken spring rolls
Venezuela Heavy metals Cadmium  in green mung beans

+) application is prohibited

MRL exceeded: (!) ≥10 times, (!!) ≥50 times, (!!!) ≥ 100 times

 Microbiological Hazards:

Product  Group Origin Notification
Fish, crustaceae, bivalve molluscs, cephalo-& gastropods and product thereof France Norovirus in oysters (2)
Italy E.coli in clams, notified by Spain
Madagascar Listeria monocytogenes in cooked whole shrimps, notified by France
Spain Escherichia coli in mussels farmed in Spain, notified by Italy
Meat and meat products  Hungary Trichinella in wild boar 
Milk and milk products Germany Presence of mold in a high-protein dessert
Ireland Cereulide in infant formula, follow on formula and FSMP, widely distributd
Italy Listeria in Gorgonzola cheese 
Italy Listeria monocytogenes in RTE dairy products (Burrata and Stracciatella) 
Italy Listeria monocytogenes in cheese 
Netherlands Cereulide in infant formula
Switzerland E coli Stx1 and stx2 in soft goat's cheese made from raw milk 
Nuts, nut products and seeds Nigeria Salmonella spp in sesame seeds
Other food product / mixed Syria Salmonella enterica in tahini
Soups, broths and sauces and condiments South Korea Bacillus cereus in ready meals, notified by Germany

 

Other Hazards:

Product  Group Origin Hazard Notification
Cereals and bakery products Belgium Foreign bodies Glass fragments found in flour mixes
France Foreign bodies Pieces of sharp metal in chocolate rolls
Phillipines Allergens Undeclared allergen gluten in corn snack, widely distributed; notified by Netherlands
Poland Allergens Milk allergen in cookies, widely distributed, notfied by France
Cocoa and cocoa preparations, coffee and tea Belgium Foreign bodies Piece of plastic in chocolate
Ices and desserts Italy Allergens Undeclared milk and milk products undeclared on the label in sorbet from Italy with ingredient from the Netherlands 
Other food products & Prepared dishes and snacks France Allergens presence of undeclared allergens on vegetarian patties
Germany Allergens Undeclared allergen milk in soy product
Germany Foreign bodies Foreign bodies (glass and plastic fragments) in various organic broths
India Allergens Undeclared allergen milk in Kaju Roll 
Italy Foreign bodies Metal fragments in girasoli
Netherlands Allergens Unlabeled/incorrectly labeled allergen (sesame) in ready-made ramen noodle dishes
Spain Allergens Undeclared milk protein in tortilla francesa ultracongelada
Spain Allergens Almonds undeclared on almond-stuffed olives, incorrectly labelled as garlic-stuffed olives 
Thailand Allergens Excessive sulfite content and unlabeled/incorrectly labeled allergen (sulfite) in palm sugar, via the Netherlands 

Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger, AGROLAB GROUP