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. Link: https://webgate.ec.europa.eu/rasff-window/screen/search

 

 

March 2026

Chemical Hazards:

Product  Group Origin Hazard Notification
Cereals and bakery products Czech Republic Unauthorised ingredients High level of delta-9-THC+) 545 mg/kg (!) & Cannabidiol (CBD) in brownies
Czech Republic Unauthorised ingredients High level of delta-9-THC+) 1640 mg/kg (!) & Cannabidiol (CBD) in brownies
Czech Republic Unauthorised ingredients High level of delta-9-THC+) 2150 mg/kg (!) & Cannabidiol (CBD) in brownies
India Pesticides Thiamethoxam, Tricyclazole +) and Chlorpyrifos +) in basmati rice, dispatched byTürkiye 
Pakistan Mycotoxins Detection of Aflatoxin B1 in Bio Basmati rice, via Italy, notified by Germany
Uruguay Pesticides Anthraquinone in rice 
Cocoa and cocoa preparations, coffee and tea China Pesticides Dinotefuran +) in tea leaves, notified by Spain
Confectionary Czech Republic Unauthorised ingredients Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) +) in gummies 
Netherlands Unauthorised ingredients Delta-9-THC +) in jelly gummies
Dietetic foods, food supplements and fortified foods Czech Republic Unauthorised ingredients Tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) +) and unauthorised novel food ingredient cannabidiol (CBD) +) in various products
Switzerland Heavy metals Mercury 0,4 - 4,84 mg/kg (!) (0,1 mg/kg) in food supplement 
USA Pesticides Detection of the presence of the pesticide chlorpyrifos +) in a food supplement (Ashwagandha capsules)
Dried fruits (nuts see below) Turkey Mycotoxins Aflatoxins and Ochratoxin A in dried apricots
Turkey Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 & Ochratoxin  A in dried figs (2)
Turkey Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in dried figs (2)
Turkey Mycotoxins Ochratoxin A in dried figs , thereof cases with 97 (!);116,4 (!); 123,8 (!); 158 (!) &165 µg/kg (!) (8,0 µg/kg) (19 !)
Eggs and egg products  Ukraine Veterinary drug residues Doxycycline in table eggs, notified by Poland
Fats and oils Germany PAH Benzo(a)pyrene and PAHs detected above permitted limits in linseed oil 
Peru Pesticides Buprofezin & Chlopyrifos +) in lampante olive oil
Fish, crustaceae, bivalve molluscs, cephalo-& gastropods and product thereof India Veterinary drug residues Leuko-Malachite green +) in shrimp
Italy Biotoxins Okadaic acid and dinophysistoxins in live bivalve molluscs (Mytilus galloprovincialis)
Morocco Biogenic amines Histamine levels exceeding legal limits detected in frozen sardine fillets from Morocco, via Spain 
Portugal Heavy metals Cadmium in squid
Spain Heavy metals Mercury 1,6 mg/kg (1 mg/kg) in frozen swordfish steaks
Herbs and spices India Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 in chilli flake, notified by Germany
India Pesticides Chlorpyrifos+), Carbendazim+), Tricyclazole+), Hexaconazole+) and two further pesticides in fenugreek leaves, notified by Germany
Japan Pesticides Five pesticides in matcha tea
Lebanon Pesticides Ethlene oxide +) in spices
Sri Lanka Mycotoxins Ochratoxin A in chilipowder 
Nuts, nut products, pulses and seeds Argentina Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 in groundnuts (6)
Argentina Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 and total on groundnuts
Azerbeijan Mycotoxins High levels of aflatoxin contamination in hazelnuts (2)
Bolivia Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 in nuts midget
Chile Biotoxins Quinolizidine alkaloids in dried lupins 
India Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 in black chia seeds 
Iran Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in pistachio kernels, via Türkiye 
Nicaragua Mycotoxins Aflatoxin B1 on Groundnuts
Poland Heavy metals Cadmium in buckwheat 
Turkey Mycotoxins Aflatoxins exceeding permitted limits in shelled pistachios
UAE Mycotoxins Presence of aflatoxin B1 above the limits and sum of aflatoxins in shelled pistachios
USA Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in almonds
USA/Turkey Mycotoxins Aflatoxins in pistachios kernels, USA origin, dispatched from Türkiye (2)
Venezuela Heavy metals Cadmium in green mung beans. dispatched from Türkiye 
Other food product & prepared dishes and snacks China Mineral oil MOSH/MOAH on Instant noodles Prawn

+) application is prohibited

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

 Microbiological Hazards:

Product  Group Origin Notification
Dietetic foods, food supplements
and fortified foods		 Germany Salmonella spp. in food supplements 
Fish, crustaceae, bivalve molluscs, ephalo-& gastropods and product thereof Belgium & Netherlands Listeria monocytogenes in crayfish meat notfied by France
France Suspicion of norovirus in oysters from France 
France Cases of stomach illness after eating oysters
France Listeria monocytogenes in smoked salmon
France Norovirus in Ostrica concava (Magallana gigas) from France, raw material from Ireland, notified by Italy
Italy Presence of E. coli at levels exceeding legal limits in clams, notified by Spain
USA Detection of norovirus in Japanese clams imported from the United States, via Spain 
Eggs and egg products China Salmonella spp. in egg yolk powder 
Netherlands Eggs from a Dutch stable that tested positive for Salmonella enteritidis 
Milk and milk products France E.coli STEC in cheese
Nuts, nut products and seeds India Salmonella spp. in sesame seeds
Italy Salmonella spp. detected in pistachio paste 
Pakistan Salmonella spp. in hulled sesame seeds 
Turkey Salmonella spp. in hulled sesame seeds 
Other food product / mixed China Salmonella spp. in dried mushrooms 

Other Hazards:

Product  Group Origin Hazard Notification
Cereals and bakery products Belgium Allergens Allergens, nuts in milk chocolate not declared 
Greece Allergens Undeclared allergen (egg) in bread 
Spain Allergens Presence of undeclared milk protein in gluten-free bakery product
Dried fruits (nuts see below) Afghanistan Allergens Undeclared allergen (sulphur dioxide) in dried figs
Afghanistan Allergens Unlabeled allergens Sulphur dioxide in green raisins 
Iran Allergens Undeclared allergen (sulphite) in golden raisin
Dietetic foods, food supplements and fortified foods Germany Allergens Unlabelled allergen soja in whey protein isolate 
Spain Formulation error Absence of vitamin A in food for special medical purposes 
Eggs and egg products  Poland Allergens Presence of undeclared milk protein in whole egg powder originating in Poland 
Fish, crustaceae, bivalve molluscs, cephalo-& gastropods and product thereof Poland Allergens Undeclared allergen (fish) in battered shrimp
Ices and desserts Belgium Allergens Macademia nuts and cashew nuts not mentioned in dessert, with raw material from Romania 
Milk and milk products Austria Allergens Undeclared allergens (gluten and nuts) in low-fat natural Greek yoghurt
Netherlands Allergens Undeclared allergen celery in herb butter from the Netherlands 
Spain Allergens Undeclared allergens egg and sulphite in cheese
Other food products & Prepared dishes and snacks Turkey Allergens Undeclared allergen (sulphur dioxide) in mixed pickles

Author: Dr. Frank Mörsberger, AGROLAB GROUP