Adulteration, pesticides and unauthorized ingredients were among fraud and non-compliance issues discussed by European countries recently.
The number of food and other fraud suspicions raised by EU member states dropped in November. The 232 alerts are down from 292 in October. This compares to 213 in September and 222 in August. There were 325 notifications in July, 265 in June, 281 in May, 341 in April, 345 in March, 318 in February, and 277 in January.
The issues listed are potential frauds. Non-compliance may prompt investigations by authorities in EU member states. Details come from a monthly report published by the European Commission.
Data includes suspected cross-border fraud topics shared between members of the Alert and Cooperation Network (ACN) and retrieved from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), Administrative Assistance and Cooperation Network (AAC) and the Agri-Food Fraud Network (FFN).
It covers food, animal feed, food contact materials, animal welfare for farmed animals, plant protection products, and veterinary medicine products that end up as residues and contaminants in food and feed.
The aims are to assist national authorities in setting up risk-based controls to combat fraudulent and deceptive practices, help the food sector with vulnerability assessments, and identify emerging risks.
Overview of non-compliances
A total of 85 notices mentioned fruit and vegetables, with the majority being non-compliant because of pesticide residues. Cereals and bakery products ranked second with 27 alerts. Dietetic foods, food supplements, and fortified foods were third, with confectionery in fourth.
The majority of issues were uncovered through border inspections or market controls. In total, 13 were found after consumer complaints and 20 after companies internal checks.
Five alerts involved the United States in November. They included sodium benzoate in soft drinks, tartrazine in gherkins, and THC in gummies.
Product tampering cases included repacking of honey after the expiry date, carbon monoxide, nitric oxide, and nitrous oxide in tuna from Vietnam, titanium dioxide in cakes and croissants from Germany, and other oils in olive oil from Turkey and Lebanon.
Record tampering incidents involved a change of best before date on rice from Egypt, a grass-fed claim on beef from Austria, and the forgery of certificate of origin for feed.
Other issues raised were kratom in products from the Czech Republic and Indonesia, betel nuts from the UK, glyphosate in buckwheat from Poland and pears from Italy, and arsenic in strawberry juice concentrate from Germany.
There were quality and traceability defects in eggs from Ukraine, an unauthorized operator of apricot seeds in Poland, and unregistered food supplements sold online.
Several non-compliances mentioned ingredients not authorized in the EU and pesticides above the maximum residue limits (MRL). Other alerts were because of traceability concerns, transport temperature or products missing border controls.
Illegal fishing
Meanwhile, law enforcement authorities from France, Portugal, and Spain have arrested 62 people involved in the suspected illegal fishing of mollusks in Portugal and Spain.
Europol experts from the environmental crime unit provided their expertise to the member states involved.
A total of 30 tons of mollusks and 6 tons of glass eels worth up to €10 million ($10.4 million) were removed from the seafood market.
The gangs mainly fished Japanese clams, which are consumed by locals and tourists in coastal areas, especially during the festive season. They falsified seafood documentation to present them as suitable for human consumption.
An investigation found groups involved in trafficking either clams or glass eels, depending on the season, in France, Portugal, and Spain. People would fish illegally in Portugal and send the mollusks to Spain.
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