Ethylene oxide, Sudan dyes and products evading border checks are some examples of possible fraud and other non-compliance that EU member states have highlighted recently.
The number of suspected food and other frauds discussed by European countries rose in July. The 325 warnings are up from 265 in June and 281 in May, and the same number as 341 in April, 345 in March and 318 in February. There were 277 in January.
The issues identified may be fraudulent. Non-compliances listed may prompt investigations by EU member state authorities. Further details are included in monthly reports published by the European Commission.
The data includes suspected cross-border fraud topics shared among members of the Alert Collaboration Network (ACN) and obtained from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), the Administrative Support Collaboration Network (AAC) and the Agri-Food Fraud Network (FFN).
This includes food, animal feed, food contact materials, farm animal welfare, plant protection products and veterinary medicines that may remain as residues or contaminants in food or feed.
Its objective is to support national authorities in developing risk-based controls to combat fraud and deceptive practices, assist in vulnerability assessments of the food sector and identify emerging risks.
Fruits and vegetables received a total of 86 notices, the majority of which were non-compliant due to pesticide residues. Dietary supplements, supplements and fortified foods came in second with 51 warnings. Cereals and bakery products rose to third place, while herbs and spices dropped to fourth place.
The majority of the problems were discovered through border inspections or market controls, three were discovered based on whistleblower tips, 17 due to consumer complaints and 21 due to internal company investigations.
Selection of the issue raised
Nine warnings were issued in the US in July, including for unlicensed suppliers of fish oil capsules, the Sunset Yellow corn snack, tartrazine in pickled cucumbers, and multiple cases of unlicensed ingredients in dietary supplements, including one that found 1.3-dimethylamylamine (DMAA).
Product tampering cases included ascorbic acid in Spanish tuna, poultry DNA in Polish pork sausage, and ethylene oxide in Indian products.
Sudanese dyes were reported to be used in palm oil from Ghana, chilli powder from Afghanistan and curries from Turkey. Irradiation of German herb powder and Dutch chilli powder was also flagged.
Record-falsification cases included the lack of organic labelling and traceability for organic wine from Germany, misleading information about the origin of Spanish paprika powder, the quality of olive oil from Turkey, non-compliant best-before dates on frozen, machine-separated meat from the Netherlands, and various health claims.
Other issues raised include flaws in the traceability of eggs from Poland, horse meat from Ireland that was rendered inedible after slaughter due to phenylbutazone, and the movement of pigskins to Romania from African swine fever restricted areas without a certificate or hygiene mark.
Unregistered dietary supplement companies were identified in Slovenia and Poland, unregistered products were being sold online in Lithuania, an unlicensed minced meat company was reported in Belgium, and there were warnings about expired olives from Egypt.
The three warnings were due to transport temperatures for various products from Romania and Albania, and frozen meat from the Netherlands.
Examples of non-compliance include ingredients not approved in the EU, or the use of pesticides above maximum residue limits (MRLs), while other red flags are due to concerns about traceability or products that have missed border controls.
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