The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed

(RASFF)
2013 Annual Report
N
D
-
A
C
-
1
4
-
0
0
1
-
E
N
-
C
ISBN 978-92-79-35992-7
Health and
Consumers
The Rapid Alert
System for
Food and Feed
2013 Annual Report
ISSN 1830-7302
doi:10.2772/56447
RASFF
HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS
Free publications:
one copy:
via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu);
more than one copy or posters/maps:
from the European Unions representations (http://ec.europa.eu/represent_en.htm);
from the delegations in non-EU countries (http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/index_en.htm);
by contacting the Europe Direct service (http://europa.eu/europedirect/index_en.htm) or
calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) (*).
(*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you).
Priced publications:
via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu).
Priced subscriptions (e.g. annual series of the 0cal 1curnal cj the urcean 0ncn
and reports of cases before the Court of Justice of the European Union):
via one of the sales agents of the lublications 0mce of the luropean union (http.||
publications.europa.eu/others/agents/index_en.htm).
The Health and Consumers Directorate-General of the European Commission manages the Rapid Alert System
for Food and Feed (RASFF). This report describes the activity of the RASFF in 2013.

Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on its behalf is responsible for any use that might be
made of the following information.

Photos: www.istockphoto.com, Health and Consumers Directorate-General
1he kapd Alert System
for Iood and Ieed
2013 Annual Report
RASll
Europe Direct is a service to help you fnd answers
to your questions about the European Union.
Freephone number (*):
00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11
(*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you).
More information on the European Union is available on the Internet (http://europa.eu).
Luxembourg: Publications Ofce of the European Union, 2014
ISBN 978-92-79-35992-7 (Print) 978-92-79-38196-6 (PDF)
ISSN 1830-7302 (Print) 2363-0965 (PDF)
doi:10.2772/56447 (Print) 10.2772/33031 (PDF)
European Union, 2014
Reproduction is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
Printed in Belgium
PRINTED ON ELEMENTAL CHLORINE-FREE BLEACHED PAPER (ECF)
3
20l3 was another eventful year for food safety in
lurope. lt saw the horsemeat scandal which shook
consumercondenceandtrustinthefoodsoldbysuper
markets. As events unfolded, it was clear from the start,
that the horsemeat scandal was not a food safety issue
butratheranissueoffoodfraud.Consumershadbeen
misledbyproductsbeinglabelledascontainingbeef
whichwereinfactsubstitutedwithacheaperoption.lo
health risks were found with the adulterated products.
JheCommissionchosetousetheRapidAlertSystemfor
lood and leed to uncover the scale of this food fraud,
eventhoughithadbeendesignedtorapidlyexchange
informationonhealthrisks,Jheinvestigationrevealed
thattheadulterationboileddowntoafewdishonest
operatorslookingtoincreasetheirprotmarginillegally.
Aspartitsactionplan,theCommissiondecidedtoset
up a dedicated food fraud alert system, which is already
upandrunning.
Reinforcinglurope'sabilitytoghtfoodfraudwill
helpstrengthenourfoodsafetysystems.Although
luropeansareprotectedbysomeofthehighestfood
safety standards in the world, constant vigilance
remainsmandatory.lewandemergingchallenges
needtobeaddressed.Jonamebuttwo,describedin
this report. sales of food supplements on the inter
net,whichseektoescapethevigilanteyeofocial
inspectionservicesandfoodbornediseaseoutbreaks
or food contamination with previously unknown or
uncommonpathogens.
Amidstthesenewchallenges,theRASllcelebratesits
35thbirthdaythisyear.Jogetherwithlucountries,the
Commissioniscontinuouslyrethinkingitsprocesses,
linkingitwithothercentresofexcellenceandshaping
the RASll for the future. Jhe future is now and much
ofithappeningonline.lorthisreason,theCommis
sionhasdevelopedaninnovativeonlinetoolproviding
hyperlinks to useful information on product recalls and
warningsforthegeneralpublic,publishedbythefood
safetyauthoritiesorbusinessoperatorsinlucountries
onfoodsnotiedtotheRASll|ustintimetomarkits
35th anniversary.
1enieerg
luropeanCommissionerfor
lealthandConsumerlolicy
Ioreword
Acronyms used in this report
AIl AzaspiracidShellshloisoning(toxins)
8ll 8orderlnspectionlost
8fR
8undesinstitutfrRisikobewertung(Cermanlnstituteof
RiskAssessment)
C0C (uS)Centrefor0iseaseControlandlrevention
Clu Colonylormingunits
0HAA l,3dimethylamylamine
0lA deoxyribonucleicacid
0Sl 0iarrhoeicShellshloisoning(toxins)
lC luropeanCommission
lCCl luropeanCommissionContactloint(forRASll)
lC0C luropeanCentrefor0iseaselreventionandControl
llA luropean lconomic Area
llSA luropean lood Safety Authority
llJA luropean lree Jrade Association
lllC lnterohaemorrhagiclscherichiacoli
lu luropeanunion
l0A (uS)loodand0rugAdministration
CH0 CeneticallyHodied0rganism
lAv hepatitis A virus
lHl hydroxymethylfurfural
luS laemolyticuremicSyndrome
llR lnternationallealthRegulations
lll0SAl lnternationalloodSafetyAuthoritiesletwork
iRASll RASll'sonlineplatform
HRl HaximumResiduelimit
HRll HinimumRequiredlerformancelimit
lAll0A0
lationalAgrolorestrylisheries0ualityAssurance
0epartmentofvietnam
lCl lationalContactloint(forRASll)
0! 0cial!ournal
lC8s lolycyclicAromaticlydrocarbons
llCl lulsedlieldCelllectrophoresis
ppb partsperbillion
ppm part per million
RASll Rapid Alert System for lood and leed
RlC reinforced checks
S0l standardoperatingprocedure
SJlC shigatoxinproducinglscherichiacoli
JRAClS JradeControlandlxpertSystem
JSls Jransmissiblespongiformencephalopathies
uS(A) unitedStates(ofAmerica)
uk unitedkingdom
vJlC verotoxinproducinglscherichiacoli
LRAP1Lk l
Ioreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
l. RA5FF n 20l3 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
l.l. lotificationnumbers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.whatwasnotedtoRA5FF. our selecton . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.l. Residues of veterinary medicinal products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.2. loodpoisoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l0
2.3. Compositionofdieteticfoodsandfoodsupplements . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l5
2.4. lesticideresidues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l7
2.5. leed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . l9
2.6. lathogenicmicroorganismsinfood . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
2.7. Hycotoxins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3. Iocus on . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.l. lorsemeatscandalinthelu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
3.2. Croatia.newmemberoftheRASllnetwork. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4. A quck manual to the RA5FF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4.l. Jhelegalbasis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4.2. Jhemembers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
4.3. Jhe system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
5. RA5FFfactsandgures. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.l. lvolutionofthenumberofnotificationssince2009. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
5.2. 20l3 RASll notifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
5.3. 20l3 notifications top l0 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
5.4. lotificationsbycountryoforigin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
5.5.. lotificationsbyfollowuptypeandbynotifyingcountry . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
Contents
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
Jheyear20l3willberememberedbyfoodsafety
professionals as the year of the return of the focus
on food fraud. lt is correct to speak of a return, as
foodfraudhasexistedaslongastherehasbeenfood
trade.ltisgoodtorememberthattherstnational
lawsregardingfoodwereaboutfood'wholesome
ness'and'integrity'andaimedtocounteractand
punishfoodfraudsters.lotlongaerthehorsemeat
fraudissuebrokeoutinlrelandandtheunitedking
dom, RASll was chosen as a crucial tool to trace
back and withdraw products in which horse meat
wasdetected.Horedetailsaboutthiscanberead
in chapter 3.l.
lurthermore, the discovery of chloramphenicol in
enzyme preparations for use in food and in feed sparked
alotofenforcementactiontracingandwithdrawing
noncompliant products, see chapter 2.l.l.
Casesofadversehealtheectswithfoodsupplements
havedemonstrated(seechapter2.3.3)thatconsumers
buyingtheseproductsovertheinternetshouldbeaware
thattheydonotalwayscontainwhatisonthelabelor
canbehazardousifoverconsumedorcombinedwith
other products such as medication.
loodborneoutbreaksarestillchallengingbothhealth
and food safety professionals to work hard in prevent
ingandstoppingthem.0ataexchangedthroughRASll
is used at the same time to remove unsafe products
from the market and to identify where the contamina
tionoccursthatismakingpeopleill(seechapter2.2).
l.l. Notcatonnumbers
ln 20l3, a total of 3205 originalnotications were
transmittedthroughtheRASll,ofwhich596wereclas
LRAP1Lk 3
alert information
for followup
information
for attention
border re|ection
N
u
m
b
e
r

e
f

R
A
5
F
F

n
e
t
i

c
a
t
i
e
n
s
ligurel20l3RASllnoticationsbyclassication
0
500
l000
l500
2000
2500
3000
original
followup
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
6
RASFF
n 20l3
LRAP1Lk l
siedasalert, 442 as information for followup, 705
asinformationforattentionandl462asborderre|ec
tionnotication.Jheseoriginalnoticationsgaveriseto
5l58 followupnotications,representingonaverage
aboutl.6followupsperoriginalnotication.
Jheseguresrepresentan8.8decreaseinoriginalnoti
cationsandlessimportantly,a2.3decreaseinfollow
upnotications,resultinginanoveralldecreaseof4.9.
Jhe RASll news transmitted internally in the network
arenotcountedintheaboveguresnorrepresented
inthechartsinthisreport.Jherehavebeen38RASll
newssenttogetherwith204followups.Jhismeans
that information transmitted as RASll news increased
byl37comparedto20l2.
Aerreceiptoffollowupinformation,llalert,38infor
mationandl9borderre|ectionnoticationswerewith
drawn.loticationsthatwerewithdrawn are further
excludedfromstatisticsandcharts.
JheluropeanCommissiondecided,aerconsultingthe
notifyingcountries,nottoupload23lnoticationsonto
thesystemsince,aerevaluation,theywerefoundnot
tosatisfythecriteriaforaRASllnotication(re|ected
notications).Jhisrepresentsa245increasecom
pared to 20l2.
RASllnoticationsaretriggeredbyavarietyofthings.
Jhema|orityofnoticationsconcerncontrolsatthe
outerllAborders
l
inpointsofentryorborderinspec
tionpostswhentheconsignmentwasnotacceptedfor
import('bordercontrol-consignmentdetained').ln
some cases, a sample was taken for analysis at the
border(screening)andtheconsignmentwasreleased
('bordercontrolconsignmentreleased').Jhesecond
largestcategoryofnoticationsconcernsocialcon
trols on the internal market
2
. Jhree special types of
noticationsareidentied.whenaconsumercomplaint,
acompanynotifyingtheoutcomeofanowncheck,or
afoodpoisoningwasatthebasisofthenotication.
Asmallnumberofnoticationsaretriggeredbyano
cialcontrolinanonmembercountry.lfanonmember
countryinformsaRASllmemberofariskfounddur
ingitsocialcontrolsconcerningaproductthatmay
beonthemarketinoneofthemembercountries,the
RASllmembermaynotifythistotheCommissionfor
transmission to the RASll network. ln 20l3 there was
onlyonesuchnotication.
20l3.0834SalmonellaHbandaka(presence|25g)
andSalmonellaHontevideo(presence|25g)intahini
sesamepastefromJurkey-informationprovidedby
theu.S.llRlationallocallointthroughlll0SAl
AllinformationontheRASllcanbefoundontheweb
site at.
http.||ec.europa.eu|food|food|rapidalert|index_en.htm
l Since2009,includingSwitzerland.
2 lroductsplacedonthemarketinoneofthemembercountries
includingthellAcountrieslorway,liechtensteinandlceland.
ligure220l3RASllnoticationsbynoticationbasis
0
500
l000
l500
2000
2500
3000
3500
20l2 20l3
0cialControlontheHarket
0cialControlinlonHemberCountry
HonitoringofHedia
loodloisoning
ConsumerComplaint
Company's0wnCheck
8orderControlConsignmentunderCustoms
8orderControlConsignmentReleased
8orderControlConsignment0etained
7
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
2.l. kesdues of veternary medcnal
products
ln20l3,94RASllnoticationsconcernedissueswith
veterinary medicinal products of which 9 concerned
feed.lntotal,asmanyas43dierentsubstanceswere
reported.
RASllnoticationsforresiduesofveterinarymedici
nalproductscanbedividedintothefollowinggroups,
depending on the 'legal status' of the substance
detected.
2.l.l. lrohibitedsubstances
Jhesearesubstancesthathavebeenexplicitlyforbidden
for use as or in veterinary medicines. Jherefore there
shouldbenotraceoftheminfoods.lonethelessforsev
eralofthesesubstances,socalled'Referencelointsfor
Action'(RlA)havebeenestablished.0nlyabovethislimit
actionisrequired,thereforeitisnotnecessarytosubmit
aRASllnoticationwhenndingsuchasubstanceat
alevelbelowtheRlA,whichisanextremelylowlevel
andshouldthereforenotbeconfusedwithalegallimit.
Jhemainreasonforthesharpincreaseinnotications
onprohibitedsubstanceswasthehighernumberof
reports(29)onchloramphenicol.Hostofthenotica
tions(20)wererelatedtondingsofchloramphenicol
in enzyme preparations that ended up in food and feed
premixes(seechapter2.l.l.lformoredetails).live
noticationsconcernedshrimpsofwhichfouroriginated
fromChina.Jwomorenoticationsweremadeonprod
uctsinwhichenzymeshadbeenincluded.Jwonotica
tions concerned chloramphenicol residues detected in
food supplements.
Jherewerel0noticationsonnitrofuranmetabolites
in20l3,mostofthemconcerningshrimpsfromdif
ferentoriginsbuttherewasalsoanissuewithcattle
stomachs from 8razil found with residues of semicar
bazide(3notications).Semicarbazidemaybepresent
due to environmental contamination. lt can therefore
notbeconsideredassucientproofof'illegaluse'of
veterinary medicines. As onfarm inspections are not
possibleincaseofthirdcountryimports,itspresence
ismonitoredbyreinforcedchecksofsuspectproducts
andtherelevantcompetentauthoritiesarenotiedof
anyanomalies.lnthecaseof8razil,nomoreconsign
mentshavebeenpresentedforimportsincereinforced
checks were introduced.
2.1.1.1. Presence of chloramphenicol in
enzymes
lndof!uly20l3,ahighlevelofchloramphenicolwas
detectedinanenzymepreparationforfeedandnotied
l
r
o
h
i
b
i
t
e
d

s
u
b
s
t
a
n
c
e
R
e
s
i
d
u
e

l
e
v
e
l

a
b
o
v
e

H
R
l

u
n
a
u
t
h
o
r
i
s
e
d

u
s
e
u
n
a
u
t
h
o
r
i
s
e
d

f
e
e
d

a
d
d
i
t
i
v
e
u
n
a
u
t
h
o
r
i
s
e
d

s
u
b
s
t
a
n
c
e
ligure 3 Residues of veterinary medicinal products
in food and feed reported to RASll
in 20l220l3
0
5
l0
l5
20
25
30
35
40
N
u
m
b
e
r

e
f

R
A
5
F
F

n
e
t
i

c
a
t
i
e
n
s
20l2 20l3
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
8
what was notfed to
RASFF: our selecton
LRAP1Lk 2
totheRASll.lurtherinvestigationscouldrelatethe
contaminationtohighlevelsofchloramphenicolinxyla
nasecomingfrom!apan.lollowingarequest,!apanese
authoritiesconrmedthatthecontaminatedingredient
originatedfromlndia.JheCommission'sRASllcon
tactpointrequestedthelndianauthoritiestoperform
investigationstoidentifythesourceofcontamination
and to take measures to avoid such a contamination
in the future. Jhe lndian authorities have committed
toinvestigatethecontaminationincidentandtoreport
thendings.lowevernoinformationasregardsthe
sourceofcontaminationhasbeenreceivedfromthe
lndian authorities.
8esidesxylanase,alsoamylase,pectinase,glucanase
and cellulose were found contaminated. lot only
enzymesintendedforfeedbutalsoforuseinthefood
processing(mainlyinwinemaking,beerbrewingand
bakery)wereaectedbythecontaminationincident.
All contaminated enzymes and enzyme preparations
couldbetracedbacktothreecompaniesinlndia,either
directlyorindirectly(via!apan)importedintothelu.
lorthemanagementofthiscontaminationincident,it
hasbeenagreedthattheHRllof0.3g|kgforchloram
phenicolinfoodofanimalorigin,establishedbyCom
mission0ecision2002|657|lC
3
,isalsotobeapplied
toenzymes,enzymepreparations,premixtures,com
poundfeed,ingredientsforfoodprocessingandfoodof
nonanimalorigin.Jheenzymes,enzymepreparations,
premixturesandfoodingredients(seminishedfood
products)inwhichthepresenceofchloramphenicolin
quantiableamountshadbeenanalysedwithamethod
ofanalysisabletoquantifythepresenceofchloram
phenicolatleastatalevelof0.3g|kg(HRll)couldnot
beusedanymoreforfeedandfoodproduction,could
notbeplacedonthemarketandhadtobewithdrawn
from the market. Jhe same applied for compound feed
andfoodreadyforconsumptionbutthepresenceof
chloramphenicolinquantiableamountshadnotbeen
observedinsuchproducts.
Civen that the lndian authorities have not provided
information on the source of contamination and con
sequentlycouldnotprovideguaranteesforthefuture
exportsofenzymestothelu,ithasbeendecidedto
establishintheframeofCommissionRegulation(lC)
669|2009
4
anincreasedcontrolfrequencyof50at
importonallconsignmentsofenzymesandenzyme
preparationsoriginatingfromlndiafromlApril20l4
onwards.
3 0!l22l,l7.08.2002,p.8
4 0!l95,29.3.20l4,p.l2
2.l.2. unauthorisedsubstancesand
unauthorised feed additives
unauthorisedsubstancesdierfromthesubstances
referredtoaboveinthattheyhavenotbeenexplicitly
bannedinlegislationbutcanonlybeusedinveterinary
medicines or in feed for which an authorisation has
beenappliedforandgranted.Jhesubstancesinthis
casehavenotbeenauthorisedforuseinveterinary
medicines or in feed and therefore no residue of these
substancesisallowedtobepresentinfoodorinfeed.
lnfood,3noticationsreportedndingsof(leuco)mal
achitegreeninsh,ofwhich2originatedinloland.
lhenylbutazonedetectionsinhorsemeatandproducts
containinghorsemeatgaverisetoninenotications.
Certainlysomeoftheseanalysestookplaceaspart
ofthemonitoringprogrammeonbeefcheckingpos
sibleadulterationwithhorsemeat.lectively,threeof
thenoticationsforphenylbutazoneweretransmitted
regardingaproductlabelledasbeefinwhichthrough
0lAanalysisasubstantialpartwasfoundtobehorse
meat.
0utofthel5noticationsforunauthorisedfeedaddi
tives, l3 concerned clopidol in poultry, an anticoccidial
substancethatisauthorisedinsomenonlucountries
(l0fromlsrael,2fromArgentinaandlfrom8razil).
0espite reinforced checks, the situation in 8razil in
20l3contrastedsharplywithndingsin20l2,when
24 notications were received for this substance in
poultry products.
2.l.3. ResiduelevelaboveHRl
lormanysubstanceslegislationhassetmaximumresi
dueslimits(HRl)intissuesofcertainanimalspecies.
0enthesesubstancesareaddedtofeedandwith
drawalperiodsneedtoberespectedpriortoslaughter,
in which the administration of the medicated feed is
stopped,toensurethatthemedicinalsubstanceswillbe
sucientlymetabolisedintheanimalandnoresidues
areleinthefoodoratleastnotabovetheHRl.lor
thesamereasonHRlsaresetforsometypesoffeed
administeredtoanimals|ustbeforeslaughterorfor
birdsrearedforlayingbutalmostallnoticationreport
ingHRlexceedancesareonfoodandmoreinparticular
poultry(8),pork(7),shrimps(3),sh(3)andbeef(2).
9
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
2.l.4. unauthoriseduse
loticationsinthegroup'unauthoriseduse'arenoti
cationsrelatedtosubstancesthatareauthorisedfora
particularuseincertainanimalsorfeedsbutnotinall.
HRlsareestablishedfortissuesfromtheseanimals.lf
noHRlsareestablishedforcertainanimalsthentheuse
ofthesubstancesontheseanimalsisnotauthorised.
ln products derived from these animals, no residues
are permitted.
Jwonoticationsconcernedtheunauthorisedpresenceof
enrooxacinandsulfadimidineinfeed.lournotications
foundivermectininbeeffrom8razil,whichwasreported
morefrequentlyinpreviousyears,especiallyin20ll.
2.2. Ioodposonng
Since2008,theRASllhasidentiedthosecaseswhere
foodpoisoningisreportedinaRASllnotication.ln
20l3, 53 such cases were recorded, an increase of l2
comparedto20l2.0etailsaregiveninJablel.
Jhetermfoodpoisoning,asusedinthisreport,cov
ersabroaderspectrumofdiseasesymptomsthan
the'classical'foodpoisoningcausedbypathogenic
bacteriaorviruses.AscanbeseenfromJablel,also
undesirablechemicals,thewrongcompositionofa
food supplement or insucient labelling not men
tioninganallergenicsubstancecanbethecauseof
foodpoisoning.lnJablel,afoodpoisoningincident
iscalledanoutbreakwhenmorethanonepersonis
aectedbythesamesourceofillness.ltiscalleda
multicountryoutbreakifthesymptomsreportedin
dierentgeographicallocationscanbelinkedback
tothesamefood.Jhetabledoesnotcoverallout
breaksorfoodpoisoningincidentsthatoccurredinthe
luin20l3.ltdoestrytocoverthoseincidentsthat
ledtoaRASllnotication.ltispossiblethatthere
werefoodpoisoningincidentsthatwerethebasisof
aRASllnoticationthatwerenotidentiedassuch.
ltisalsopossiblethatanincidentwasnotreported
toRASllbecausetheproductandoutbreakhada
localcharacterandhadnoconsequencesforother
RASllmembers.
JablelRASllnoticationsonfoodpoisoningin20l3
case date reference PA notcatontype
noted
by
sub|ect dstrbuton
l 03!anl3 20l3.0002 4 food information
for attention
Cermany presenceofpoisonousmushrooms(Cyromitraesculenta)in
driedblackmorelsfromtheCzechRepublic
Cermany
2 ll!anl3 20l3.0033 5 food alert lrance norovirusinliveclamsfromlortugal,viaSpain lrance and Spain
3 ll!anl3 20l3.0034 8 food alert lrance norovirus in oysters from Spain lrance
4 l8!anl3 20l3.0060 l food alert Sweden SalmonellaRissen(presence|25g)indriedorganicChlorella
algaepackagedinSweden,withrawmaterialfromChina,via
theunitedkingdom
Sweden
5 l8!anl3 20l3.0057 3 food information
for attention
ltaly histamine(4550mg|kgppm)intunaloinsfromSpain ltaly
6 l8!anl3 20l3.006l 4 food information
for attention
ltaly foodborneoutbreaksuspected(histaminepoisoning)tobe
causedbychilledtuna(Jhunnusalbacares)fromSpain
ltaly
7 22!anl3 20l3.0077 9 food alert 0enmark norovirusinchilledliveoysters(Crassostreagigas)from
lrance
8elgium,CzechRepublic,0enmark,
Cermany,ltaly,letherlands,
Russia and Sweden
8 23!anl3 20l3.0079 3 food alert lether
lands
toxicherbalextractsinmarshmallow(Altheaocinalis)from
8ulgaria,viaCermany
Australia,8elgium,Canada,lrance,
letherlandsandSouthAfrica
9 3l!anl3 20l3.0l07 3 food information
for attention
ltaly norovirus(grouplandll)inchilledoysters(Crassostrea
gigas)fromlrance
ltaly
l0 3l!anl3 20l3.0l03 4 food information
for attention
lether
lands
foodsupplements(drink)fromtheletherlandswith
defectivepackaging
letherlandsandJaiwan
ll 3l!anl3 20l3.0l04 l food alert 0enmark undeclaredmilkingredient(casein.l50and
betalactoglobulin.0.6l2.5mg|kgppm)inchilled
mortadella from ltaly
0enmarkandlatvia
l2 0llebl3 20l3.0l24 4 food information
for attention
lrance histamine(upto4375mg|kgppm)infrozentuna(Jhunnus
albacares)fromvietnam
lrance
l3 0llebl3 20l3.0l28 ll'' food alert ltaly foodborneoutbreak(histamine)suspectedtobecausedby
chilledtuna(Jhunnusalbacares)fromSpain
ltaly
l4 0llebl3 20l3.0l32 4'' food information
for attention
ltaly foodborneoutbreak(histamine)suspectedtobecausedby
fresh tuna from Spain
8osniaandlerzegovinaandltaly
l5 08lebl3 20l3.0l64 2 food information
for attention
ltaly histamine(2245,2493mg|kgppm)inchilledtunasteaks
from Spain
ltaly
l0
case date reference PA notcatontype
noted
by
sub|ect dstrbuton
l6 l4lebl3 20l3.0l9l 2 food alert Sweden shigatoxinproducinglscherichiacoli(0l57.l7)infrozen
hamburgersfromSweden,withrawmaterialfromthe
letherlandsandloland
8elgium,0enmark,lstonia,
linland,lrance,Cermany,
letherlands,lortugal,Spain,
Swedenandunitedkingdom
l7 l9lebl3 20l3.0206 9 food information
for attention
0enmark norovirusinchilledoysters(Crassostreagigas)fromlrance 0enmark
l8 20lebl3 20l3.0220 7 food alert lether
lands
norovirus(presence|l0g)inoystersfromlrance lranceandletherlands
l9 27lebl3 20l3.0256 l food alert linland tracesofmilkinchocolateeastereggswithllingfrom
linland
8elgium,lstonia,linland,Cermany
and Sweden
20 28lebl3 20l3.0264 5 food alert 0enmark norovirus(CClandCCll)inchilledoysters(Crassostrea
Cigas)fromlrance
lrance
2l l5Harl3 20l3.0372 l0 food information
for attention
0enmark norovirus(lorovirusCClandCCllfoundinall4samples)in
chilledoysters(CrassostreaCigas)fromtheletherlands
0enmarkandletherlands
22 l5Harl3 20l3.0377 37 food alert lorway norovirus(genogrouplandlldetected)inoystersfromSpain,
viatheletherlands
Austria,8elgium,0enmark,
Cermanyandlorway
23 02Aprl3 20l3.0463 l food alert ltaly histamine(2690,2740,248lmg|kgppm)incannedtuna
inoliveoilfromlrance,withrawmaterialfromCted'lvoire
ltaly
24 llAprl3 20l3.0524 2l'' food alert lrance foodborneoutbreaksuspectedtobecausedbymussels
from Spain
Algeria,8elgium,0enmark,
lstonia,lrance,Cermany,latvia,
lithuania,Hauritius,Honaco,
Russiaandukraine
25 l8Aprl3 20l3.0559 l2 food information
for attention
Spain norovirus(presence)inclamsfromlortugal Spain
26 l8Aprl3 20l3.056l ? food information
for attention
ltaly foodborneoutbreak(hepatitisAvirus)suspectedtobe
causedbymussels(Hitylusgalloprovincialis)fromSlovenia
ltaly
27 l4Hayl3 20l3.0667 l'' food information
for attention
ltaly foodpoisoning(hepatitisAvirus)suspectedtobecausedby
chilledoystersfromlranceandtheletherlands
ltaly
28 l7Hayl3 20l3.0694 4
(HC)
food alert ltaly hepatitisAvirusinfrozenberrymixfromltaly,withraw
materialfrom8ulgaria,Canada,lolandandSerbia
Cermanyandltaly
29 l7Hayl3 20l3.0696 6 food alert linland presenceofthornapple(0aturastramoniuml)seedsin
frozenvegetablebeanseedmixfrom8elgium,withraw
material from Spain
Andorra,8arbados,lstonia,
linland,Cermany,lreland,
lithuania,HaltaandRussia
30 23Hayl3 20l3.07l4 5 food alert Switzer
land
histamine(290,4200mg|kgppm)inanchoviesinoliveoil
from Spain
Switzerland
3l 3lHayl3 20l3.0764 2 food information
for attention
ltaly histamine(l323mg|kgppm)inchilledsardinesfromltaly Austria, ltaly, Slovenia and Spain
32 03!unl3 l3699 90
(HC)''
food news 0enmark suspicionofhepatitisAvirusinfrozenstrawberriesfrom
Horoccoandlgypt,packagedin8elgium
0enmark,lstonia,linland,latvia,
lithuania,lorwayandSweden
33 20!unl3 20l3.0866 l food alert Sweden allergicreactioncausedbychocolateproductusingan
alternativetomilkandlactoprotein(5l0,980,990mg|kg
ppm)inchocolatebarsfromtheunitedkingdom
8elgium,letherlandsandSweden
34 20!unl3 20l3.0870 2 food information
for followup
0enmark Clostridiumperfringens(49,2Clu|g)inpigboneswithmeat
from ltaly
0enmark
35 02!ull3 20l3.0925 49 food alert lrance foodborneoutbreak(Salmonellaenteritidis)causedbyeggs
from Spain
lrance
36 08!ull3 20l3.0963 9 food information
for attention
ltaly norovirus(Cl)inoystersfromlrance ltaly
37 l7!ull3 l3706 l6 food news lreland hepatitisAoutbreakinlreland Austria,Azerbai|an,8elgium,
Cyprus,CzechRepublic,Cermany,
Creece,lungary,lreland,ltaly,
letherlandsandRussia
38 l9!ull3 20l3.l006 l05 food alert lrance 0iarrhoeicShellshloisoning(0Sl)toxinsokadaicacid
(495.3g|kgppb)inandfoodborneoutbreakcausedby
musselsfromCreece
lrance,ltaly,Spainandunited
kingdom
39 24!ull3 20l3.l034 l3'' food alert lrance foodborneoutbreaksuspectedtobecausedbyeggsfrom
Spain
lrance
ll
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
case date reference PA notcatontype
noted
by
sub|ect dstrbuton
40 3l!ull3 20l3.l066 l food information
for attention
Spain adversereactioncausedbywheyproteinconcentratefrom
theunitedkingdom
Spain
4l 06Augl3 20l3.l087 2 food information
for attention
ltaly hepatitisAvirusinmixoffrozenberriesfromltaly,withraw
materialfromChile,loland,SerbiaandSweden
ltaly
42 l6Augl3 20l3.ll42 ll food alert lether
lands
adversereaction(llcasesreported)causedbyfood
supplementfromtheunitedStates
8elgium,Cyprus,0enmark,lrance,
Cermany,Creece,lreland,ltaly,
Halta,letherlands,lorway,
loland,lortugal,SanHarino,
Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and
unitedkingdom
43 23Augl3 20l3.ll62 l food alert lorway Clostridiumbotulinum(toxintypeA)inalmondpureefrom
lrance
lranceandlorway
44 05Sepl3 20l3.l2l6 3 food information
for attention
lrance listeriamonocytogenes(l0Clu|g)inrawsheep'smilk
cheeseandpasteurisedmilkyoghurtfromlrance
lrance
45 l0Sepl3 20l3.l237 40 food alert lrance poisonous(suspectedofhavingcausedsuddendeathof
approximately40dogs)drieddogfoodfromSpain
Algeria,8ulgaria,Croatia,Cyprus,
CzechRepublic,lrance,Creece,
ltaly,lithuania,Halta,lhilippines,
loland,lortugal,Romania,Saudi
Arabia,SlovakiaandSpain
46 llSepl3 l37l0 49'' food news united
kingdom
foodborneoutbreak(Salmonellatyphimurium)suspectedto
becausedbycookedhamfromtheunitedkingdom,with
rawmaterialfrom0enmark
unitedkingdom
47 08lovl3 20l3.l47l l food alert linland Salmonellaspp.(presence|25g)infrozensaltedchicken
breastlletfromJhailand,viatheletherlands
linland
48 020ecl3 20l3.l596 ll2 food alert united
kingdom
foodborneoutbreakcausedbyandAzaspiracidShellsh
loisoning(AIl)toxinsazaspiracidinchilledmusselsfrom
lreland,processedintheletherlands
Austria,CzechRepublic,lrance,
lreland,letherlandsandunited
kingdom
49 030ecl3 20l3.l602 l food information
for attention
ltaly hepatitisAvirusinfrozenmixedberriesfromltaly,withraw
materialfrom8ulgariaandloland
ltaly
50 l20ecl3 20l3.l649 29 food alert linland norovirusinfrozenraspberriesfromloland 8elgiumandlinland
5l 200ecl3 20l3.l706 l5 food alert Switzer
land
AzaspiracidShellshloisoning(AIl)toxinsazaspiracid(up
tol225g|kgppb)incookedmusselsinwhitewinesauce
fromtheletherlands,withrawmaterialfromlreland
Switzerland
52 230ecl3 20l3.l723 2 food information
for attention
ltaly histamine(>l920mg|kgppm)inlletsofanchovies
(lngraulisencrasicolus)inoilfromHorocco
ltaly
53 300ecl3 20l3.l736 l3 food alert 0enmark norovirus(Cldetected)infrozenwholeraspberriesfrom
loland,withrawmaterialfromSerbia
0enmark,lstonia,linland,
lithuania,lorwayandSweden
'lApersonsaected,reportedatthetimeoftheoriginalnotication,i.e.theguredoesnotnecessarilyrepresentthetotalnumber
ofpersonsaected
''therewasinconclusiveevidencelinkingthefoodwiththepatients'symptoms
(HC)multicountryoutbreak
0fthecaseshighlightedinthetabledetailsaregivenbelow.
presence of poisonous
mushroom (Gyromitra
esculenta) in dried black
morels from the Czech
Republic
Casel
Cyromitrinisatoxicandpresumablycarcinogenicchemicalcompoundfoundforexampleinthefalse
morel(Cyromitraesculenta),atoxicfungusindigenoustoluropeandlorthAmerica.Consumptionofthe
rawfunguscanprovefatal.lvenaercooking,thefalsemorelcanbeharmfultohealth.Jhepackage
ofmorelsinquestionwasboughtonline.lnCermanyaboutl40l00gpackagesoftheproductwere
soldonlinewithinthecountry.Allconsumerswerecontacteddirectlybythesupplierandtheremaining
stockwasseized.Additionallyapublicwarningwasreleased.Jheproductwastracedbacktoasellerin
theCzechRepublic,whohadboughtatotalamountofll0kgofdriedblackmorelsfromunidentied
mushroompickersfromSlovakiaandsoldtheentirebatchtotheCermantrader.
l2
shigatoxin-producing
Escherichia coli (O157: H7)
in frozen hamburgers from
Sweden, with raw material
from the Netherlands and
Poland
Casel6
JwopersonsinSwedendevelopedsymptomsoflllCpoisoning,aerconsuminghamburgersthatwere
manufacturedinSweden,usingrawmaterialfromacuttingplantintheletherlandsthathadcutmeat
fromslaughterhousesinlungary,loland,theunitedkingdomandlatvia.Asaprecaution,theletherlands
providedinformationoftherecipientsinlrance,Sweden,0enmark,unitedkingdom,8elgium,linlandand
Cermany.
8eforethisoutbreak,duringSeptemberand0ctober20l20enmarkexperiencedanoutbreakwithan
identicalstrainofvJlC0l57.l7withl3cases,8ofwhichexperiencedlaemolyticuremicSyndrome
(luS).lypothesisismincedbeefsoldin0anishsupermarkets,establishmenttraceabilitysystemsin
placeidentiedtwoseparateestablishmentsproducingthemincedmeat.lurthertracingofrawmaterial
showedtwo0anishslaughterhouses(meatslaughteredontwoconsecutivedates).Amongthetraceability
informationwasalsobatchesofmeatpurchasedfromthe0utchmeatprocessorbutfromadierent
slaughterhouse.loweverthesedeliveriesdidnotmatchtheoutbreakincidentnearlyaswellasmeatof
0anishorigin.lurtherinformationincludingtheresultsofcomparativellClanalysesofbothSwedish
and0anishstrainswasunfortunatelynotreceivedthroughRASll.
hepatitis A virus in frozen
berry mixes from Italy, with
raw material from Bulgaria,
Canada, Poland and Serbia
Cases28,37,4l,49
JhesecasesareconsideredtoberelatedbecausethehepatitisAvirus(lAv)strainfoundontheberries
and in patients was identical.
Sincel!anuary20l3,l3l5casesoflAvinfec
tionhavebeenreportedbyllHemberStatesas
potentiallylinkedtotheongoinglAvinfection
outbreak.0fthese,240wereconrmedoutbreak
cases,sharingthesamesequenceoftheviral
genome.whenrstdeclared,theoutbreakwas
associated with travel to ltaly. 8esides ltaly, seven
HemberStatesreportedcaseswithnotravelhis
tory,namelylrance,Cermany,lreland,lorway,
theletherlands,Swedenandtheuk.ln20l3,
elevenRASllnoticationsconcernedlAvcon
taminatedlotsofwhichthreewererelatedtofoodborneoutbreaksinltaly.
JherstoutbreakwasreportedtoRASllonl7Hay20l3andconcernedahouseholdof4peoplewho
atecheesecakegarnishedwithamixofredcurrants,blackberries,raspberriesandblueberries.Analysis
ofthepackageconrmedthepresenceoflAv.withcurrentmethodsitisstillverydiculttoconrm
lAvinafoodmatrixsuchasberries.SofartheonlylaboratorythatisprocientatndinglAvinberries
islocatedinltaly.lindinglAvdoesnotmeanthatitisknownwhichoftheberryingredientscausedthe
outbreak.Soonaer,ltalywasabletodetectlAvinanotherbatchofthesameproductandinaberry
mixfromanotherprocessor.Jraceabilityinvestigationswerecarriedouttondmatchingrawmaterials
betweenthereportedcases(backwardstraceability)andtowithdrawthecontaminatedproductsfromthe
market(forwardstraceability).lnAugust,moreoutbreakswerereportedinltaly(case4l)butbeforealso
inlreland(case37)withthesamelAvstrain.lrelandmadenumerousrequestscountriesinwhichsuppliers
ofberrieswerelocated.Jakingintoaccountthelongincubationperiodbeforethecasesshowedillness,a
wholerangeoffoods(morethan80)containingberrieswerepotentiallylinkedtotheoutbreakandtraced.
0espiteextensivetestingbytheltalianlaboratory,allsamplesreturnednegativeforlAv.
0n230ctober20l3,theluropeanCommissionrequestedllSA,throughamandate,tocoordinatethetrace
backandtraceforwardexercisesintheaectedHemberStates.llSAestablishedaworkinggroupwiththe
participationofaectedHemberStates,theluropeanCommission,lC0C,andtheCermanlnstituteforRisk
Assessment(8fR)tocoordinatethecollationoftracinginformationviatheRASllplatformandperform
networkanalysisinordertoidentifypossible'hotspots'inthesupplychainforfurtherinvestigation(lAv
Jraceexercise).JracingactivitieshavebeenprioritizedbasedonthelevelofevidenceoflAvcontamina
tionandfocussedonfrozenblackberries,raspberries,blueberries,redcurrantsandblackcurrantssupplied
toltalyandlrelandandfreshberriessuppliedtoorproducedwithintheletherlands.
loodtracebackactivitiesarecurrentlyongoinginSweden,lranceandlorwaywherenewoutbreakswith
thesamelAvstrainhavebeenreportedandtheirresultswillbeincorporatedintothelAvJraceexercise.
Jheinvestigationofthreelrenchcaseswithonsetinlebruary20l4showedthatthesewerelinkedbythe
consumptionofmixedberrycakes.lAvwasidentiedinasampleoftheimplicatedberries.
8asedontheavailabletracebackdata,thereisnoconclusiveevidenceforthespecicvehicleofinfection
orforthesourceofcontamination.Asthedatacollectionandanalysisisongoing,thissituationmaystill
change.Jobecontinued.
l3
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
suspicion of hepatitis A
virus in frozen strawberries
from Morocco and Egypt,
packaged in Belgium
Case32
JhestrainoflepatitisA,typel8seeninall4lordiccountries(0k,Sl,llandl0)matchonsequence
level.Jhesequenceisacloseresemblancealsotosequencespreviouslyseeninoutbreaksrelatedto
lorthAfricaincontrastwiththesequencerelatedtotheoutbreaksinltaly,lrelandandtheletherlands,
whichislinkedtooutbreaksinlasternlurope.
Casecontrolstudiesin0enmarkandSwedenbothidentiedfrozenstrawberriesasthemostlikelysource
offooditemcausingtheoutbreak.
Samplesofsuspectedfoodsweretakenfrompatients'homesandfromsupermarketswherethefoods
werepurchased.loneofthesampleshaveshownpositiveresultsconcerningpresenceoflAv.
lventhoughtheconsumersin0enmarkwerewarnedoftheriskbothbytheadviceinthelabelingon
theproductstoboiltheberriesbeforeuseandbypressreleasefroml4Harch20l3thatanoutbreak
wasongoingandthatthe0vlAstronglyadvisedtoboilallfrozenberriesforatleastlminutebefore
consumption,theoutbreakcontinued.
Jhenumberofcasesperweekin0enmarkdeclinedsignicantlyfollowingtherecalloffrozenstrawber
rieson30Hay20l3.Acombinedanalysiswasperformedincludingpatientsandcontrolsfrom0enmark,
lorway,Swedenandlinland.Jhistooconcludesthatthemostprobablesourceoftheoutbreakisfrozen
strawberries.
Jheinitialsteptakentotracebacktheproductsconcernedwastosurveythe0anishretailmarketfor
brandsoffrozenberries(not|uststrawberries)thatweredistributedtoallfourcountriesconcernedand
thatwereusingstrawberriesoflorthAfricanorigin.lurtherdetailedinformationconcerningtheirpur
chasesoffrozenberrieswascollectedeitherbysampling,interviewortracingpurchasesbycreditcard.
Retailshopsin0enmarkandlorwayareabletoprovidefullreceiptsfromtheircashregistersystems
forpurchasesmadeusingacreditcard,whichhasproventobeveryusefulinformationforidentifying
foodsinvolvedinanoutbreak.
l
adverse reaction caused
by food supplement from
the United States
Case42
Jheproductadverselyaectedllpersonsintheletherlandswithsymptomsvaryingbetweencardiac
arrest, palpitations, pain in the chest, nausea and headache. Jhe product was sold in several composi
tionsandamountsoenthroughonlinewebshops.ltisnotclearwhichvarietycausedthecomplaintsbut
informationexchangedthroughRASllenabledauthoritiesinnolessthanl8countriestotakeappropriate
measures.0therfoodsupplementsreportingapotentiallydangerouscombinationofsynephrineand
caeinewerenotiedfrequentlybylinlandand0enmark.Suchsupplementsareoensoldforhaving
afatburningorenergyboostingeect.8utoentheirexactcompositionisnotclearandthesafetyof
theingredientsnotguaranteed.
poisonous (suspected of
having caused sudden death
of approximately 40 dogs)
dried dog food from Spain
Case45
lnthiscasethepets-nottheirowners-wereaected.ln2006,thescopeoftheRASllwasextended
to include animal health issues in relation to feed and this also includes pet food issues. lver since from
timetotimeincidentscausingseveresueringandevendeathtopetssuchasdogshavebeenreported.
lnformationfromtheSpanishauthoritiesrevealedthatthecompanyplacingthecompoundfeedonthe
markethadbeenaddingcocoaandcocoahuskstothefeed.Jhelrenchauthoritiesconrmedthatthe
feedcontainedtheobrominelevelsthatweretoxicfordogs.JheSpanishauthoritiesproceededwiththe
withdrawalfromthemarketofallpetfoodmanufacturedbythecompanyinquestion.
5 lnformationsource.0anishveterinaryandloodAdministration
l4
2.3. Lomposton of detetc foods
and food supplements
Ascase42intheabovechapterillustrates,thecom
positionoffoodsupplementscanbeofconcernforthe
healthofconsumersandatthesametimethedistribu
tion model of these products is very diverse and volatile,
makingitdicultforfoodcontrolauthoritiestocarry
outeectiveenforcement.
2.3.l. unauthorisedplacingonthe
market
Jhese concern mostly plant parts used in food supple
mentsthatrequireauthorisationinthecountryinwhich
the product is marketed. Jhe authorisation procedure
isinplacetoensuresafetyoftheproducts.lroducts
containingingredientsorclaimsofamedicinalnature
fallunderadierentlegislationandshouldapplyfor
authorisationasmedicinalproducts.Jheyarenotied
toRASlliftheyaremarketedas(dietetic)foodsor
food supplements.
Jribulusterrestriswasthemostnotiedingredientin
suchunauthorisedproducts,placedonthemarketby
a0utchcompanybutnotauthorisedin0enmark.ltis
marketedasbenetingmusclebuildingandisalsoused
anumbertotreatofhealthconditionssuchasvascular
diseasesorcertainsexualdisorders.whereasthedier
ent parts of the plant and fruits are used in traditional
medicineinAsia,neitheritseectivenessnoritsharm
lessnesshasbeenscienticallyproven.
2.3.2. unauthorisednovelfood
(ingredients)
Jhiscategoryissimilartothepreviousone,onlyinthis
caseaharmonisedlulegislationapplies6.loodsor
ingredientsthatwerenotmarketedpriortol5Hay
l997 need to undergo an authorisation procedure
beforetheycanbeplacedonthemarketinthelu.Jhe
Commissionhasadoptedanewproposaltoenablea
faster authorisation of innovative food without com
promisingthehighlevelofpublichealthprotectionand
6 Regulation(lC)lo258|97concerningnovelfoodsandnovelfood
ingredients,OJ L 43, 14.2.1997, p. 1
unauthorised novel food (ingredient)
unauthorised placing on the market
unauthorised substance
62
l4
l8
ligure 4 Composition of dietetic foods and food supplements
l5
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
a less strict procedure for traditional foods produced
inotherareasoftheworldthatareknowntobesafe.
Coriolus(Jrametes)versicoloristhemostnotiedunau
thorisednovelfoodingredientinfoodsupplementsin
20l3.ltisclaimedtohaveanticancerpropertiesbut
neitheritseectivenessnoritsharmlessnesshasbeen
scienticallyproven.
2.3.3. unauthorisedsubstances
Jhe substances in figure 5 are found in food sup
plements because they have a certain metabolic or
medicinaleect.ltisnotuncommonthattheyarenot
mentionedonthelabelandthattheconsumerisinstead
ledtobelievethattheeectiscausedby'naturalplant
extracts'orsomethingsimilar.
lhenolphthaleiniscommonlyknownasaplindicator
-atleasttothechemistsamongus-butitsuseasa
laxativemaybelesscommonknowledge.ltisfound,
sometimestogetherwithsibutramine,inslimmingprod
ucts.0npage35oftheRASllannualreport2009you
willndmoreinformationonsibutramineaswellas
onsildenal.
2.3.3.1. RASFF news 13-715: acute
hepatitis potentially associated
with the consumption of food
supplements
larly lovember 20l3 the luropean Commission's
RASllcontactpointwasinformedbythelnternational
loodSafetyAuthoritiesletwork(lll0SAl)throughan
lll0SAlalertaboutanoutbreakofacutelepatitis
potentially associated with the consumption of food
supplements(0xyllitelro,vlRSAl).
lntheuSboththeloodand0rugAdministration(l0A)
andtheCentrefor0iseaseControlandlrevention(C0C)
wereinvestigatinghepatitisillnessesthatpotentially
occurredaerconsumptionofthisfoodsupplement.
Jheproductinquestionwasmarketedforenergyboost,
weightlossandmuscleincrease.
JheoutbreaktookplacemostlyintheStateoflawaii.
56casesofnonviralhepatitis,2casesrequiredliver
transplantsandonepersondied.Additionalobserved
sideeectswere.psychiatricdisorders,heartandnerv
oussystemproblems.
0n0ctoberllth,20l3l0Aissuedawarningletter
informingthatproductsweredeemedtobeadulterated
duetouseofanewingredientAegeline(l2hydroxy
2(4methoxyphenyl)ethyl]3phenyl2propenamide).
AegelineisacompoundextractedfromAeglemarmelos
(8ael),aplantthathasalonghistoryofuseinAyur
vedicmedicine.Jhesubstanceoriginallywasextracted
fromplantsbutitcanalsobesynthesizedinthelabora
tory.Aegelinehasnotbeenproventobesafeandhas
notbeenapprovedbythel0Aforinclusionindietary
supplements.
As a reaction to the information received, the luropean
Commission'sRASllContactlointissuedRASllnews
l37l5toinformthemembersofthenetworkabout
lhenolphthalein
0HAA
Sidenalandanalogues
Yohimbine
Synephrine
Sibutramine
0ther
l6
l3
7
7
l0
5
4
ligure5unauthorisedsubstancesindieteticfoodsandfoodsupplements
l6
these products that potentially were marketed within
theluandtotakeappropriatemeasures.
while investigating the case more countries were
involvedintheexchangeofinformation.ltwasfound
thattheproducthadalreadybeennotiedin20l2
duetothepresenceofunauthorisedsubstancel,3
dimethylamylamine(0HAA).Jheoriginalformulation
of0xyllitelrocontained0HAAnotAegeline.Jheside
eectsrelatedtotheconsumptionofproductscontain
ing0HAAwere.bloodvesselsandarteriesnarrow
ing,thatcanelevatebloodpressure,andmayleadto
cardiovascularproblemssuchasshortnessofbreath,
arrhythmias,tighteninginchestandheartattack.
AsaresultoftheRASllnews,34followupnotica
tions were created and many luropean countries were
involved.Jheproblemliesintheavailabilityoftheprod
uctstoconsumersviatheinternet.lventhoughthese
productsmightbeharmfultoconsumer'shealth,they
remainpurchasablethroughtheinternet.Jhechallenge
isforauthoritiestohaveabettercontrolofinternet
sales of food products in order to ensure that the prod
uctsconsumersbuyaresafe.Anotheroptionisprovid
ingconsumersinformationaboutproductsthatwere
veriedtobesafee.g.throughlabellingprovidingan
alternative to other products of which the safety is not
known.Suchinitiativesalreadyexistinsomecountries.
2.4. Pestcde resdues
ln20l3,aerasteadyincreaseoverseveralyears,the
amountofnoticationsforpesticideresiduesappearsto
havestabilisedat452,whichisslightlymorethanthe
previousyear.0nlytwoofthenoticationsconcerned
feed(maize).Jhatthereinforcedchecksattheentry
pointstothelustillhavetheirpronouncedeectonthe
RASllnotications(andviceversaofcourse),canbe
concludedfromthefactthatonly36ofthenotications
areaboutproduceofluorigin.
ligure6showsthemostreportedresiduesin20l2
and20l3.Jhenumberofndingscanvarysignicantly
from year to year. Jhere is evidence of the use of non
approvedpesticides.thesubstancesmarkedwithaare
notauthorisedinthelu.
8elow the commodities for which the reinforced checks
wereinforceatthelubordersarecomparedwiththe
ndingsinRASll.Jhepesticidesthatwerereported
most frequently through RASll have been coloured
accordingtoacutetoxicity.redforhighlytoxic,orange
formoderatelytoxic,greenforlowtoxicity.Jhisgrading
thusonlytakesintoaccounttheacutetoxicityforhuman
health,andnotanychroniceectsorenvironmental
harmfulness.
N
u
m
b
e
r

e
f

R
A
5
F
F

n
e
t
i

c
a
t
i
e
n
s
20ll 20l2 20l3
0
l0
20
30
40
50
ligure 6 Host reported pesticide residues in 20ll, 20l2 and 20l3
a
c
e
p
h
a
t
e
a
c
e
t
a
m
i
p
i
r
i
d
c
a
r
b
e
n
d
a
z
i
m
c
h
l
o
r
p
y
r
i
p
h
o
s
d
i
c
h
l
o
r
v
o
s
d
i
m
e
t
h
o
a
t
e
e
t
h
i
o
n
f
o
r
m
e
t
a
n
a
t
e
i
m
i
d
a
c
l
o
p
r
i
d
m
e
t
h
a
m
i
d
o
p
h
o
s
m
e
t
h
o
m
y
l
m
o
n
o
c
r
o
t
o
p
h
o
s
o
m
e
o
t
h
o
a
t
e
p
r
o
f
e
n
o
f
o
s
p
r
o
p
a
r
g
i
t
e
t
r
i
a
z
o
p
h
o
s
l7
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
Cemmedities RA5FF neticatiens in 2015
Chinesebroccoli,pomelosandtea 0verall55noticationsregardingproducefromChina,8ofwhich
concernedbroccoli,l5pomelosand20tea.lnteasometimesvery
harmful residues are found such as triazophos. As many as 2l dif
ferentsubstanceswereindicated.Hostreportedinteawereaceta
miprid, buprofezin, imidacloprid and pronil. ln pomelos, mostly
methidathion is indicated.
Aubergines,bittermelon,yardlongbeans
andpeppersfrom0ominicanRepublic
0verall 2l notications regarding produce from the 0ominican
Republic,4ofwhichconcernedaubergines,lbittermelons,8yard
longbeansand6sweetandchillipeppers.Asmanyas2ldierent
substanceswereindicated,ofwhichendosulfan was reported 5
timesinyardlongbeans.
0ranges, strawberries, pomegranates
andpeppersfromlgypt
0verall32noticationsregardingproducefromlgypt,9ofwhich
concernedoranges,l5strawberriesand5sweetandchillipep
pers.Asmanyasl9dierentsubstanceswereindicated,ofwhich
dimethoate(invarious)andmethomyl(instrawberries)weremost
reported
Curryleavesandokrafromlndia 0veralllllnoticationsregardingproducefromlndia,ofwhich
l2 concerned curry leaves and 84 okra
2
.whereasconcerningcurry
leavesthereweremuchlessnotications,forokra,thenumber
ofnoticationsfurtherincreased.Hostreportedincurryleavesis
profenofos and in okra. monocrotophos, acephate, acetamiprid and
triazophos.Apartfromthesendings,also5noticationsonchilli
peppersarenoteworthywithsometimeshighlevelsreported.
leasandbeanswithpodsfromkenya 0verall23noticationsregardingproducefromkenya,ofwhich9
concernedpeasandl4beans.0imethoate was the most reported
substanceinl2notications.
HintfromHorocco 0verall28noticationsregardingproducefromHorocco,ofwhich
l6concernedmint.0therrecurringcommoditiesweretea(5)and
olives(3).Asmanyasl9dierentsubstanceswerereported.
0riedbeansfromligeria 0veralll6noticationsregardingproducefromligeria,allregarding
theunauthorisedsubstancedichlorvosinhoneybeans,allnotied
bytheunitedkingdom.Jhebanningofmanyactivesubstancesin
pesticideformulationsintheluhasplacedparticularlydeveloping
countriesinadicultspottocomplywiththenewandstrictlegal
requirementsinthelu.Jheauthoritiesfacetheproblemofcontrol
lingcompliancebytheoensmallscaleproducerssupplyingproduce
thatisexportedtothelu.
Chilli peppers, coriander leaves, basil,
yardlongbeans,auberginesandbras
sicavegetablesfromJhailand
0verall20noticationsregardingproducefromJhailand,ofwhich4
concernedchillipeppers,4basil,lyardlongbeansand7aubergines.
Asmanyasl9dierentsubstanceswerereported.
Sweet peppers and tomatoes from
Jurkey
0verall39noticationsregardingproducefromJurkey,ofwhich
33concernedsweetpeppersandonly2tomatoes.Hostreported
substanceswereformetanate and malathion.
Coriander leaves, mint, parsley, basil,
okra and chilli peppers from vietnam
0verall7noticationsregardingproducefromvietnam,ofwhichl
concerned mint and 3 peppers.
l8
2.5. Ieed
0utofthe3l37originalnoticationstransmittedin
RASllin20l3,272concernedfeed,about8.7ofthe
total,butdecliningsince20ll,bothinabsoluteand
relativenumbers.
lromligure7itcanbeseenthatthemainreasonfornoti
fyingin20l3remainspathogenicmicroorganisms.Jhe
secondreason,althoughsignicantlyless,ismycotoxins.
2.5.l. lathogenicmicroorganisms
JhepathogensnotiedinfeedareallSalmonella sero
varsexceptforonenoticationofClostridium perfringens
forpetfood.Sincemicrobiologicalcriteriaarenotset
for Salmonella inlulegislation,noticationsarebased
onnationalcriteriaorcasebycaseriskassessments.
lorprocessedanimalbyproducts,acriterionissetin
Regulation(lu)lol42|20llofabsenceofSalmonella
in25grams.
2.5.2. Hycotoxins
0utofthe37notications,only9concernedaatoxinsin
groundnutsfromvariousorigins.Hostnotications,2l,con
cerned maize products mostly from southeastern lurope
7
.
2.5.3. lonpathogenic
microorganisms
Hostnoticationsconcernedthendingsoftoohigh
levelsoflnterobacteriaceaeinshmeal.lishmealis
atypeofprocessedanimalproteinwhichcanbeused
for the production of feed. Jo ensure the safety of the
nalfeedingstu,Regulation(lu)lol42|20ll
8
estab
lishesmicrobiologicalstandards,includingcriteriafor
lnterobacteriaceae,whichshallapplyfortheprocessing
7 SeeRASllannualreport20l2,page37
8 0!l054,26.2.20ll,p.l
N
u
m
b
e
r

e
f

R
A
5
F
F

n
e
t
i

c
a
t
i
e
n
s
20ll 20l2 20l3
0
20
40
80
l20
60
l00
l40
l60
ligure7RASllnoticationsonfeedbyhazardcategoryin20ll,20l2and20l3
a
d
u
l
t
e
r
a
t
i
o
n
|
f
r
a
u
d
b
i
o
t
o
x
i
n
s

(
o
t
h
e
r
)
c
h
e
m
i
c
a
l

c
o
n
t
a
m
i
n
a
t
i
o
n

(
o
t
h
e
r
)
c
o
m
p
o
s
i
t
i
o
n
f
e
e
d

a
d
d
i
t
i
v
e
s
f
o
r
e
i
g
n

b
o
d
i
e
s
C
H
0

n
o
v
e
l

f
o
o
d
h
e
a
v
y

m
e
t
a
l
s
i
n
d
u
s
t
r
i
a
l

c
o
n
t
a
m
i
n
a
n
t
s
l
a
b
e
l
l
i
n
g

a
b
s
e
n
t

i
n
c
o
m
p
l
e
t
e

i
n
c
o
r
r
e
c
t
m
y
c
o
t
o
x
i
n
s
n
o
n

p
a
t
h
o
g
e
n
i
c

m
i
c
r
o

o
r
g
a
n
i
s
m
s
o
r
g
a
n
o
l
e
p
t
i
c

a
s
p
e
c
t
s
p
a
c
k
a
g
i
n
g

d
e
f
e
c
t
i
v
e

i
n
c
o
r
r
e
c
t
p
a
t
h
o
g
e
n
i
c

m
i
c
r
o

o
r
g
a
n
i
s
m
s
p
e
s
t
i
c
i
d
e

r
e
s
i
d
u
e
s
p
o
o
r

o
r

i
n
s
u

c
i
e
n
t

c
o
n
t
r
o
l
s
r
e
s
i
d
u
e
s

o
f

v
e
t
e
r
i
n
a
r
y

m
e
d
i
c
i
n
a
l

p
r
o
d
u
c
t
s

J
S
l
s
l9
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
andplacingonthemarketoftheshmealandother
relevantderivedproductsusedforfeedingpurposes.
2.5.4. leavy metals
Jherewerefournoticationsoncadmium,oneshowing
relativelyhighlevelsinzincoxidefromJurkey,butnot
totheextentthatitwouldcauseaseriousrisktohuman
oranimalhealth.lighlevelsofleadwerereportedthree
times.0nenoticationshowedparticularlyhighlevels
in processed animal protein from deer. Jhere were four
noticationsonmercuryabovethepermittedlevel,of
whichthreeconcernedshmeal.
2.5.5. lndustrial contaminants
very diverse feedstus, such as rapeseed, soybean
meal,pigeonpickingstones,leonardite,marigold,and
otherfeedadditivesandpremixtures,werereportedin
l2noticationsinformingaboutdioxinslevelsabovethe
legallimit.0thernoticationsinthiscategoryconcerned
dioxinlikeandnondioxinlikelC8sexceptonenotica
tion on mineral oil in poultry fat intended for pet food.
2.5.6. Composition
Jhreenoticationsreportedonexcessivelevelsoffree
gossypolincottonseedsfromJogoandfromCreece.
Cossypolisaphenolnaturallypresentinthecottonplant.
0nlythe'free'formofgossypolistoxictoanimals,not
whenitisboundtoproteins.Ruminantssuchascattle
andsheepcantoleratehigherlevelsoffreegossypolthan
otheranimalsbecauseitbindstoproteinsintherumen.
lour notications by Slovenia reported a content of
hydroxymethylfurfural(lHl)inbeesfeedabovethe
nationallimit.lydroxymethylfurfuralisformedwhen
productswithhighfructosecontentareheated.lHlis
knowntodamagebees'health.
2.5.7. leed additives
Jhenoticationsonfeedadditivesallrelatedtoresi
dues of veterinary medicinal products in feed and are
discussedunderheading2.l.
2.5.8. JSls
Jhesuddenappearanceofl3noticationsunderthe
JSlsheaderisrelatedtondingsofruminant0lAin
dierenttypesoffeed.Jhiscouldbeduetoanincreased
useofaverysensitivetestingmethodcomparedto
microscopytondfragmentsofbones.Analysescarried
outonremainingstockorwitnesssamplesinthecountry
oforiginaerreceivingthenoticationhowevercannot
alwaysrepeattheoriginalnding.Sofar,noexplanation
forthisinconsistencyhasbeenreportedthroughRASll.
2.6. Pathogencmcro-organsms
n food
with642noticationsconcerningpathogenicmicro
organisms in food, an alltimehigh for this hazard
categorywasreachedin20l3witha40increase
comparedto20l2,aerayearbyyearriseinthenum
berofnotications.Jhisismainlyduetotheincrease
innumbersofnoticationsforpathogensinmeatand
alsoinbivalvemolluscs.
2.6.l. 8ivalve molluscs
Asshowninligure8,thesignicantincreaseinnoti
cationsonbivalvemolluscsisduetoacombination
ofriseinnumbersforvarioushazards.marinebiotox
ins, norovirus, Salmonella and Escherichia coli. A count
of Escherichia coliabovethefoodsafetycriterionof
320Clu|l00gestablishedinthelegislation,wasmost
reportedinclamsfromcountriessuchasCreece,Jurkey,
Croatiaandltaly.8esidesclams,thisproblemwasregu
larly reported in mussels, predominantly from Spain. An
increaseinnoticationsformusselsfromSpainand
lrelandcouldalsobeobservedformarinebiotoxinsof
0SlandAIltype.
loroviruswasoenreportedinliveoysterspredomi
nantlyfromlrance,reportedmainlybyltalybutalso
regularlyby0enmark.Apartfrominoysters,norovirus
was also found in consignments of live clams from
JurkeyandJunisia,presentedforimportatluborder
20
inspectionposts.Aertheinitialndings,theopera
torsfellunderthereinforcedchecksregimesetupin
JRAClS,triggeringnewnotications.lorsomeofthese
operators,repeatedunfavourablendingshaveledto
systematictestingattheborder.
Jhe increase in Salmonella notifications is nearly
entirelyduetorepeatedndingsofSalmonella in frozen
clamswhichaccordingtodocumentsareheattreated
('blanched'or'boiled')althoughthisdoesnotalways
appearonthelabelling.lorcookedbivalvemolluscsa
food safety criterion for Salmonellaofabsencein25g
is in force. Jhe noncompliances are reported predomi
nantlyforonevietnameseexporterwhichwasplaced
underl00reinforcedborderchecks.Jhevietnamese
competentauthority,lAll0A0,whichisalsotheRASll
contact point in vietnam, informed the RASll network
ofthesuspendedproductionatthenotiedvietnamese
establishment.
2.6.2. Heatotherthanpoultry
Jheincreaseinnoticationsformeatotherthanpoul
tryisentirelyduetondingsofshigatoxinproducing
Escherichia coli (SJlC).Jheproductsareroutinelytested
forthepresenceofgenesmarkingl.colibacteriathat
arecapableofproducingtoxinsthatcancausedisease.
Joprovehoweverthatthereareviablel.colipresenting
arealhealthrisk,anisolationofthebacteriaaccording
totheociallS0methodisnecessary.
Host notications are reported for chilled beef from
Argentinaand8razil.Jheexportersareplacedunderrein
forcedchecksthroughJRAClS.Apartfromafewnotica
tionsonbeefproducedinthelu,ltalynotiedrepeated
ndingsofSJlCinfrozendeermeatfromAustria.
2.6.3. loultrymeat
loticationsonSalmonellainpoultrymeathavetripled
in20l3comparedtothepreviousyear.!ustoverhalf
ofthesenoticationsareborderre|ections(94),allbut
oneonpoultrymeatpreparations(abouthalf)andfresh
poultrymeat(theotherhalf)from8razil.Jhisrepresents
averysignicantincreasecausedbyseveral8razilian
operatorsbeingplacedunderl00reinforcedchecks
throughJRAClS.
loticationsonpoultryproductscirculatingonthemar
ket found contaminated with Salmonellaalsobecame
ligure 8 lathogens in bivalve molluscs
0
5
l0
l5
20
30
40
50
25
35
45
N
u
m
b
e
r

e
f

R
A
5
F
F

n
e
t
i

c
a
t
i
e
n
s
20l2 20l3
m
a
r
i
n
e

b
i
o
t
o
x
i
n
s
h
e
p
a
t
i
s

A

v
i
r
u
s
n
o
r
o
v
i
r
u
s
S
a
l
m
o
n
e
l
l
a
t
o
o

h
i
g
h

c
o
u
n
t

o
f

l
s
c
h
e
r
i
c
h
i
a

c
o
l
i
v
i
b
r
i
o
ligure 9 lathogens in meat other than poultry
0
20
l0
30
40
50
70
80
60
N
u
m
b
e
r

e
f

R
A
5
F
F

n
e
t
i

c
a
t
i
e
n
s
20l2 20l3
listeria
monocytogenes
Salmonella Shigatoxin
producing
lscherichia coa
2l
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
morefrequentin20l3(76notications),mostofthem
concernedproductsproducedinthelu(57notications)
andnotablyinloland(38notications).ln34casesthe
noticationwasclassiedasalert(seriousrisk)meaning
thatthesenoticationsreportednoncomplianceswith
a Salmonellalufoodsafetycriterionofaproductthat
wasormighthavebeenonthemarketofothermember
countriesthanthenotifyingcountry.
2.6.4. lruitsandvegetables
Anotherimportant'source'ofRASllnoticationson
pathogensarefruitsandvegetables.
Althoughvariouspathogenscanoccuronthesecom
modities,themainpathogenreportedthroughRASll
is still Salmonella.Jhecontinuingreasonsince20ll
forthehighnumberofreportsonSalmonella is paan
leaves
9
.Jhecontinuousreportsnotiedbytheunited
kingdompromptedtheadoptionofasafeguardmeas
uresuspendingtemporarilyimportsofpaanleavesfrom
8angladesh
l0
andsettingupreinforcedchecksforpaan
leaves from lndia and Jhailand.
loroviruswasfoundinraspberriesfromlolandand
strawberriesfromChina,thelatterhavingbeenunder
reinforcedcheckssinceaverylargeoutbreakin20l2
inCermanycouldbelinkedtostrawberriesimported
fromChina
ll
. Another virus that has made its mark
in 20l3 was hepatitis A. A multicountry outbreak
sparkedincreasedtestingcarriedoutmainlyinltaly,
whichhasalaboratorywithrequiredexpertiseonthe
dicult matrix of fresh and frozen berries, leading
tollRASllnoticationsonfrozenberriesandberry
mixeswithberryingredientsfromvariouscountries
aroundtheworld.Someofthesenoticationscould
berelatedtotheongoingoutbreak.Seealsochapter
2.2 for more details.
2.7. Hycotoxns
2.7.l. lngeneral
ln 20l3, the number of mycotoxin notifications
decreased further signicantly, which was due to a
decreaseinreportedaatoxinnotications(seeJable2)
Jhedecreaseinaatoxinnoticationsismainlyexplained
bythesignicantdecreaseinnoticationsrelatedtothe
presenceofaatoxinsinpeanutsfromlndia(from88
noticationsin20l2tol5in20l3)andindriedgsfrom
Jurkey(froml35noticationsin20l2to40in20l3).
9 See RASll annual report 20ll, p.l5
l0 Commission lmplementing 0ecision 20l4|88|lu, 0! l 45,
l5|02|20l4,p.34-35
ll See RASll annual report 20l2, p.22
0n the other hand in 20l3 there were a signicant
numberofnoticationsofaatoxinsinmaizefromthe
luropeanregion(seechapter2.7.2).
2.7.2. Aatoxinsinmaize
Jhesouthernregionofluropehadbeenaectedbya
veryseveredroughtduringthe20l2growingseason
ofmaize,resultinginanincreasedprevalenceofaa
toxinsinmaizeoftheharvestfromthatregion.Several
RASllnoticationsrelatedtoalevelabovethepermit
tedmaximumofaatoxinsinmaizefromthatregion
were issued at the end of 20l2 and in 20l3, mainly on
maizeforanimalfeedoriginatingfrom8ulgaria,Roma
nia,Serbiaandukrainebutalsofromlungary,Spain,
SlovakRepublic,Creeceandltaly.
lven if controls were performed on the presence on
aflatoxins before placing the maize on the market,
noncompliantlevelsofaatoxinswerefoundinmaize
atimportoralreadyonthelumarket.Jhiswasdue
tothefactthatcontaminationofaatoxinsinalotis
veryheterogeneousandthesamplingperformedbythe
businessoperatorstocheckcompliancewiththelu
maximumlevelsprovedtobenotalwaysrepresenta
tive for the lot. lurthermore a lack of communication
betweenthedierentoperatorsontheobtainedresults
andonthewaythesamplinghadbeenperformedwas
ligure l0 lathogens in fruits and vegetables
0
l0
20
30
40
60
70
80
50
N
u
m
b
e
r

e
f

R
A
5
F
F

n
e
t
i

c
a
t
i
e
n
s
20l2 20l3
8
a
c
i
l
l
u
s

c
e
r
e
u
s
l
e
p
a
t
i
t
i
s

A

v
i
r
u
s
l
i
s
t
e
r
i
a

m
o
n
o
c
y
t
o
g
e
n
e
s
l
o
r
o
v
i
r
u
s
S
a
l
m
o
n
e
l
l
a
22
Jable2loticationsonmycotoxinsinfoodandfeed
Razard 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 20l0 20ll 20l2 20l3
Aatoxins 839 946 80l 705 902 638 649 585 484 34l
0eoxynivalenol
(00l)
l0 4 3 2 ll 4 8
lumonisins l4 2 l5 9 2 l 3 4 4 7
0chratoxinA 27 42 54 30 20 27 34 35 32 54
latulin 6 7 3
Iearalenone l 6 2 4
1otal mycotoxns 880 996 878 760 933 669 688 635 528 4l0
observed.Aguidancedocumentisunderdiscussionto
addresstheseshortcomings.
2.7.3. 0chratoxinA
54noticationsrelatedtotheunacceptablepresence
of ochratoxin A, a signicant increase compared to
20l2.Jherewere3lnoticationsforochratoxinAin
thecategory'fruitsandvegetables',mainlydriedgs
fromJurkey(l3notications)anddriedvinefruitfrom
Afghanistan(5)uzbekistan(4),Jurkey(3)andlran(2).
Jherewere8noticationsinthecategory'herbsand
spices',amongwhichcurrypowderfromlndia(3)and
5noticationsinthecategory'cerealsandbakeryprod
ucts'mainlyryeproducts(3).Coeewasthesub|ectof
5noticationsand3noticationsrelatedtogrape|uice.
linally peanuts and almonds were found to occasionally
containhighlevelsofochratoxinA.
23
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
3.l. Rorse meat scandal n the Lu
JherstRASllnoticationonfoodproductsadulterated
with horse meat was issued on 8
th
lebruary20l3.Jhe
loodSafetyAuthorityoflreland(lSAl),whichisthelrish
RASllContactloint,notiedtheluropeanCommission
Contactloint(lCCl)regardingprocessedfoodscontain
ingunlabelledhorsemeat.Jhisinformationwasrapidly
communicatedtoallmembersoftheRASllnetworkto
allowthecompetentauthoritiestostartinvestigating,
takethenecessarymeasuresandinformothermembers
ofthenetworkabouttheiroutcome.
lntheinitialstagesoftheincident,countriesmostoen
notiedascountryoforiginofadulteratedmeatwere
loland,ltaly,lranceandCermany.lowever,itsoon
becameapparentthatmorecountrieswereaected,
eitherbyhavingrawmeatorvariouspreparedmeat
products(lasagne,spaghetti8olognese,chiliconcarne,
moussaka)onthemarketorbeingacountryoforigin
of the meat.
Aerextensiveinvestigationswerecarriedoutinthe
HemberStatesandreportedthroughtheRASll,the
letherlandswasidentiedasthecountrywherethe
twomaincasesoffraudhadbeencommittedandto
whichmanyofthereportedcasescouldbetracedback.
0uetothefactthatthesecompanieshadalreadybeen
placingtheirfraudulentproductsonthemarketfora
fewyearsandhaddevelopeddistributionchains,all
HemberStatesandl5thirdcountrieshadbeefproducts
containingundeclaredhorsemeatonthemarket.
0vertheyear8loriginaland428followupnotica
tionsconcerningprocessedproducts,orrawmeat,were
transmittedthroughtheRASll.Jhehighnumberof
noticationswasfuelledbytheCommissionlaunched
monitoringprogramme(CommissionRecommendation
20l3|99
l2
)whichcalledforluwidecontrolsatretail
level,inordertoidentifythescaleofanymisleading
labellingpracticesinrelationtounlabelledhorsemeat
infoodproductsthatexceededl.
Althoughnofoodsafetyriskwasidentied,theRASll
systemwasinstrumentalinensuringthatallinforma
tionwasexchangedrapidly.JhishelpedHemberStates
toinvestigateunclearissuesmorequicklyandbuild
comprehensivetraceability,whichwasakeyfactorin
this case.
Jhe horse meat scandal revealed that there is a reli
abilityprobleminthetraceabilityinformationinthefood
chain,asaconsequenceoffraudulentactivitiesinthe
food production sector.
Asafollowupaction,theCommissionisworkingonset
tingupasimilarsystemtoRASll(loodlraudsystem)
thatwillallowanyinformationwithregardtofraudulent
l2 0!l48,2l.2.20l3,p.28
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
24
Iocus on
LRAP1Lk 3
activities in the food sector to circulate rapidly in order
torestoreconsumers'condencethatwhattheybuyis
whatitsaysonthelabel.
3.2. Lroata:newmemberofthe
kASII network.
JheRepublicofCroatiaharmonizeditslegislationwith
lufoodlawandbeganimplementationin2007.0uring
2008CroatiabeganpreparationsforRASllandin2009
was connected to the system as a third country. As the
accesstoRASllwindowatthattimewasrestrictedand
includednoticationsonfoodandfeedoriginatingfrom
CroatiaorimportedtoCroatia,orconnectedinanyway
withCroatia,communicationbetweentheCroatianlCl
andSAlC0RASllwasperformedbyemail.Asofl
!uly20l3,CroatiabecamefullmemberofRASllwhen
it|oinedthelu.
JhecompetentauthorityinCroatiaalsoestablished,
bynationallegislation,anationalrapidalertsystem
for food, feed and food contact material, based on
therequirementsofRegulationlCl78|2002aswell
as communication practice in RASll network. ln 20ll
CroatiaharmonizednationallegislationwithRegulation
lCl6|20ll.Aerthatseveralworkshopsandtraining
courseswereorganisedtoinformallstakeholdersonthe
functioningofthenationalrapidalertsystem.
ln20l3,beforetheaccession,the0CSAlC0RASll
teamorganisedtwotrainingcoursesatnationallevelon
managingtherapidalertsystemforfoodandfeedfor
the national contact point as well as for RASll contact
points in other competent authorities in the country.
Jhesetrainingswereatthesametimeatestofthe
abilityoftheCroatianlCltofullyandeectivelyfunc
tionintheRASllnetworkaertheaccessiontolu.
All stakeholders were informed of the procedures and
rulesofcommunicationintheRASllincludingtheS0ls,
iRASll,wordtemplates,JRAClSandRASllwindow.
CroatiaregularlytransmitsRASllnoticationsusing
iRASllandJRAClSorifnecessaryinformingbyemail,
ensuring24|7|365availabilityofthelClandincluding
all stakeholders in its communication network.
3.2.l. CroatianlationalRapidAlert
System for lood and leed
(lRRASll)
JhelationalContactlointinCroatiaistheHinistryof
AgricultureveterinaryandloodSafety0irectorate
responsibleformanagingthenationalrapidalertsys
temforfoodandfeed.lnspectionbodiesresponsiblefor
carryingoutocialcontrolsandinstitutionsresponsible
for the risk assessment in the scope of food and feed
safetyareincludedinthesystemthroughtheircontact
points.8llsareinvolvedinthecommunicationwiththe
lClbyJRAClSandemail.
25
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
Jhe RASll was put in place to provide food and feed
controlauthoritieswithaneectivetooltoexchange
informationaboutmeasurestakenrespondingtoseri
ous risks detected in relation to food or feed. Jhis
exchangeofinformationhelpsHemberStatestoact
more rapidly and in a coordinated manner in response
toahealththreatcausedbyfoodorfeed.ltseec
tivenessisensuredbykeepingitsstructuresimple.it
consistsessentiallyofclearlyidentiedcontactpoints
intheCommission,llSA
l3
, llA
l4
and at national level
inmembercountries,exchanginginformationinaclear
andstructuredwaybymeansoftemplates.
4.l. 1helegalbass
Jhe legal basis of the RASll is Regulation (lC)
ll78|2002.Article50ofthisRegulationestablishes
the rapid alert system for food and feed as a network
involvingtheHemberStates,theCommissionasmem
berandmanagerofthesystemandtheluropeanlood
SafetyAuthority(llSA).AlsothellAcountries.lorway,
liechtensteinandlceland,arelongstandingmembers
of the RASll.
wheneveramemberofthenetworkhasanyinforma
tion relating to the existence of a serious direct or
indirectrisktohumanhealthderivingfromfoodor
feed,thisinformationisimmediatelynotiedtothe
l3 luropean lood Safety Authority, www.efsa.europa.eu
l4 llJA Surveillance Authority, http.||www.easurv.int
CommissionundertheRASll.JheCommissionimme
diatelytransmitsthisinformationtothemembersof
the network.
Article50.3oftheRegulationlaysdownadditionalcri
teriaforwhenaRASllnoticationisrequired.
withoutpre|udicetootherCommunitylegislation,the
HemberStatesshallimmediatelynotifytheCommission
under the rapid alert system of.
(a) any measure they adopt which is aimed at restrict
ingtheplacingonthemarketorforcingthewith
drawal from the market or the recall of food or
feedinordertoprotecthumanhealthandrequir
ingrapidaction,
(b) anyrecommendationoragreementwithprofes
sional operators which is aimed, on a voluntary or
obligatorybasis,atpreventing,limitingorimposing
specicconditionsontheplacingonthemarketor
the eventual use of food or feed on account of a
seriousrisktohumanhealthrequiringrapidaction,
(c) anyre|ection,relatedtoadirectorindirectriskto
humanhealth,ofabatch,containerorcargoof
foodorfeedbyacompetentauthorityataborder
postwithintheluropeanunion.
Regulation(lC)ll6|20lllaysdownimplementing
rulesfortheRASll.ltenteredintoforceon3l!anuary
20ll.JheRegulationlaysdownrequirementsformem
bersofthenetworkandtheprocedurefortransmission
ofthedierenttypesofnotications.Adierenceis
madebetweennoticationsrequiringrapidaction(alert
notications)andothernotications(informationnoti
cationsandborderre|ectionnotications).Jherefore
denitionsofthesedierenttypesofnoticationsare
added.lnadditiontheroleoftheCommissionasman
agerofthenetworkisdetailed.
4.2. 1hemembers
Allmembersofthesystemhaveoutofhoursarrange
ments(7days|7,24hour|24)toensurethatincase
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
26
A quck manual to the
RASFF
LRAP1Lk 4
ofanurgentnoticationbeingmadeoutsideofoce
hours,ondutyocerscanbewarned,acknowledge
theurgentinformationandtakeappropriateaction.All
memberorganisationsoftheRASll-wherecontact
pointsareidentied-arelistedandtheirhomepages
canbeconsultedontheinternetfromthefollowing
RASllwebpage.
http.||ec.europa.eu|comm|food|food|rapidalert|
members_en.htm.
4.3. 1he system
4.3.l. RASllnotications
RASllnoticationsusuallyreportonrisksidentiedin
food, feed or food contact materials that are placed on
themarketinthenotifyingcountryordetainedatan
lupointofentryattheborderwithanluneighbour
ingcountry.Jhenotifyingcountryreportsontherisks
ithasidentied,theproductanditstraceabilityandthe
measures it has taken.
Accordingtotheseriousnessoftherisksidentiedand
thedistributionoftheproductonthemarket,theRASll
noticationisclassiedaervericationbytheCom
missioncontactpointasalert,informationorborder
re|ectionnoticationbeforetheCommissioncontact
pointtransmitsittoallnetworkmembers.
aIert neticatiens
An'alertnotication'or'alert'issentwhenafood,
feedorfoodcontactmaterialpresentingaserious
risk is on the market and when rapid action is or
mightberequiredinanothercountrythanthenoti
fyingcountry.Alertsaretriggeredbythemember
ofthenetworkthatdetectstheproblemandhas
initiated the relevant measures, such as withdrawal
or recall. Jhe notication aims at giving all the
membersofthenetworktheinformationtoverify
whether the concerned product is on their market,
so that they can take the necessary measures.
lroductssub|ecttoanalertnoticationhavebeen
withdrawnorareintheprocessofbeingwithdrawn
fromthemarket.HemberStateshavetheirown
mechanismstocarryoutsuchactions,includingthe
provisionofdetailedinformationthroughthemedia
if necessary.
infermatien neticatiens
An 'information notification' concerns a food,
feed or food contact material for which a risk has
beenidentiedthatdoesnotrequirerapidaction
eitherbecausetheriskisnotconsideredserious
or the product is not on the market at the time of
notication.
CommissionRegulation(lu)lol6|20llhasadded
twonewsubtypesofinformationnoticationtothe
familyofnotications.
'informationnoticationsforfollowup'arerelated
toaproductthatisormaybeplacedonthemarket
inanothermembercountry
'informationnoticationsforattention'arerelated
to a product that.
(i)ispresentonlyinthenotifyingmembercountry,or
(ii)hasnotbeenplacedonthemarket,or
(iii)isnolongeronthemarket
berder rejectien neticatiens
A'borderre|ectionnotication'concernsaconsign
ment of food, feed or food contact material that
wasrefusedentryintotheCommunityforreason
of a risk to human health and also to animal health
or to the environment if it concerns feed.
eriginaI neticatiens and feIIew-u neticatiens
ARASllnoticationreferringtooneormorecon
signmentsofafood,feedorfoodcontactmaterial
thatwerenotpreviouslynotiedtotheRASllisan
'original'notication,classiedasalert,information
orborderre|ectionnotication.lnreactiontosuch
notication,membersofthenetworkcantransmit
'followup'noticationswhichrefertothesame
consignmentsandwhichaddinformationtothe
originalnoticationsuchasinformationonhazards,
producttraceabilityormeasurestaken.
rejected and withdrawn neticatiens
Anoriginalnoticationsentbyamemberofthe
RASllcanberejectedfromtransmissionthrough
theRASllsystem,asproposedbytheCommis
sionaervericationandinagreementwiththe
notifyingcountry,ifthecriteriafornotication
are not met or if the information transmitted is
insucient.
27
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
Anoriginalnoticationthatwastransmittedthrough
theRASllcanbewithdrawnbytheCommissionin
agreementwiththenotifyingcountryiftheinfor
mation,uponwhichthemeasurestakenarebased,
turnsouttobeunfoundedorifthetransmissionof
thenoticationwasmadeerroneously.
4.3.2. RASll news
A 'RASll news' concerns any type of information
related to the safety of food or feed which has not
ligurellSchematicrepresentationoftheinformationowoftheRASll
HlH8lR C0ulJRY
RASll
ASSlSSHllJ
lll08ACk lR0H
HlH8lR C0ulJRllS
RASll
JRAlSHlSSl0l
HlH8lR
C0ulJRllS
JllR0C0ulJRY
C0lClRll0
8usiness|Consumer
lll08ACk lR0H
JllR0 C0ulJRY
RASll
l0RJAl
AlluAl
Rll0RJ
8order Control
Harket Control
Jhird country
Hedia
beencommunicatedasanalert,informationorborder
re|ectionnotication,butwhichis|udgedinteresting
forthefoodandfeedcontrolauthoritiesinmember
countries.
RASllnewsareoenbasedoninformationpickedup
inthemediaorforwardedbycolleaguesinfoodorfeed
authoritiesinthirdcountries,lCdelegationsorinterna
tionalorganisations,aerhavingbeenveriedwithany
membercountriesconcerned.
28
5.l. Lvolutonofthenumberofnotcatonssnce2009:
Jable3lvolutionoforiginalnotications
l5
Year Alert
8order
ke|ecton
Informaton
Informaton
Ior Attenton
Informaton Ior
Iollow-up
2009 557 l44l ll79 0 0
20l0 576 l544 ll67 0 0
20ll 6l7 l824 0 7l8 55l
20l2 526 l7l5 0 682 509
20l3 585 l443 0 680 429
in/decrease +11.2 -15.9 -0.5 -15.7
ligurel2lvolutionoforiginalnotications
2009 20l0 20ll 20l2 20l3
0
500
l000
l500
2000
2500
3000
3500
4000
N
u
m
b
e
r

e
f

R
A
5
F
F

n
e
t
i

c
a
t
i
e
n
s
lnformation lor lollowup
lnformation lor Attention
lnformation
8orderRe|ection
Alert
l5 lnthenumbersoforiginalnoticationsinthistablearenotcountedthenoticationsthatwereaerwardswithdrawn.
29
RASFF
Iactsandfgures
LRAP1Lk 5
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
30
Jable4lvolutionoffollowupnotications
l6
Year Alert
8order
ke|ecton
Informaton
Informaton
Ior Attenton
Informaton Ior
Iollow-up
2009 l848 732 2099
20l0 205l 97l 2202
20ll 2265 l053 42l 480 ll26
20l2 23l2 906 74 663 l326
20l3 2376 525 l 763 l493
in/decrease +2.8 -42.1 -98.6 +15.1 +12.6
ligurel3lvolutionoffollowupnotications
2009 20l0 20ll 20l2 20l3
0
l000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
N
u
m
b
e
r

e
f

R
A
5
F
F

n
e
t
i

c
a
t
i
e
n
s
lnformationlorlollowup
lnformationlorAttention
lnformation
8orderRe|ection
Alert
Jable5evolutionofnoticationsbynotifyingcountry
NotfyngLountry 2009 20l0 20ll 20l2 20l3
Austria ll0 88 65 49 46
8elgium ll7 94 l28 l43 l64
8ulgaria 26 33 ll6 75 54
CommissionServices 23 ll 4 l l
Croatia 8
Cyprus 53 52 76 5l 44
CzechRepublic 68 90 95 72 70
l6 lromtheRASllannualreport20l2onwards,inthistableallfollowupsarecounted,alsothefollowupstonoticationsthatwereaer
wards withdrawn.
3l
NotfyngLountry 2009 20l0 20ll 20l2 20l3
0enmark l22 l3l l5l l30 ll2
lstonia l3 l8 9 l7 32
linland l4l l30 lll l05 88
lrance l57 l7l l99 275 249
Cermany 4l2 396 4l5 362 33l
Creece l60 l57 l27 66 65
lungary l0 20 l3 l0 3
lceland l 2 6 3 l
lreland 30 33 49 53 40
ltaly 466 54l 544 5l7 534
latvia l4 2l l7 26 27
lithuania 33 48 39 5l 28
luxembourg l6 23 25 8 l7
Halta l8 l2 27 ll l2
letherlands 2l2 2l4 202 l73 264
lorway 30 23 5l 6l 45
loland l4l l40 223 l8l l20
lortugal 8 l8 22 28 40
Romania l8 25 2l l4 l4
Slovakia 52 56 35 35 35
Slovenia 73 56 45 43 34
Spain 255 285 297 239 20l
Sweden 60 73 72 95 9l
Switzerland 4 7 6 20 40
untedkngdom 334 3l9 507 5l7 327
1otal 3l77 3287 3697 343l 3l37
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
32
5.2. 20l3kASIInotcatons
Jable620l3noticationsbyhazardcategory,byclassicationandbybasis
Razardcategory
1
o
t
a
l
A
l
e
r
t

8
o
r
d
e
r

k
e
|
e
c
t

o
n
I
n
f
o
r
m
a
t

o
n

I
o
r

A
t
t
e
n
t

o
n

I
n
f
o
r
m
a
t

o
n

I
o
r

I
o
l
l
o
w
-
u
p

8
o
r
d
e
r

L
o
n
t
r
o
l

L
o
n
s

g
n
m
e
n
t

D
e
t
a

n
e
d

8
o
r
d
e
r

L
o
n
t
r
o
l

L
o
n
s

g
n
m
e
n
t

k
e
l
e
a
s
e
d

8
o
r
d
e
r

L
o
n
t
r
o
l

L
o
n
s

g
n
m
e
n
t

u
n
d
e
r

L
u
s
t
o
m
s

L
o
m
p
a
n
y

s

0
w
n

L
h
e
c
k

L
o
n
s
u
m
e
r

L
o
m
p
l
a

n
t

I
o
o
d

P
o

s
o
n

n
g

H
o
n

t
o
r

n
g

o
f

H
e
d

a
0

a
l

L
o
n
t
r
o
l

N
o
n
-
H
e
m
b
e
r

L
o
u
n
t
r
y

0

a
l

L
o
n
t
r
o
l

o
n

t
h
e

H
a
r
k
e
t

Jotal
3l37 585 l443 680 429 l407 206 33 4l0 ll8 4l l 9 9l2
Adulteration|lraud
l68 4 79 l5 70 75 4 25 l 63
Allergens
7l 45 l 24 l l l 25 l4 30
8iocontaminants
5l l4 l0 27 l0 5 9 3 8 l6
8iotoxins(0ther)
27 23 3 l 4 5 3 l5
ChemicalContamination(0ther)
4 2 2 2 2
Composition
l8l l9 60 38 64 60 3 5 5 l l l06
leed Additives
l4 4 7 3 7 6 l
loodAdditivesandllavourings
92 ll 29 26 26 29 9 l 5 l 47
loreign8odies
l02 27 22 l7 36 2l l ll 57 l2
CH0|lovellood
76 37 26 l3 35 l6 2 l 4 l8
leavyHetals
290 73 l36 69 l2 l34 25 2 l9 l 2 l07
lndustrialContaminants
52 2l 6 l6 9 6 7 l0 29
labellingAbsent|lncomplete|
lncorrect
l0 2 3 5 3 4 3
Higration
86 l4 42 l3 l7 42 2 l 4l
Hycotoxins
405 78 269 55 3 260 l2 7 42 l l 82
lonlathogenic
Hicro0rganisms
55 l 33 5 l6 32 l l 3 9 9
lot0etermined|0ther
l4 8 3 l 2 3 l 2 l 7
0rganolepticAspects
38 2 26 l0 26 5 7
lackaging0efective|lncorrect
2l 4 7 3 7 7 9 4 l
larasiticlnfestation
l0 4 2 4 4 l 5
lathogenicHicro0rganisms
774 204 279 223 68 27l 63 7 l90 4 27 3 209
lesticideResidues
452 l4 337 83 l8 328 36 9 22 l 56
loororlnsucientControls
95 75 4 l6 74 l l 3 l6
Radiation
20 l 8 4 7 8 4 3 l 4
ResiduesofveterinaryHedicinal
lroducts
94 28 l4 24 28 l4 l5 23 2 2 38
JSls
l5 l 3 ll 3 l2
Jable720l3noticationsbyproductcategoryandbyclassication
ProductLategory
A
l
e
r
t

8
o
r
d
e
r

k
e
|
e
c
t

o
n

I
n
f
o
r
m
a
t

o
n

I
o
r

A
t
t
e
n
t

o
n

I
n
f
o
r
m
a
t

o
n

I
o
r

I
o
l
l
o
w
-
u
p

1
o
t
a
l

2
0
l
3

2
0
l
2
2
0
l
l
2
0
l
0

Alcoholic8everages l 2 l 4 7 l4 7
Animal 8yproducts 0 8 0 2
8ivalveHolluscsandlroductsJhereof 49 34 37 3 l23 53 68 78
CephalopodsandlroductsJhereof l l2 8 l 22 53 78 44
Cerealsand8akerylroducts 42 36 22 l2 ll2 l72 l80 l72
CocoaandCocoalreparations,CoeeandJea 9 40 2 4 55 78 43 33
Compoundleeds 2 5 ll l8 26 l3 7
Confectionery l2 7 2 9 30 7l 66 50
CrustaceansandlroductsJhereof 7 30 l0 7 54 60 75 78
0ieteticloods,loodSupplements,lortiedloods 33 54 l9 50 l56 l83 l38 l4l
lggsandlgglroducts 3 l 2 6 l7 l3 l6
latsand0ils 4 5 l l0 l7 20 25
leed Additives 2 l 2 3 8 9 l3 7
leedforloodlroducingAnimals(0bsolete) 0 0 2 0
leedHaterials 24 65 54 66 209 235 260 ll2
leedlremixtures 2 3 4 9 8 6 4
lishandlishlroducts 77 86 ll8 30 3ll 373 482 452
loodAdditivesandllavourings 3 3 l 2 9 ll 7 l
loodContactHaterials 23 l56 24 20 223 289 308 23l
lruitsandvegetables 55 402 l6l 24 642 7l6 67l 494
Castropods l l 2 4 0 l0
lerbsandSpices l8 77 3l l2 l38 l50 20l 222
loneyandRoyal!elly l 2 3 6 8 l0 l6
lcesand0esserts 4 3 2 9 l2 7 6
HeatandHeatlroducts(0therJhanloultry) 74 64 45 67 250 l84 l72 l95
HilkandHilklroducts 22 7 l4 43 52 50 76
laturalHineralwater l l 2 4 8 6
lonAlcoholic8everages l 9 l4 9 33 43 3l 36
luts,lutlroductsandSeeds 30 2l5 25 2 272 329 522 537
0therloodlroduct|Hixed 8 22 8 l4 52 35 l5 l4
letlood 4 7 5 l2 28 38 63 56
loultryHeatandloultryHeatlroducts 50 l06 49 l0 2l5 ll7 72 75
lrepared0ishesandSnacks l0 6 l2 3l 59 38 33 24
Soups,8roths,SaucesandCondiments l3 3 5 4 25 26 5l 54
waterforlumanConsumption(0ther) 0 2 4 5
wine l l 2 3 l l
33
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
5.3. 20l3notcatonstopl0
lumberofnoticationscountedforeachcombinationofhazard|productcategory|country.
Jable8loticationstopl0bycountryoforigin
hazard productcategory orgn notcatons
aatoxins nuts, nut products and seeds Jurkey 6l
migrationofchromium food contact materials China 59
aatoxins nuts, nut products and seeds China 54
mercury shandshproducts Spain 43
aatoxins fruitsandvegetables Jurkey 39
migrationofmanganese food contact materials China 38
Salmonella spp. poultry meat and poultry
meat products
8razil 3l
carbonmonoxidetreatment shandshproducts Spain 30
Salmonellaleidelberg poultry meat and poultry
meat products
8razil 29
Salmonella enteritidis poultry meat and poultry
meat products
loland 28
Jable9loticationstopl0bynotifyingcountry
hazard productcategory
notfyng
country
notcatons
migrationofchromium food contact materials ltaly 59
aatoxins nuts, nut products and seeds Cermany 50
mercury shandshproducts ltaly 49
migrationofmanganese food contact materials ltaly 48
aatoxins nuts, nut products and seeds letherlands 42
migrationofnickel food contact materials ltaly 4l
shigatoxinproducinglscherichia
coli
meat and meat products
(otherthanpoultry)
letherlands 40
Salmonella spp. fruitsandvegetables unitedkingdom 34
carbonmonoxidetreatment shandshproducts ltaly 32
aatoxins nuts, nut products and seeds ltaly 27
34
5.4. Notcatonsbycountryoforgn
ligurel420l3loticationsbycountrytype(origin)
alert border
re|ection
informationfor
attention
informationfor
followup
0
l0%
20%
30%
50%
70%
90%
l00%
40%
60%
80%
N
u
m
b
e
r

e
f

R
A
5
F
F

n
e
t
i

c
a
t
i
e
n
s
JhirdCountry
HemberState
CandidateCountry
Lountryoforgn 20ll 20l2 20l3
China 562 536 433
lndia 336 340 257
Jurkey 3l9 309 226
8razil 95 l09 l87
Spain l29 l26 l87
loland 98 ll8 l63
lrance l22 90 l20
ltaly ll6 ll2 l05
letherlands 74 98 l03
unitedStates ll3 l27 l0l
Cermany l52 l04 95
Jhailand 95 ll9 88
Argentina 93 5l 76
vietnam l08 74 76
8elgium 6l 63 6l
Horocco 74 60 60
unitedkingdom 66 63 55
lgypt 55 45 49
Sweden l7 24 45
Romania l2 l6 27
Lountryoforgn 20ll 20l2 20l3
8angladesh 77 56 26
lreland ll l8 26
CzechRepublic 22 8 25
Russia l5 24 25
kenya 7 3 24
Srilanka 9 23 23
8ulgaria l0 7 22
ligeria l3 36 22
Austria 2l l4 2l
0ominicanRepublic 2l 34 2l
lran 46 26 2l
Creece 22 2l 20
longkong l9 l3 20
0enmark 38 33 l9
Cambodia l l8
lungary l5 l9 l8
lsrael l4 l2 l8
Chana 22 l4 l7
lndonesia l9 35 l7
lortugal l3 l3 l7
Jablel0lvolutionofRASllnoticationsbycountryoforigin
35
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
Lountryoforgn 20ll 20l2 20l3
Serbia ll 4 l7
Hauritania l3 l0 l6
ukraine 96 68 l6
Slovakia 8 l3 l5
Hozambique l2 8 l4
Chile 57 20 l3
latvia l4 7 l3
Halaysia 9 l0 l2
Croatia l2 8 ll
lakistan 25 l7 ll
Senegal 3l l4 ll
8osniaandlerzegovina l l l0
lstonia 8 3 l0
linland l 3 9
lithuania 7 l8 9
Southkorea 3 8 9
Junisia 25 l5 9
Canada l2 l0 8
leru 25 22 8
Jaiwan 4 l7 8
CostaRica 2 l 7
lcuador l0 l2 7
!apan 3l l5 7
lamibia l 6 7
South Africa 26 ll 7
unknownorigin 9 6 7
uruguay l3 7 7
Afghanistan l 6 6
Jogo l 2 6
lthiopia 2 5
formerYugoslav
RepublicofHacedonia
l 3 5
lapualewCuinea 4 2 5
Slovenia 6 l0 5
Syria 7 l0 5
Australia 4 6 4
Hexico l4 4 4
Holdova 24 l 4
lewIealand 37 l0 4
Lountryoforgn 20ll 20l2 20l3
licaragua 2 5 4
Seychelles 3 4
uganda 4 2 4
uzbekistan 3 8 4
Algeria 3 l 3
8elarus 2 8 3
Cted'lvoire 3 4 3
laeroe lslands l 3
!ordan l4 l 3
kosovo 3
Hadagascar 7 4 3
Switzerland 3 4 3
Albania 5 2
Colombia l2 8 2
0emocraticRepublicof
theCongo
l 2
Creenland l 3 2
lebanon 4 5 2
liechtenstein 2 2
Halta 8 2 2
Hauritius 3 4 2
lorway l3 l2 2
lhilippines l2 l2 2
Yemen 4 2 2
Armenia l l
Azerbai|an 2 3 l
8elize l
8enin l
8urundi l
Cameroon l l
Capeverde l
0ominica l
Cambia l 3 l
Ceorgia l0 3 l
Cuatemala 6 2 l
kazakhstan 4 l l
laos 2 l
luxembourg l
lepal l l l
36
Lountryoforgn 20ll 20l2 20l3
0man l l
lanama 4 l l
laraguay 2 2 l
Sierraleone 8 l
Singapore l 3 l
Sudan l
Suriname 3 l
8ahrain l
8olivia 2 2
8urkina laso l
Congo(8razzaville) l
Cuba 2 l
Cyprus 2
lalkland lslands l 3
Lountryoforgn 20ll 20l2 20l3
Cuadeloupe l
Cuinea 3 l
Cuyana l
lceland 3
!amaica 2
kyrgyzstan l
Haldives 8
Hali 2
Hongolia l
Swaziland 2
Janzania l
unitedArablmirates l l
venezuela 2
ligurel5200020l3noticationsbyworldregion
0
200
400
600
l000
l400
l800
800
l200
l600
2000
2004 2005 2006 2007 2000 200l 2002 2003 2008 2009 20l0 20ll 20l2 20l3
Africa
Asia
lurope
latinAmerica
lorthernAmerica
0ceania
37
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
5.5. Notcatonsbyfollow-uptypeandbynotfyngcountry
J
a
b
l
e

l
l

2
0
l
3

n
o
t
i

c
a
t
i
o
n
s

b
y

f
o
l
l
o
w

u
p

t
y
p
e

a
n
d

b
y

n
o
t
i
f
y
i
n
g

c
o
u
n
t
r
y
I
o
l
l
o
w
-
u
p
A
1
8
L
8
u
L
R
L
S
L
Y
L
2
D
L
D
k
L
L
L
S
I
I
I
k
u
8
u
k
R
k
R
u
I
L
I
1
L
I
L
1
L
u
L
v
H
1
N
L
N
0
P
L
P
1
k
0
S
L
S
I
S
k
a
c
c
o
m
p
a
n
y
i
n
g

d
o
c
u
m
e
n
t
s
4
5
l
5
4
5
l
0
4
l
8
l
4
8
l
3
6
0
3
2
l
5
2
l
l
2
5
6
l
a
d
d
i
t
i
o
n
a
l

i
n
f
o
r
m
a
t
i
o
n
9
5
2
3
l
5
3
l
l
0
2
l
6
9
2
4
7
8
0
l
6
5
9
2
7
8
5
l
l
l
2
9
l
2
3
5
2
6
6
5
5
0
5
6
2
7
7
3
a
d
d
i
t
i
o
n
a
l

l
o
t
(
s
)
2
2
l
2
2
4
4
3
6
6
2
l
6
l
5
l
l
l
c
o
r
r
i
g
e
n
d
u
m
2
7
2
l
l
8
2
6
9
6
2
6
2
9
4
l
l
6
2
7
4
l
l
8
3
5
2
5
2
i
n
f
o
r
m
a
t
i
o
n

o
n

s
a
m
p
l
i
n
g
|
a
n
a
l
y
s
i
s
3
l
0
2
l
l
0
3
7
l
7
l
8
4
4
l
l
2
2
6
2
l
3
l
3
6
l
3
5
l
l
i

i
n
g

o
f

r
e
i
n
f
o
r
c
e
d

b
o
r
d
e
r

c
h
e
c
k
s
4
6
l
2
l

l

l

l

l
5
l
m
e
a
s
u
r
e
s

t
a
k
e
n
l
6
5
3
5
7
l
4
7
l
l
8
3
2
7
l
5
l
2
6
3
3
7
l
2
2
8
l
3
4
l
3
3
l
2
2
4
7
2
2
9
l
0
l
3
n
o
t
i

c
a
t
i
o
n

d
o
w
n
g
r
a
d
e
9
l
n
o
t
i

c
a
t
i
o
n

r
e
c
l
a
s
s
i

c
a
t
i
o
n
l
0
l
l
n
o
t
i

c
a
t
i
o
n

u
p
g
r
a
d
e
l
2
3
l
l
l
4
o
u
t
c
o
m
e

o
f

i
n
v
e
s
t
i
g
a
t
i
o
n
s
3
0
l
0
0
3
0
4
l
l
l
5
l
0
7
l
8
9
6
2
2
0
3
7
8
l
0
8
0
4
6
2
5
5
5
0
4
0
l
l
l
3
2
l
5
l
4
l
0
9
4
4
2
0
2
3
4
4
0
6
l
l
7
3
3
o
u
t
c
o
m
e

o
f

i
n
v
e
s
t
i
g
a
t
i
o
n
s

a
n
d

m
e
a
s
u
r
e
s

t
a
k
e
n
3
4
3
2
5
l
5
l
3
3
6
5
8
3
8
7
l
2
6
l
5
4
0
2
5
l
6
2
2
2
6
2
6
2
2
4
l
l
l
3
l
2
l
5
8
2
2
7
l
3
2
3
4
l
3
r
e

d
i
s
p
a
t
c
h

i
n
f
o
r
m
a
t
i
o
n
6
2
5
9
2
l
6
4
3
4
2
2
2
l
l
l
2
l
6
l
2
2
r
e
q
u
e
s
t
5
l
2
2
2
5
l
0
4
2
l
2
4
4
4
l
9
6
4
4
9
7
l
4
l
3
3
l
0
l
6
6
4
4
4
t
r
a
n
s
l
a
t
i
o
n
7
9
3

w
i
t
h
d
r
a
w
a
l

o
f

f
o
l
l
o
w

u
p

n
o
t
i

c
a
t
i
o
n
l
l
6
l
2
l
l
3
l
w
i
t
h
d
r
a
w
a
l

o
f

o
r
i
g
i
n
a
l

n
o
t
i

c
a
t
i
o
n
2
2
6
4
2
8
l
2
l
7
l
5
7
l
1
o
t
a
l
8
0
2
4
0
l
0
6
8
5
4
2
0
7
3
2
l
0
3
7
6
l
7
9
4
6
7
0
6
6
4
2
4
2
l
4
l
6
6
l
5
9
l
l
5
4
4
3
9
3
6
9
3
0
4
3
4
3
2
2
2
4
4
4
l
5
8
5
7
6
l
6
l
4
4
5
9
J
h
e

c
o
l
o
u
r
e
d

c
e
l
l
s

i
n
d
i
c
a
t
e

t
h
e

c
o
u
n
t
r
y

w
i
t
h

t
h
e

h
i
g
h
e
s
t

n
u
m
b
e
r

o
f

f
o
l
l
o
w

u
p

n
o
t
i

c
a
t
i
o
n
s

f
o
r

g
i
v
e
n

f
o
l
l
o
w

u
p

t
y
p
e
.
38
country dstrbuton orgn follow-up
Afghanistan 6 2
Albania 3 2 2
Algeria 4 3 3
Andorra l0 l
Argentina 3 78 3
Armenia l
Australia 6 7 3
Azerbai|an l l
8ahrain l
8angladesh 2 26
8arbados l
8elarus 4 3
8enin l
8osnia and
lerzegovina
7 l0 l6
8razil 4 l93 5l
8urundi l
Cambodia l9
Cameroon l l
Canada 8 9 4
Capeverde l l
Caymanlslands l
Chile 3 l5 9
China 9 44l
Colombia l 2
CostaRica 4 7 2
Cted'lvoire l 3
Croatia 5 2
Curaao 2
0emocratic
Republicofthe
Congo
2
0ominica l
0ominican
Republic
4 20 35
lcuador 8 7
lgypt 2 50
lquatorial
Cuinea
l
country dstrbuton orgn follow-up
lthiopia 2 5
laeroe lslands 2 4 l
lalkland lslands l
formerYugoslav
Republicof
Hacedonia
6 5
lrenchlolynesia 2
Cabon l
Cambia l
Ceorgia l l 2
Chana 2 l8
Cibraltar 3 2
Creenland 2 2
Cuadeloupe 2
Cuatemala l l
Cuernsey l
Cuinea l
londuras l
longkong 5 45 54
lndia 5 263 4
lndonesia 3 20 8
lran l 2l
lraq 2
lsrael 3 l8 3
ltaly l
!apan 6 l0 5
!ersey 2
!ordan l 3
kazakhstan l l
kenya 2 25 3
kosovo 3 2
kuwait 2
laos l
lebanon 5 2 l
liberia l
libya l
Hadagascar 3 l
Halaysia 6 l4
Jablel2lonmembercountrieshavingbeeninformedandhavingprovidedfollowupthroughRASll
39
R A S l l 2 0 l 3 A l l u A l R l l 0 R J
country dstrbuton orgn follow-up
Hauritania l6
Hauritius 3 2 2
Hayotte l
Hexico l 4
Holdova 3 5
Honaco 4 l
Hongolia l
Hontenegro 4 2
Horocco l 6l 2
Hozambique l4 l8
Hyanmar l
lamibia 7 2
lepal l
lewCaledonia l
lewIealand l 4 l
licaragua 4
ligeria 3 22 l
0man 2 l
lakistan l l2
lanama 2 3
lapualew
Cuinea
5 3
laraguay l
leru 3 8
lhilippines 5 2
0atar l
Russia l7 25
SanHarino 2 l
SaudiArabia 3
country dstrbuton orgn follow-up
Senegal ll 3
Serbia ll l8 5
Seychelles l 4 l
Sierraleone l
Singapore 7 3
South Africa 8 6 2
Southkorea 4 9
Srilanka 2 25 l0
Sudan l l
Suriname l l
Swaziland l
Syria l 6
Jaiwan 5 9 8
Jhailand 6 89 23
Jogo l 6
Junisia l l2
Jurkey 8 234 l4
Jurkmenistan l
uganda 4 l
ukraine l2 l6 l
unitedArab
lmirates
7 3
unitedStates l7 l06 5
uruguay 5 7 l
uzbekistan 4
venezuela 2
vietnam 3 76 2
Yemen 2 2 l
Iimbabwe l
1etaI 529 2251 555
40
JheluropeanCommission'sRASllteamin20l3.
Adrietenvelden,Hagdalavlkov,!an8aele,0awidlacinski,lathalie0e8royer,AnnaHlynarczyk,lnrique8eltrnloveda
4l
HOW TO OBTAIN EU PUBLICATIONS
Free publications:
one copy:
via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu);
more than one copy or posters/maps:
from the European Unions representations (http://ec.europa.eu/represent_en.htm);
from the delegations in non-EU countries (http://eeas.europa.eu/delegations/index_en.htm);
by contacting the Europe Direct service (http://europa.eu/europedirect/index_en.htm) or
calling 00 800 6 7 8 9 10 11 (freephone number from anywhere in the EU) (*).
(*) The information given is free, as are most calls (though some operators, phone boxes or hotels may charge you).
Priced publications:
via EU Bookshop (http://bookshop.europa.eu).
Priced subscriptions (e.g. annual series of the 0cal 1curnal cj the urcean 0ncn
and reports of cases before the Court of Justice of the European Union):
via one of the sales agents of the lublications 0mce of the luropean union (http.||
publications.europa.eu/others/agents/index_en.htm).
The Health and Consumers Directorate-General of the European Commission manages the Rapid Alert System
for Food and Feed (RASFF). This report describes the activity of the RASFF in 2013.

Neither the European Commission nor any person acting on its behalf is responsible for any use that might be
made of the following information.

Photos: www.istockphoto.com, Health and Consumers Directorate-General
The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed
(RASFF)
2013 Annual Report
N
D
-
A
C
-
1
4
-
0
0
1
-
E
N
-
C
ISBN 978-92-79-35992-7
Health and
Consumers
The Rapid Alert
System for
Food and Feed
2013 Annual Report
ISSN 1830-7302
doi:10.2772/56447
RASFF