Potential European fraud alerts decrease in May

The latest report on possible fraud and other non-compliance, put forward by EU Member States, concerns the treatment of mineral water, traceability issues and olive oil issues.

The number of suspicions of food and other fraud discussed by European countries fell in May. The number of 281 warnings is down from 341 in April, 345 in March and 318 in February, but is comparable to the 277 in January.

The issues identified are potential fraud. Mentioned cases of non-compliance may lead to investigations by authorities in EU Member States. Details come from a monthly report published by the European Commission.

Data includes suspected cross-border fraud topics shared between members of the Alert and Cooperation Network (ACN) and sourced from the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), the Administrative Assistance and Cooperation Network (AAC) and the Agri-Food Fraud Network (FFN).

It covers food, feed, food contact materials, animal welfare for farm animals, plant protection products and veterinary products that end up as residues and contaminants in food and feed.

The aim is to help national authorities set up risk-based controls to combat fraudulent and deceptive practices, assist the food sector with vulnerability assessments and identify emerging risks.

Summary of selected cases
A total of 89 messages mentioned fruits and vegetables. Diet foods, supplements and fortified foods came in second with 44 warnings, followed by grains and bakery products with 24 warnings.

Most problems came to light through border inspections or market controls. Some were based on information from whistleblowers or were discovered due to food poisoning. A total of 24 were found following consumer complaints and 15 following internal company audits.

In May, there were ten warnings involving the United States. This included cheese sauce and coffee cream powder where border controls were skipped, L-theanine in energy drinks, titanium dioxide in sweets and ingredients in food supplements that are not permitted in Europe.

Cases of product adulteration covering all countries included the sugar content in honey, mechanically separated meat in meat snacks and Robusta beans in Arabica coffee.

Examples of unapproved processes included the addition of water to wine, ultraviolet disinfection and activated carbon filtration in natural mineral water in France, ethylene oxide in a spice mix and chili powder, and Sudan I in adjika sauce.

Record fraud incidents included the quality and mislabeling of olive oil, the absence of caramel in milk caramel and various health claims.

Some other issues mentioned included ingredients unfit for human consumption in pickled olives and peppers, the theft of 21 tons of cargo including ham, the illegal import of sausages from Serbia and chocolate from Peru, and falsified export certification of raspberries and blueberries.

Several non-compliance cases listed ingredients not allowed in the EU and pesticides above maximum residue limits (MRL). Other warnings were due to traceability issues or products failing border controls.

(To sign up for a free subscription to Food Safety News, click here.)