The latest batch of suspected fraud and non-compliance alerts in Europe concerns supplements, meat products, fish and chocolate.
There were 164 reports in September, compared to 166 in August, 136 in July, 164 in June and 129 in May. Three alerts concerned the United States in September. Two involved dietary supplements and the other involved whey proteins that bypassed border controls.
The issues listed are potential frauds. Non-compliance may result in investigations by EU Member State authorities. The details come from a monthly report published by the European Commission.
The data includes topics of suspected cross-border fraud shared between members of the Alert and Cooperation Network (ACN).
A total of 36 reports mention dietetic foods, food supplements and fortified foods. In second place was the confectionery with 18 reviews and 10 reviews for the wine.
The majority of problems were discovered through market checks. On five occasions, the method of detection was an internal inspection of a business and on 12 occasions, a consumer complaint.
September Highlights
Ascorbic acid levels above the maximum limit were found in a tuna burger from Spain. This additive can be used to give tuna a brighter color and make it look fresher. There were also suspicions of redness and added water in frozen tuna from Vietnam.
In cases suspected of adulteration, extra virgin olive oil and olive oil from Lebanon and Italy contained other vegetable oils.
Two notifications mentioned Dubai chocolate. One from Türkiye was due to tartrazine and the other from Poland contained peanuts, but the label only said: “may contain peanuts.”
An alert was launched by Ireland for alleged counterfeit chocolates from the United Kingdom and another concerning beef sold after its use-by date in Poland.
Eggs from Ukraine did not have an identifying mark, while eggs from the Netherlands did not have a known registration number or country code.
There have been several notices regarding fake invoices or labels for salmon, fruits and vegetables and various products from Latvia.
Kratom was found in candy from the Czech Republic and paprika from China was irradiated.
In one incident, cattle from Romania did not have identification marks, health certificates or passports, but there were animal welfare violations. Another case involved an attempt to illegally import products of animal origin from Sri Lanka, disguised in plant-based products and misrepresented as products of non-animal origin.
In Spain, there was relabeling and distribution of meat products by an operator who did not hold a valid authorization. Other discoveries include unlabeled meat products from Austria and an unknown origin of wild boar meat.
Transport temperature problems have been noted with frozen foods in Sweden and poultry meat in the Netherlands.
Several non-compliances related to ingredients not authorized in the EU, items evading border controls, as well as residues of veterinary medicines and pesticides above maximum residue limits (MRLs).
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