Weekly Highlights at a Glance (week 17)
Total Recalls and Alerts: 96 notifications
Type Breakdown
- Food: 81 cases
- Feed: 8 cases
- Food Contact Materials: 7 cases
Serious Risk Notifications: 80 (83% of all alerts)
Top biological hazards: Salmonella (8 cases, mostly in poultry products, pistachios from Afghanistan, and pumpkin seeds from Turkey), norovirus (3 cases in French oysters)
Top chemical hazards: Aflatoxins (13 cases), primarily products originated from Turkey (groundnuts, pistachios, chocolate, figs, and apricots)
Product categories: Fruits & vegetables (20), nuts & seeds (9), herbs & spices (9), poultry (7)
Origin hotspots: China (13), Türkiye (11), Netherlands (7), France (6), India (5)
Weekly Food Recalls Breakdown
This week's food safety landscape shows 96 alerts across Europe's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF). The vast majority of the incidents, specifically 83% of them, are classified as serious risks, which is a concerning fact. These numbers highlight ongoing vulnerabilities in our global food supply chains, but our effective detection and traceability systems help us act quickly and efficiently.
Most alerts (81) involved food products directly and a smaller portion involved feed (8) and food contact materials (7). Despite fewer numbers, packaging violations remain particularly troubling, especially regarding chemical migration from materials sourced internationally.
Top Food Safety Hazards
Aflatoxins, which are a common chemical hazard, were associated with most alerts this week, particularly in nuts and seeds, with 13 separate incidents. As for biological hazards, Salmonella followed closely with 8 cases, primarily affecting poultry and seed products. Norovirus appeared in three batches of French oysters, raising questions about shellfish safety protocols. Oysters, clams, and mussels filter large volumes of seawater to feed, which means they can accumulate viruses and bacteria present in contaminated water. The fact that oysters are often eaten raw or lightly cooked, which does not reliably kill norovirus. This increases the risk of infection compared to other seafood that is typically cooked thoroughly. Contaminated oysters look, smell, and taste normal, making it difficult for producers and consumers to detect risks without testing and efficient traceability systems.
Table 1. Aflatoxin-Related Alerts
Several packaging materials, mainly from Asian suppliers, showed excessive levels of volatile organic compounds. These alerts highlight a regulatory gap that continues to put consumers at risk. Research from the Danish Consumer Council showed that chemicals routinely migrate from plastic containers into fatty foods like gravy or ready-to-eat pasta. Particularly concerning is that some 58 chemicals classified as "Substances of Very High Concern" under the EU's REACH legislation are still permitted in food-contact materials.
Table 2. Salmonella-Related Alerts
Studies have linked exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) from food packaging to severe health conditions, including obesity, reproductive problems, and hormonal cancers. One very common EDC is bisphenol A (BPA). One European study estimated that BPA in food-contact materials was potentially responsible for 42,400 cases of obesity in young children, with associated health costs of 1.54 billion euros annually.
Undeclared Soy in Salad Bowl
One case flagged undeclared soybeans in a protein salad bowl marketed in Denmark. This serious risk alert shows that allergen mislabeling is not just a minor compliance slip but a public health hazard.
Most Affected Products
Fruits and vegetables led with 20 alerts, followed by:
- Nuts and seeds (9)
- Herbs and spices (9)
- Poultry products (7)
This pattern confirms what industry veterans know well: minimally processed foods remain most vulnerable to contamination.
Graph 1. Top 5 Product Categories with the Most RASFF Alerts
Geographic Hotspots
China topped the origin list with 13 cases, followed by Türkiye (11), the Netherlands (7), France (6), and India (5). This distribution reflects our deeply interconnected food systems and the challenge of maintaining consistent standards across diverse regulatory environments.
The Netherlands, despite being an EU member with strict internal controls, frequently appears in distribution-related alerts. Thanks to the Port of Rotterdam and the country's advanced logistics, it is a major food trade hub and often acts as an intermediary for products originating from all over the world. This highlights how risk doesn't always originate at the source but can be embedded at any point in the supply chain.
Graph 2. Top 5 Countries with the Most RASFF Alerts
Emerging Trends
Worth noting that aflatoxin notifications represented over 13% of all alerts this week. However, this is not an isolated incident, but it should be considered as a broader, concerning trend. Rising temperatures and unpredictable precipitation patterns across Europe (long drought periods followed by devastating floods, like the recent ones in Spain and Greece) are creating more favorable conditions for aflatoxin-producing fungi, such as Aspergillus species, which thrive in warm, humid environments. Recent studies predict that up to 25% of crops in the EU may exceed regulatory limits for mycotoxins, with contamination detected in as much as 60–80% of certain commodities. Nuts, grains, and seeds, especially those sourced via long, transcontinental supply chains, are particularly vulnerable, as evidenced by repeated border rejections of U.S. peanuts due to excessive aflatoxin levels.
This climate-driven surge in mycotoxin risk is not just a food safety issue but a food security and economic challenge. Increased contamination leads to higher testing and recall costs, reduced crop yields, and trade disruptions that pressure producers and regulators. Both of them, are now under pressure to adopt better tools, like early warning systems, climate-based risk models, and new farming methods that adapt to changing conditions.
To tackle this complex challenge, experts are promoting a “One Health” approach. This idea recognizes that human health, animal health, and the environment are all closely connected. For example, reducing fungal contamination in crops helps protect both people (from toxins in food) and animals (that eat contaminated feed), while also supporting cleaner ecosystems. That’s why the European Environment Agency and other organizations are calling for better cooperation between farmers, scientists, and public health authorities, combining crop research, environmental monitoring, and digital risk tools to protect our food supply.
References
- Campos, C. J., & Lees, D. N. (2014). Environmental transmission of human noroviruses in shellfish waters. Applied and environmental microbiology, 80(12), 3552-3561.
- Food contact materials and chemical contamination
- Legler, J., Fletcher, T., Govarts, E., Porta, M., Blumberg, B., Heindel, J. J., & Trasande, L. (2015). Obesity, diabetes, and associated costs of exposure to endocrine-disrupting chemicals in the European Union. The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism, 100(4), 1278-1288.
- Mycotoxin exposure in a changing European climate
