Your weekly food recall & compliance tracker w20/2025

Wikifarmer

Editorial team

5 min read
19/05/2025
Your weekly food recall & compliance tracker w20/2025

Food safety recalls continue to play a critical role in protecting European consumer health. This week's total notifications show a slight decrease compared to last week, but serious concerns remain regarding pesticide residues, mycotoxins, and microbial contamination across several product categories. Fresh produce and nuts continue to dominate recalls, with China emerging as the top country of origin for problematic products.

Weekly highlights at a glance (week 20, 2025)

Total recalls: 80 notifications across Europe, down from 92 last week, averaging approximately 11 recalls per day.

Countries of origin: China led with 6 recalls, followed by Spain, the Netherlands, Thailand, Belgium, and Egypt, each with 4 recalls. Overall, products from these top 10 countries accounted for nearly half of the recalls.

Top notifying countries: Germany maintained its position as the most vigilant reporter with 15 notifications, followed by the Netherlands (12), France (8), Spain (7), and Belgium (6). These five countries issued 60% of all recalls.

Risk assessment: Serious risk notifications represented 42.5% of all recalls, with potentially serious at 25%, potential risk at 22.5%, and not serious at 10%. This indicates that over two-thirds of recalls were considered at least potentially serious safety concerns.

Fresh produce alerts: A detailed analysis

Fresh produce accounted for 18.8% of total recalls this week (15 out of 80), making it the most recalled product category. The recalls mainly involved chemical contaminants, particularly unauthorized pesticides and mycotoxins.

Notable fresh produce alerts:

  • Diced figs (Turkey): Aflatoxin B1, Ochratoxin A
  • Grapes (Namibia via Italy): Abamectin
  • Drumsticks (India): Multiple unauthorized pesticides (acephate, methamidophos, monocrotophos)
  • Long bean (China): Multiple pesticides (Procymidon, chlorfenapyr, chlorpyrifos, propargite)
  • Spinach (Spain): Lambda-cyhalothrin
  • Pears (Netherlands): Simazine
  • Oranges (Egypt): Chlorpropham above legal limits
  • Frozen strawberries (Egypt): Oxamyl (unauthorized substance)
  • Fresh pepper (Peru): Multiple pesticides (dinotefuran, omethoate, permethrin)
  • Pineapple (Benin): Ethephon
  • Chillies (Spain): Lead
  • Dried Apricots (Turkey): Ochratoxin A
  • Dried figs (Spain/Italy): Ochratoxin A above legal limits
  • Green pickled tomatoes (Ukraine): Presence of worms
  • Peppers (Thailand): Unauthorized substances (chlorfenapyr, cypermethrin)

Nuts, seeds, and dried products: Mycotoxin hotspots

Nuts and seeds accounted for 10% of all recalls (8 out of 80), with aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, and Salmonella being the primary concerns:

  • Groundnuts from Argentina: Aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin total
  • Pistachios from Iran: Aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin total
  • Pistachio kernels of unknown origin: Aflatoxin B1, aflatoxin total
  • Sesame seeds from Nigeria: Salmonella
  • Sesame seeds from Egypt: Metal fragments
  • Dried organic papaya seeds from Sri Lanka: Salmonella
  • Pistachios from Syria via Luxembourg: Salmonella
  • Pistachios without shell from United States: Ochratoxin A

Advice for fresh produce buyers

To help reduce the likelihood of contamination incidents and better navigate this week's notable alerts, buyers and importers may wish to consider the following precautionary approaches:

Enhanced verification for high-risk origins

Countries such as China, Spain, Egypt, and Turkey were among the most frequently flagged in this week's notifications. When sourcing from these regions, adopt more thorough supplier evaluations and request detailed batch-level documentation.

Broader pesticide screening protocols

Given the variety of unauthorized and high-risk substances detected this week, including chlorfenapyr, chlorpyrifos, oxamyl, and multiple unauthorized pesticides, buyers should revisit their testing programs. Particular attention should be paid to fresh peppers, beans, and berries, which featured prominently in this week's alerts.

Mycotoxin monitoring

Several recalls involved mycotoxins (Aflatoxin B1, Ochratoxin A) in dried fruits from Turkey and Spain. Enhanced monitoring protocols for dried fruits, particularly from these regions, could help mitigate risks-especially as we move into warmer months where storage conditions become more critical.

Top Tip

Implement a risk-based sampling strategy that prioritizes high-risk product-origin combinations. For crops vulnerable to mycotoxins, such as corn or dried fruits, integrate pre-harvest risk assessments, including climate-related indicators like drought or excessive rainfall,  particularly for sourcing regions like Turkey or Iran, where such conditions frequently elevate contamination risks.

Key trends & interesting facts

Product categories under scrutiny

Fruits and vegetables led with 15 recalls (18.8%), followed by nuts and seeds with 8 recalls (10%), and cereals and bakery products with 7 recalls (8.8%). Dietetic foods, food supplements, and fortified foods accounted for 6 recalls (7.5%), while milk and milk products had 4 recalls (5%). Together, these five categories represented over 50% of all recalls and paint a clear picture of where regulatory scrutiny is most focused.

Bar chart showing top 5 food categories with the most RASFF recalls in week 20, led by fresh produce, nuts, and bakery items-1.png

Graph 1. Top 5 Product Categories with the Most RASFF Alerts

Mycotoxins: the persistent threat

Mycotoxins (aflatoxin B1 and ochratoxin A) accounted for 18 notifications (22.5% of all recalls this week). Affected products included groundnuts, pistachios, rice, and figs. The persistence of mycotoxin-related recalls highlights challenges in post-harvest handling and storage conditions, particularly as temperatures rise with the approach of summer. Aflatoxin-producing molds thrive in warm, humid conditions, which can occur during harvest, transport, or storage, especially if controls are weak.

Biological hazards: Salmonella leads to microbial concerns

Salmonella was reported in 10 products (12.5% of all recalls), including:

  • Sesame seeds from Nigeria
  • Dried organic papaya seeds from Sri Lanka
  • Pistachios from Syria
  • Compound feed for fattening chicken from Serbia
  • Dog chews from Austria
  • Ground caraway from Austria
  • Vanilla-flavored halva from Turkey
  • Frozen chicken kebab from Poland

Listeria monocytogenes was detected in just two products (2.5% of recalls):

  • Grated cheese from Belgium
  • Beef meat from Ireland

Other notable biological hazards included Vibrio cholerae and Vibrio parahaemolyticus in shrimps from Ecuador, highlighting the diverse range of pathogen concerns across different food categories.

Chemical contaminants: Pesticides and heavy metals dominate

Several chemical hazards were flagged this week, with pesticide residues and mycotoxins dominating notifications:

  • Unauthorized pesticides: Detected in 5 incidents (6.3% of recalls), including drumsticks from India (acephate, methamidophos, monocrotophos), peppers from Thailand (chlorfenapyr, cypermethrin), peppers from Peru (dinotefuran, omethoate, permethrin), and frozen strawberries from Egypt (oxamyl).
  • Lead: Detected in chillies from Spain, feed yeast from Poland, and wild boar meat from Spain.

Unlike previous weeks, no mineral oil contamination (MOSH, MOAH) was reported this week, suggesting a possible improvement in this specific area or a shift in testing focus.

Geographic patterns and emerging trends

China was the most frequent country of origin for recalled products (6 notifications), particularly for fresh produce and tea products. This represents a significant shift from week 19, where Turkey led with 10 recalls.

Spain, Netherlands, Thailand, Belgium, and Egypt followed with 4 recalls each. Spain was notably linked to pesticide contamination and lead in produce, while Thailand was associated with unauthorized additives and pesticides in various food products.

Turkey had only 3 recalls this week, significantly lower than last week's 10 recalls, perhaps indicating improved compliance or reduced import volumes.

Bar chart illustrating top 5 countries with the highest number of RASFF food alerts in week 20, highlighting China, Spain, and Netherlands-2.png

Graph 2. Top 5 Countries with the Most RASFF Alerts

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