Chinese Food Products Cause Concern as Two Cases of Contamination Reported in EU

According to the European Union's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) weekly report for week 29 of 2023, two cases involving Chinese food and related products have been reported. The details of the notifications are as follows:

Notification date: July 17th, 2023

Notifying country: France

Product: Polyamide kitchenware

Reference number: 2023.4801

Reason for notification: Migration of primary aromatic amines (3669; 93.7; 5.86 µg/kg)

Sales status/actions taken: Product has not been placed on the market/destroyed

Type of notification: Information for attention/Import Refusal Notification

Notification date: July 20th, 2023

Notifying country: Germany

Product: Polyamide kitchenware

Reference number: 2023.4801

Reason for notification: Detection of Salmonella and Escherichia coli

Sales status/actions taken: Distribution information not yet available

Type of notification: Follow-up Notification

It has been reported that two cases of Chinese food and related products have been notified by the European Union's Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) in week 29 of 2023. The first case was reported by France on July 17th, 2023, involving polyamide kitchenware due to the migration of primary aromatic amines. The product has not been placed on the market and has been destroyed. This case was classified as an information for attention/import refusal notification.

The second case was reported by Germany on July 20th, 2023, involving polyamide kitchenware due to the detection of Salmonella and Escherichia coli. Distribution information is not yet available for this case, and it was classified as a follow-up notification.

These cases highlight the importance of food safety and the need for vigilance in ensuring that products meet the required standards. The RASFF serves as a valuable tool in keeping consumers safe by providing information on potential food safety risks and enabling swift action to be taken to prevent harm.