2021 starts with a decrease in the total number of monthly food recalls in Europe. Compared to last year’s monthly average of 97.3 recalls, January 2021 saw a decrease of about 25%.
Germany is frequently at the top of countries reporting food recalls, and January was no exception. Belgium, France, Denmark and Spain came next.
In terms of reasons for recall, the largest part of recalls were due to unauthorised substances, which were dominated by the presence of ethylene oxide. This is an issue that the EU has been dealing with since early September 2020, but the problem still persists. In fact, 36% of January’s food recalls were due to very high levels of this pesticide. Other issues include the presence of toxins, Salmonella (mostly in products coming from France), foreign bodies (such as glass fragments and apple stems in baby and infant food) and Listeria.
Ethylene oxide was not the only pesticide that was found in high levels in food entering Europe. Chlorpyrifos-methyl, recently banned in Europe, and Fenbutatin oxide, with a maximum allowed limit of 0.01mg/kg, were found in fruit from Turkey. Other countries of origin of recalled food in Europe include India, France, Germany and Italy (mostly due to foreign bodies).
Products affected by January’s recalls include nuts, cereals, fruits and vegetables, dietetic supplements and soups and sauces. The latter is not usually present in the most recalled product categories, but due to the pesticide problem in sesame seeds, products using these seeds in their production end up being affected as well.
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