RASFF:The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed 2011 Annual Report
Contents
1 The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The legal basis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
The members and their duties . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
The system . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Information to the consumer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2 RASFF notifi cations in 2011 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
2.1 Pesticide residues . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
2.2 Heavy metals . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
2.3 Pathogenic micro-organisms . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
2.4 Mycotoxins . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18
2.5 Composition of food . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .19
3 Focus on … . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
3.1 Feed . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22
3.2 Food contact materials . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .24
3.3 Food poisoning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26
3.4 RASFF News: Accident at the Daiichi nuclear power plant in
Fukushima, Japan . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34
3.5 iRASFF: the new IT platform for RASFF notification has arrived! . . . . . . . . . . .35
4 Relevant charts and tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
4.1 Evolution of the number of notifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38
4.2 2011 – top 10 number of notifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42
4.3 Notifications – country of origin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .43
The RASFF was put in place to provide food and feed control authorities with an eff ective tool to exchange information about measures taken
responding to serious risks detected in relation to food or feed. This exchange of information helps Member States to act more rapidly and in
a coordinated manner in response to a health threat caused by food or feed. Its eff ectiveness is ensured by keeping its structure simple: it consists essentially of clearly identifi ed contact points in the Commission, EFSA1, ESA2 and at national level in member countries, exchanging information in a clear and structured way by means of templates.
The legal basis
The legal basis of the RASFF is Regulation (EC) No 178/20023. Article 50 of this Regulation establishes the rapid alert system for food and feed as a network involving the Member States, the Commission as member and manager of the system and the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA). Also Switzerland and the EEA countries: Norway, Liechtenstein and Iceland, are longstanding members of the RASFF.
Whenever a member of the network has any information relating to the existence of a serious direct or indirect risk to human health deriving from food or feed, this information is immediately notifi ed to the Commission under the RASFF. The Commissionimmediately transmits this information to the members of the network.
Article 50.3 of the Regulation lays down additional criteria for when a RASFF notifi cation is required.Without prejudice to other Community legislation, the Member States shall immediately notify the Commission under the rapid alert system of:
a) any measure they adopt which is aimed at restricting the placing on the market or forcing the withdrawal from the market or the recall of
food or feed in order to protect human health and requiring rapid action;
b) any recommendation or agreement with professional operators which is aimed, on a voluntary or obligatory basis, at preventing, limiting or
imposing specifi c conditions on the placing on the market or the eventual use of food or feed on account of a serious risk to human health
requiring rapid action;
c) any rejection, related to a direct or indirect risk to human health, of a batch, container or cargo of food or feed by a competent authority at a
border post within the European Union.
