One of the interesting observation one can make when looking at notifications falling into the food fraud/food adulteration category in the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed Database (RASSF): there are only single-digit numbers, and several years with zero files, until 2003. This was the year when honey and royal jelly were under scrutiny. The number picked up significantly two years later, when Europe saw illegal meat and poultry imports from different countries, but especially from China. The double-digit number were relatively stable, even in the year of the melamine scandal (2008). Europe saw only four notifications for melamine that year and one more in 2009. No further notifications for melamine have been issued since then.
The jump to triple digit figures took place in 2011, mainly due to issues with nuts & seeds from China, as well as milk (product) adulteration – which did not involve melamine. In 2012, the figures dropped back to double digits and rose to the second highest number (so far) in the year of the horse meat crises. Sixty-four notifications were issued in 2013 where illegal horse meat was detected. The remaining cases were mainly due to the absence of health certificates for nuts from China. Interestingly, after 2013, no more findings of horse meat are reported in the system.
The following two years, 2014 and 2015 had fewer cases reported. The vast majority was, again, due to the absence of health certificates, predominantly from China. Some interesting products were caught at the border: some importers tried to bring Betel leaves (paan leaves) onto the European market. These leaves contain psychoactive substances and are illegal in Europe. In 2016, products from African countries, especially nuts and fish, triggered a number of notifications, as well as Indian herbs and spices with missing health certificates.
The highest number (so far) of notifications were issued last year: 160 in total. Again, absence, or, in the case of China, fraudulent health certificates were major contributors to these notifications as well as some illegal dairy imports from Thailand.
Since the beginning of this year, only 66 notifications have been issued until the end of October. This is a comparatively low number. If this is already the pay-off of the numerous activities and schemes against food fraud remains to be seen. As you know, one swallow doesn’t make a summer.
What is interesting to see is that some countries stick out when it comes to notifications for food fraud and adulteration: China, with 190 notifications in the past eight years, with a significant number of fraudulent health certificates. This is followed by India with 137 notifications where mostly health certificates were just missing. A little lower number was issued for nuts & seeds and some fruits from Turkey in the same period.
The “Newcomer” among the countries, for which fraud/adulteration notifications have been issued, is Nigeria, where issues were mainly related to nuts and beans. Of the total of 64 notifications issued between 2010 and 2018, 52 were issued in the past three years alone. Probably one of the countries to keep an eye on for imports.
