The system of controls in Canada for fish sent to Europe has the potential to work well but an assessment has revealed a low frequency of sampling and inspections reduces its effectiveness.
An audit in May 2024 covered fishery products for export to the European Union. Four recommendations were made.
Continue Reading Inspection and sampling rates let down Canadian fish controls
The Food and Drug Administration sends warning letters to entities under its jurisdiction as part of its enforcement activities. Some letters are not posted for public view until weeks or months after they are sent. Business owners have 15 days to respond to FDA warning letters. Warning letters often are
Continue Reading FDA warns Vietnamese tuna processor over histamine safety violations
The European Commission’s health and safety unit has published two reports looking at controls of fishery products in Spain and Saudi Arabia.
An audit in Spain in February and March 2023 by DG Sante made three recommendations.
The visit concluded that official controls over vessels freezing tuna provide confidence that
Continue Reading Fish controls assessed in Spain and Saudi Arabia
Norovirus caused the most outbreaks and illnesses in 2022, according to the Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket).
Overall, there were 337 reports of suspected or confirmed foodborne illnesses to the agency with 2,261 cases of illness. In 303 events, two or more people were infected from the same source. This is
Continue Reading Norovirus behind most outbreaks and illnesses in Sweden
Italian authorities are investigating a case of fish fraud that led to several people suffering from histamine poisoning.
Carabinieri NAS Bari was part of a team that carried out court orders involving 18 people earlier this month. Five people were detained and six were placed under house arrest.
Measures were
Continue Reading Authorities crack down on fish fraud that caused illnesses
The European Commission’s health and safety unit has published findings from audits looking at checks on fishery products in Australia, Morocco, and Finland.
A desk assessment of Australian controls to verify exports of fish products met EU requirements was done in October 2022. Exports to the EU in 2021 included
Continue Reading DG Sante assesses fish controls in three countries
Sweden has noted an increase in foodborne outbreaks and illnesses in 2021 but levels were still below pre-COVID-19 pandemic figures.
The number of outbreaks reported to the Swedish Food Agency (Livsmedelsverket) in 2020 and 2021 was affected by measures taken during the pandemic.
There were 251 reports of suspected or
Continue Reading Sweden provides detail on outbreaks in 2021
The European Commission has put maximum levels on three additives in tuna to tackle food fraud. The excessive levels can expose consumers to the risk of histamine, also known as scombroid, poisoning, said the Commission.
The limits apply to the use of ascorbic acid, sodium ascorbate and calcium ascorbate as
Continue Reading EU sets the limit for additives in tuna to combat fraud
Monitoring of farmed fish in Norway has revealed low levels of pharmaceuticals and environmental toxins and an audit has found the control system for fish could be improved.
Fish tested for illegal compounds were collected at the farm level by inspectors from the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (Mattilsynet), without prior
Continue Reading Good results in fish monitoring but audit shows gaps in controls
Around 80 people got food poisoning from a pasta meal at a soccer tournament this past month in Sweden.
An investigation into the incident in Gammelstad on Aug. 5 revealed people fell ill after eating spaghetti bolognese from a restaurant in the city of Luleå.
An investigation by officials from
Continue Reading Pasta meal behind 80 illnesses in Sweden