Analysis of RASFF notifications on allergens in cereals and cereal-based products in the period from 01/01/2015 to 31/12/2019

Abstract

The aim of this study was to analyse RASFF notifications on allergens in cereals and cereal-based products in the period from 01/01/2015 to 31/12/2019. Allergies caused by food intake due to the presence of an allergen can pose a serious danger to the health of consumers. In order to promptly respond to any health risks related to food, food contact materials, or feed, The Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) enables quick information exchange between the bodies and institutions involved in the system. All data on allergens in cereals and cereal-based products were downloaded from the RASFF database (RASFF portal) and processed in MS Excel 2010. The collected data provided information on the: notifying country, country(ies) of origin and distribution of the food product in question, notification basis, notification type, risk decision, distribution status, action taken, allergen present and respective food product. More than half of the reported food products originated from Italy, Germany, United Kingdom and Netherlands. Almost half of notifications were published by United Kingdom, Germany, Italy and Spain. The most common allergens were milk, gluten and soya. Products in question in more than two-fifths of cases were pastry (sweet or savoury). The majority of the notifications were classified as alert notifications and a vast majority of total number of notifications were of serious risk. Allergen notifications were mainly based on official controls on the market and on company's own check but some were based on food poisoning. Just over two-thirds of products in question were distributed to other (member and non-member) countries and in over two-thirds of the notifications products in question were withdrawn or recalled.