A botulism outbreak was one of the most serious issues handled by a Spanish food alert system in 2023. The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) uses the Coordinated System for the Rapid Exchange of Information (SCIRI), the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) and… Continue Reading Foodborne Illness Investigations, Government Agencies, World, 2023 outbreake, botulism, chemical hazard, Clostridium botulinum, Salmonella, SCIRI, Spain, Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN), Spanish omelet Food Safety News
A botulism outbreak was one of the most serious issues handled by a Spanish food alert system in 2023.
The Spanish Agency for Food Safety and Nutrition (AESAN) uses the Coordinated System for the Rapid Exchange of Information (SCIRI), the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) and the International Food Safety Authorities Network (INFOSAN) networks.
In 2023, 772 notifications relating to food products involving Spain were managed through SCIRI’s system of alerts, information, rejections, and news. In 2022, 880 notifications were recorded.
From the 624 alert and information notifications, 262 involved products of animal origin and 245 products of plant origin. Based on food category, fish and fish product notices increased and were top followed by meat and meat products, food supplements, and bivalve mollusks.
Most notifications related to live bivalve mollusks are information for attention, which do not require immediate action by the authorities because the product is presumably no longer on the market. However, nearly a quarter were alerts.
Chemical hazards were behind 269 alerts, followed by biological hazards with 195 and the third category was listed as “other”.
Bacterial findings
Salmonella was the top biological hazard in products of animal origin with 57 mentions. Listeria took second place with 29, followed by norovirus, E. coli, and Anisakis. While 34 were recorded only as Salmonella, 10 were Salmonella Enteritidis and five were Salmonella Typhimurium. Other Salmonella types mentioned were Infantis, Saintpaul, Coeln, Newport, Sandiego, and Virchow.
There was a cross-border outbreak of Salmonella Senftenberg, possibly linked to cherry tomatoes, in which 75 people were affected.
One Listeria monocytogenes notification was associated with fish, notified by Switzerland, with 16 cases of listeriosis recorded since April 2021. Another was linked to beef carpaccio from Denmark, with one affected person. Excessive acidity in a soft drink made four people ill.
One of the main incidents was a botulism outbreak in the summer of 2023 likely caused by Spanish omelet (tortilla de patata), which is made with potatoes and eggs.
Between June and July 2023, 12 cases were reported. Patients ranged in age from 23 and 77 and seven were men. Two cases each were reported in Italy and Norway in people who had been to Spain. Seven people were hospitalized and four were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. Hospital stays ranged from 11 to 69 days. It was unclear if consumers correctly observed the handling and storage recommendations.
In July, Grupo Empresarial Palacios Alimentación announced a withdrawal of the implicated fresh packaged items produced in one of its factories and the temporary suspension of production. Operations resumed in August and a suspension on the issuing of health certificates for export was lifted. The presence of Clostridium botulinum or any toxins were not detected in any samples taken. However, samples of items consumed by cases were not available for analysis.
Chemical hazards include additives, phytosanitary products, veterinary drugs, and heavy metals. With 64 alerts, heavy metals made up almost a quarter of notifications. This includes mercury, cadmium, lead, nickel, cobalt, manganese, and copper. The presence of mercury stands out at 48 notifications with 23 of them corresponding to swordfish in different forms.
Regarding residues of phytosanitary products, different substances were found that were not authorized or exceeded established limits, including: 1,4-dimethylnaphthalene, bromide, carbendazim, chlorate, chlorpyrifos, and ethylene oxide. Of the 60 notifications, 29 were due to the presence of chlorpyrifos. Only five were due to ethylene oxide.
For mycotoxins, 26 notifications were recorded: 16 for aflatoxins, six for ochratoxin A, and two for fumonisin. These were found in various products, but mainly in nuts. In 2023, 26 notifications were from foreign bodies such as metal, glass, and plastic. Milk and gluten were the main allergens and undeclared substances found. Eleven notifications mentioned CBD.
More than 450 notifications listed the product origin as another EU member state, and in 153 cases, it was a non-EU country such as China, Morocco, United States or Turkey. For EU countries, France was top, Italy was second, and the Netherlands was third.
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