Subject: Health warning concerning the presence of Hepatitis A in strawberries from Morocco
On 4 March 2024, the RASFF portal warned that worrying levels of hepatitis A had been detected at the point of entry into Spain in strawberries about to be imported into the European Union. Hepatitis A is usually found in food that has been irrigated with water contaminated with faeces.
This case, in addition to posing a risk to food safety and health in Spain and the European Union, is evidence of a further violation of the health rules laid down in the agreements between the EU and Morocco.
In view of the above:
1. What steps will the Commission take to prevent this from happening with other products and spreading across the internal market?
2. Does it consider that the Spanish Government should strengthen controls so that such products do not enter the internal market?
Submitted:6.3.2024
Answer given by Ms Kyriakides on behalf of the European Commission (8 May 2024)
As part of the EU food safety system, the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) was established to ensure a quick exchange of information between Member States to support swift reaction by food safety authorities in case of risks to public health resulting from the food chain.
Immediately after becoming aware of the RASFF alert issued by the Spanish authorities, the Commission informed the Moroccan authorities so that they could take the appropriate measures to determine the origin of this contamination and take the necessary corrective measures to avoid recurrence of such an incident.
The Commission will closely monitor developments of the situation in the coming weeks in order to guarantee that food imported from Morocco is safe for consumption.
Official controls regarding the safety of foodstuffs upon entry into the territory of the European Union fall under the responsibility of the competent authorities of Member States.
Those authorities perform official controls, following a risk-based approach and with appropriate frequency, on all the food sectors and in relation to all operators, activities and goods governed by Union agri-food chain legislation.
The frequency of official controls is adjusted to the risk and to the level of compliance expected in the different situations. Therefore, the Commission considers that the Spanish authorities are entitled to take into account the likelihood of non- compliance when adjusting their control efforts for such products.