The Lactalis scandal currently related to baby milk contaminated with Salmonella which is on everyone’s lips could become the latest large-scale food scandal with serious implications for consumers’ health – something the European Commission is looking to avoid at all costs. The Commission is trying nonetheless to provide reassurance. It said on Monday 15 January that the potentially contaminated products had been recalled but it was continuing to monitor the situation closely and was preparing to publish a report taking stock of the situation in the EU.
“Since this case is treated as a multi-country foodborne outbreak, the Commission is closely monitoring through RASFF (Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed) that the appropriate risk management actions are taken and investigation carried out. In collaboration with the Commission, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) and the European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) are preparing a joint European rapid outbreak assessment, which should be available this week”, a Commission spokesperson told EUROPE.
EU legislation (Commission Regulation No 2073/2005 on microbiological criteria for foodstuffs) specifically prohibits the placing on the market of dried infant formulae intended for children under six months of age, contaminated with Salmonella.
“We are aware that the French authorities have suspended the sale and ordered a global recall of several baby food products (for infants six months old or younger) made by Lactalis over fears of salmonella contamination”, the spokesperson said. Pointing out that measures against the companies that fail to comply with the recall fall within the competence of national authorities, she added: “the Commission keeps monitoring the developments”.
The French authorities notified the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) on 4 December 2017, two days after the identification of the outbreak in France, after confirming that some of the affected products had been exported to third countries. These third countries were automatically notified by RASFF through INFOSAN. According to the Commission, “the RASFF and INFOSAN notifications have allowed for a rapid recall of the concerned products, within the EU and in third countries”.
The Lactalis products suspected of being contaminated have been distributed in 12 member states (Belgium, Bulgaria, France, Greece, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Ireland, Netherlands, Romania, Slovenia, Spain, and United Kingdom) and 53 third countries (Afghanistan, Algeria, Andorra, Angola, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Cambodia, Cameroun, Chad, China, DRC, Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, Equatorial Guinea, FYROM, Gabon, Georgia, Guinea, Haiti, Hong Kong, Iraq, Kosovo, Kuwait, Lebanon, Madagascar, Mali, Mauritania, Monaco, Morocco, Niger, Pakistan, Paraguay, Peru, Qatar, Saint Martin, Saudi Arabia, Senegal, Serbia, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Switzerland, Syria, Taiwan, Togo, Turkey, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Yemen and Zambia). (Original version in French by Aminata Niang)