On Friday 24 February, there was a recall of the lettuce strain Lollo Rossa in Belgium. This recall was reported by the RASFF portal of the European Commission, and has been determined at the REO Veiling as part of its automatic inspection system. The product contained an excess of fluopyram. It concerned 23 mg/kg - ppm. The countries warned are Belgium, Germany and the Netherlands.
Customers immediately notified
The conclusion came after a sample had been taken as part of the automatic inspection system when it was supplied on 16 February. Manager of Production, Rik Decadt, reports that two pallets of this product were sold, one to Germany and one to the Netherlands. “As soon as we received the results from the lab, we decided in consultation with the FAVV to immediately notify our customers,” he indicates. “Lollo Rossa usually quickly ends up with the final user after it has been sold, so communications were immediately started. No product could be sent back anymore. Some buyers had the product taken away in containers, but others had already distributed the product.”
According to Rik, this discovery fortunately did not cause extreme damages to those involved. “It was an exceedance of fluopyram, and the share per head of lettuce was above the legal limit of this substance, about 50 per cent. If we take into account the legal measuring uncertainty of 50 per cent, it would even be under the EU-MRL. But according to the PSTI model of FAVV, it could be harmful to children. That is why it was recalled through the RASFF, the European Commission.”
For more information:
Rik Decadt
REO Veiling
Tel : 32(0)51/23 12 03
Fax : 32(0)51/23 12 89
Coöperatieve Veiling Roeselare cvba
Oostnieuwkerksesteenweg 101
8800 Roeselare, Belgium
www.reo.be