The European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) has canceled a notification of the presence of norovirus in a shipment of strawberries coming from Morocco, after it was announced earlier this week, learned informed Hespress sources.
RASFF canceled the alert after the owner of the shipment of strawberries in question demanded re-testing; the results indicated that the Moroccan strawberries were virus-free, including of Noro virus, which was the subject of the alert.
Food health warnings are common for products of all origins, due to the EU’s controls in these inspections, with health authorities checking everything from the presence of disease-causing microorganisms, such as hepatitis A or norovirus, to traces of pesticides, metals or food additives not authorized in the EU.
On February 8, Moroccan strawberries were confirmed to be safe from Hepatitis A virus and Novovirus, after the National Office for the Safety of Food Products (ONSA) tested the batch subject to the European alert.
ONSA took several samples of irrigation water and strawberries at the unit and field level to assess their quality and identify any potential health risks.
“Hepatitis A and Novovirus tests were negative, and no contamination of irrigation water was detected. In addition, field users are strictly monitored to ensure health safety,” announced the authority.
In 2023, the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) issued a total of 4,675 food health incident notifications from both European and non-EU countries, according to the European food warning web portal RASFF.
Among them were 295 warnings for products from India, 284 from China, 253 from France, and 202 from the United States. For food of Spanish origin, a total of 203 health notices were submitted, and only 42 for products from Morocco.
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