Almost 80 tons of tuna seized in the Belgium fraud operation

Published 2021년 6월 4일

Tridge summary

In 2020, the Belgian Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) seized nearly 80 tons of tuna due to various non-compliances, including the banned use of carbon monoxide treatment. The majority of the non-compliant tuna was imported from Asia. Tests revealed issues with nitrite or nitrate levels, ascorbic acid, and histamine levels were satisfactory. The agency's operations aim to address fish fraud techniques, including the use of dyes, nitrites, nitrates, and carbon monoxide treatment, which were found in over half of the samples. The FASFC's actions are part of a broader effort to address a wider issue of food fraud in the European Union, with a focus on tuna imports from non-EU countries.

Disclaimer:The above summary was generated by Tridge's proprietary AI model for informational purposes.

Original content

Food safety officials in Belgium seized almost 80 tons of tuna in the course of a few months in 2020. More than 90 percent of non-compliant products were imported from Asia. Between September and December 2020, the Federal Agency for the Safety of the Food Chain (FASFC) took 45 samples of fresh and frozen tuna from retailers and frozen tuna from wholesalers and carried out 92 types of analysis. In 2019, there were 17 samples analyzed and all were compliant. For 2020 FASFC, also known as AFSCA or FAVV, uncovered the use of carbon monoxide treatment, a technique banned for tuna in Europe. Varieties of fish fraud The objective of the operation was to detect the use and frequency of fraud techniques that are used to hide the spoilage of the fish going brown by passing it off as a fresher item that stays red. Investigators looked at different techniques such as the addition of dyes, nitrites or nitrates and carbon monoxide treatment. More than 35,000 tons of tuna was seized because of ...

Source: Foodsafetynews