19.02.2015

Traces of non-declared allergens (peanut, almond) found in spices

The European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) and the US FDA have issued several allergen warnings in response to the detection of non-declared almond and peanut traces in spices and convenience foods.

After several British retailers had recalled kits for preparing Mexican dishes due to contamination with almond, an English spice manufacturer has now also recalled several similarly contaminated spice blends and sauces. According to RASFF, non-declared traces of almond were also found in spice blends from Sweden and in ground cumin from Turkey.

In the US, spiced bean dishes and Hungarian ground paprika were recalled due to the detection of non-declared traces of peanut.

The causes have so far not been disclosed. According to information at ifp, the contamination may have been caused by the use of peanut and almond shell powder.