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The 2023 annual report of the Alert and Cooperation Network (ACN) has just been published.
In 2023, the number of notifications exchanged by the FFN reached a total of 758, with a significant increase on 2022 (26.3%).
Belgium (18.3%), Germany (16.5%) and France (10.7%) were the countries that communicated most about suspected fraud.
In terms of the origin of the products reported to the system, 71.1% concerned goods from within the EU and 24% from outside the EU.
For products from the EU :
- 8.2% of cases concerned France and the Netherlands (falsification of poultry products, mislabeling of meat products, falsification of live animal documents),
For non-EU products :
- 5.4% concerned China (suspected honey adulteration),
- 3.4% concerned Turkey (suspected honey adulteration).
The most frequently reported product categories were :
- Meat and meat products (except poultry) (13.3%): substitution of ingredients or species, misleading labelling.
- Live animals (10.1%) excluding pets, but especially horses: smuggling, falsification of compulsory documents (animal passports and health certificates).
- Honey and royal jelly (9%): substitution by less valuable species, undeclared addition of water.
- Poultry and poultry products (5.8%): substitution by lower-value species, undeclared addition of water.
- Plant protection products (6.1%): illegal trade in substances within the EU, unapproved composition or use.
- Milk and dairy products (5.5%): violation of PDOs, PGIs and TSGs (traditional specialities guaranteed).
The most frequently reported types of fraud were as follows:
- Adulteration/ adulteration of products (40.4%): substitution of species or ingredients, mainly in products of animal origin such as honey, meat, poultry and fish products. Processing, transformation or unapproved/undeclared products (health foods, dietary supplements and fortified foods).
- Description, labeling and branding errors (23.8%): quality with expiry/production date, geographical or nutritional/health claims.
- The grey market (18.3%): smuggling of live animals or phytosanitary products.
- Falsification of documents (9.5%): falsification of passports, identification documents, animal and plant health certificates.
- Counterfeiting (7.8%): Protected Designation of Origin (PDO) and Protected Geographical Indication (PGI) dairy products (feta, halloumi).
Phytocontrol's experts can help you deal with these issues of fraud and food safety. You can consult our COFRAC technical annexes N°1-1904, N°1-6066 and N°1-6634 available in your customer area or on the COFRAC website.
Need technical, regulatory or pricing information? Our customer service is available from 8am to 6.30pm Monday to Friday on +33 800 900 775 or service-clients@phytocontrol.com.
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