The Federal Office of Consumer Protection and Food Safety (BVL) reports more than 5,300 notifications in the latest report of the European Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) for 2024 – a record. A new phenomenon is confectionery, particularly fruit gums, contaminated with the psychoactive mushroom toxin muscimol. German authorities reported six cases of this, triggering recalls, as just one or two pieces of fruit gum can cause hallucinations, confusion, vomiting or coma. These products are particularly dangerous for children as they look like ordinary sweets.

Of the 5,300 RASFF notifications, just under twelve percent (623) came from Germany; only the Netherlands was more active with 752 notifications. Germany was the recipient of around 1,100 notifications. Around 91 percent of the reports concerned foodstuffs, six percent animal feed and three percent food contact materials such as tableware or cutlery. The most common reasons for complaints about food were pesticide residues and mold toxins in fruit, vegetables and dried fruit, aflatoxins in nuts and salmonella in poultry meat. Salmonella contamination dominated in animal feed, while substances such as formaldehyde and melamine were objected to in contact materials.

The RASFF, a network of 31 countries, the European Commission, the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA) and the EFTA Surveillance Authority, enables the rapid exchange of information on products that are hazardous to health. In Germany, the BVL coordinates the forwarding of reports to the federal states and the European Commission in order to protect consumers through recalls and controls.

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Gender note. The personal designations used in this text always refer equally to female, male and diverse persons. Double/triple references and gendered designations are avoided for the sake of better readability ected.