A Four-Language Label Sends a Product from a Moroccan Manufacturer onto the Red List in the United States

The decision appears in alert 99-39 issued by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, updated on September 16. It concerns a powdered chocolate flan preparation manufactured by Somafaco at its Lissasfa plant in Casablanca.

Somafaco is notably the manufacturer of the Idéal, Damti, Chocao, La Chaîne, Javana and Mayfine brands. The FDA does not, however, specify under which trade name the product concerned is sold in the United States.

Its placement on the red list authorizes U.S. agents to detain the corresponding shipments without first conducting a physical examination of the product. The importer must then provide the information needed to obtain their release.

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This is neither a recall nor an alert indicating contamination. The FDA faults the product for being presented with labeling that does not comply with U.S. rules, which is sufficient to prevent its normal entry onto the market.

The Four Languages Become the Problem

The packaging contains information in Arabic, French, Spanish and Dutch. However, according to the FDA, not all the mandatory information is repeated in full in each of the languages used. The agency therefore believes that some information may not be properly understood by consumers.

Two other irregularities have been identified. The importer’s address, shown as “ALIMENTARUS CORP 11103 NY USA,” includes neither a city name nor a complete physical address. The ingredients list also uses the English wording “gelling agent: carrageenan,” whereas regulations simply require the common name “carrageenan.”

The FDA also notes a difference between the English expression “chocolate flavoring” and the designation “arôme” appearing in the French and Spanish versions.

The update lists the same preparation under three regulatory categories: cream-filled sweet product, dessert cream and flan mix. These are therefore not three different products, but a single product classified under several codes by the U.S. administration.

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Somafaco had already appeared in this alert since October 2023 for a chocolate-hazelnut flan preparation. This initial listing was also based on labeling problems, notably the absence of certain information in all the languages and a non-compliant presentation of nutritional data.

On September 16, a new chocolate preparation was therefore added. Unlike the lot of Moroccan peppers blocked for pesticide residues in Europe, no health risk is mentioned here. To be removed from the red list, the manufacturer will have to demonstrate to the FDA that the defects that led to the measure have been corrected.