Spain Destroys Moroccan Surimi in Third Food Safety Alert in Nine Days
A batch of surimi from Morocco was rejected at the Spanish border and then destroyed. The reason was a break in the cold chain, reported to European authorities on October 21. Two other Moroccan seafood products had been the subject of food safety alerts in the preceding days.
The notification is numbered 2026.9385. Registered by Spain on October 21, it is listed among border rejections in the European food alert system RASFF. The reason: “Break in the cold chain in surimi from Morocco.” The batch was destroyed, according to the RASFF Trends report.
Surimi is made from fish flesh. It must be kept at a controlled temperature during transport and storage. A break in the cold chain can encourage the growth of microorganisms. Spain’s alert concerns a temperature defect detected during inspection.
The European Commission’s RASFF system enables authorities to exchange this information quickly. In this case, the goods were rejected at the border.
Three Moroccan products flagged in nine days
On October 13, another batch of Moroccan fish was destroyed in Spain. Inspectors detected anisakis in a fish marketed for human consumption. The parasite can cause digestive problems and allergic reactions. The case is numbered 2026.9083.
On October 15, fishmeal from Morocco was flagged after salmonella was detected in all five subsamples tested. Notification 2026.9174 concerns a raw material intended for animal feed. The report mentions treatment, sorting or redirection of the product.
These two incidents appear in the RASFF report for the previous week. They add to the surimi rejection recorded on October 21. All three were reported by Spanish authorities, but involve distinct issues.
As of October 25, surimi was the only product of Moroccan origin among the 127 notifications listed in the week 43 report.
