Within an inspection of food safety, the Czech Agriculture and Food Inspection Authority (CAFIA) checked, among others, 4,807 lots of foodstuffs for presence of foreign substances – pesticides, mycotoxins, chemical elements, preservatives, and colourants. Analyses found out foreign substances exceeding permitted limits in 273 lots in total. CAFIA carried out sampling in all segments of the distribution chain, i.e. in production, import, distribution stage as well as in retail. Laboratory analyses were carried out both in accredited CAFIA laboratories in Prague and Brno and external laboratories too.

As regards inspection of pesticides, CAFIA took 1,089 samples to be checked. The laboratory analysis proved values above limits in 12 samples. Following commodities were concerned: green tea, paprika, coriander, oyster mushroom, champignons, and food supplements – grapefruit extract and grapefruit syrup with beta-glucan.

600 lots in total were checked by CAFIA for presence of mycotoxins. The analysis proved non-compliant values in 6 lots of foodstuffs as regards legislation requirements. The analysis confirmed presence of aflatoxins exceeding the limits in rice, pistachios, and dried figs, whereas ochratoxin A was found in raisins and ground paprika.

Within the monitoring of chemical substances in foodstuffs, CAFIA checked values of mineral substances, in particular sodium, potassium, magnesium, selenium, calcium and zinc, as well as contaminating elements, such as arsenic, tin, lead, cadmium, copper, mercury and further. In total, CAFIA sampled 612 lots of foodstuffs to be checked; non-compliant values were detected in 3 samples. Presence of lead in food supplements and copper in wine were the elements and commodities concerned.

CAFIA took 398 samples to check presence of colourants. The analysis showed non-compliant values in 42 lots of foodstuffs. 22 cases concerned products, at which adding of colourants is explicitly forbidden, such as wine, grape must, honey, spices, and herb extracts. As regards the other cases, presence of colourants was not indicated on the labelling which is violence of the obligation in the field of food labelling.

Presence of preservatives was checked in 1,056 samples of foodstuffs, whereas the analysis proved non-compliant values in 51 samples – the maximum permitted limit for presence of preservatives was exceeded in 43 cases, the information on the substances was missing on the labelling in 8 cases.

Inspection of presence of foreign substances in foodstuffs in one of the inspection priorities of CAFIA and the Authority will an intensive attention to this area in this year as well.