Spain warns of new alleged Hepatitis A infection of Moroccan strawberries

Spanish health authorities have issued a new warning regarding a batch of Moroccan strawberries, after suspecting a Hepatitis A infection. According to information gathered by the Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF), consulted yesterday by the Spanish news agency EFE, this second notification was issued on Friday.

It follows routine border controls carried out for the entry of products into the European Union territory. The shipment was destined for Poland.

According to the same source, Spain alerted Rasff to inform the EU authorities of the country of destination. The European Commission maintains this alert, subject to updates. Following this latest case, farmers organization Unió Llauradora i Ramadera called on the EU to take «everything to do with consumer health more seriously and to establish more controls».

Earlier, RASFF issued a notification to Moroccan food safety authorities regarding a shipment of strawberries exported to Spain, sparking protests from Spanish farmers concerned about competition.

After verification, ONSSA announced negative results for Hepatitis A and Norovirus, and found no contamination in the irrigation water of the field where the strawberries were grown.

Morocco's Ministry of Agriculture announced, last week, that it reserves the right to take legal measures against the continued spread of misinformation concerning alleged contamination of Moroccan strawberries with Hepatitis A.