A new food alert caused the withdrawal of another product from the shelves of Italian supermarkets. As always, it was issued by the Ministry of Health which, warned of a high risk after a sample study, initiated the report and requested the withdrawal of the product from supermarkets.
This is not a novelty, on the contrary, as the Ministry often intervenes to avoid problems for human health. It had already happened recently with a batch of water that had been withdrawn from the market due to staph risk (as we told you here), with consumers who had purchased the product who were warned to return the goods considered dangerous to the point of purchase.
Peanuts at risk, the alert
This time, it was from the Ministry of Health who ended up in the sights of the Ministry of Health peanuts from the Lidl supermarket. Specifically, according to the Ministry, the peanuts of the brand name Alesto that from the analyzes carried out on a sample of products, it would contain traces of aflatoxins beyond the limits permitted by law.
To be recalled for collection is the 500 gram pack with the number of lot 19522P and the minimum storage term (Tmc) 07/2023, as stated in the document published by the Ministry of Health. The headquarters of the manufacturer is Cavolino Daniele & Figli Roma Srl, in Via Campo di Carne 20/4 00040 RM.
As a precaution, the company recommends not consuming the product with the indicated lot number and minimum shelf life and returning it to the Lidl point of purchase for refund. However, the Ministry has made it known that the recall concerns only some points of sale and that other products of the Alesto brand were not involved.
What are aflatoxins and the risks
The report by the Ministry of Health on the Alesto brand peanuts came because the traces of aflatoxins in the product were above the permitted limits, thus causing a possible chemical risk. Aflatoxins are produced by the secondary metabolism, or the metabolism induced in a plant organism by external factors, of some species of filamentous microfungi such as, for example, Aspergillus flavus and Aspergillus parasiticus. They can develop during cultivation, harvest and storage on numerous products of plant origin such as i cereals (with particular reference to corn), i seeds oily (such as peanuts), le spicesthe grainsthe fruit dry and dried.
At European level, Regulation (EU) 1881/2006 (consolidated text) sets the maximum limits that may be present in food products such as cereals, dried fruit, spices, baby products and milk with coffee as regards aflatoxin B1, total aflatoxins, (AFB1 + AFB2 + AFG1 + AFG2) and aflatoxin M1. If the limits are exceeded, as in the case of Lidl peanuts, the alert is triggered as aflatoxins have the ability to create damage to health due to their toxicity both in the short-medium term and chronic. The main target is the liver and the aflatoxin of greatest toxicological interest is undoubtedly aflatoxin B1 (AFB1) because it has an action on genes (genotoxic) and on the development of liver cancer (hepatocarcinogenic). They are also extremely risky for both animals and humans in pregnancy as they can cause malformations in the fetus and even lethal defects.
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