He claims that the contaminated strawberries did not reach consumers

BRUSSELS, Mar. 6 (EUROPA PRESS) -

The European Commission has left it in the hands of the Spanish authorities to decide whether to take action after the detection of Hepatitis A in strawberries imported from Morocco and has stated that the contaminated products did not reach consumers.

"In the context of these alert notifications, it is up to Member States to decide what measures are appropriate, which could include the return or disposal of contaminated products," explained the spokesperson responsible for food safety, Stefan de Keersmaecker.

Likewise, he has indicated that the notification issued this Monday on the RASFF (Rapid Alert System Feed and Food) community portal, which warned of the "presence of Hepatitis A in strawberries from Morocco" detected at an entry point in Spain, does not entail "risk serious", so there is no need for rapid action in any other EU Member State other than the one notifying the matter.

Therefore, he explained that the Community Executive will leave it in the hands of the Spanish authorities to decide what measures are appropriate, while highlighting that the Commission's fundamental priority is the health of its citizens and that, for that reason, the EU has some of the "world's strictest" food safety standards.

The spokesperson also added that this is a "regular" procedure and has assured that relevant controls were carried out to prevent the products from reaching consumers.