The NGO Foodwatch has asked the prefect of the North to order the recall of boxes of Auchan brand coral lentils. The legumes would be contaminated by hydrocarbons present in the packaging.
After writing to all manufacturers and distributors of products tested and contaminated with dangerous mineral oils, the NGO Foodwatch is shifting into high gear! In its viewfinder, the Auchan brand coral lenses which showed the highest contamination by aromatic hydrocarbons from mineral oils (MOAH) during tests. These toxic substances are in fact recognized as potentially carcinogenic, mutagenic and endocrine disrupting (1) by the European health authorities. Faced with the lack of reaction from the distributor, Foodwatch and the Environmental Health Network (RES) have just contacted the Prefect of the North, where the Group’s head office is located.
In a press release published Wednesday, the organization writes: “This is an action intended to protect consumers: we ask the prefect Jean-François Cordet to order the immediate recall of coral lenses which present or are likely to present a danger. for public health or consumer safety, as provided for in the Consumer Code ”.
On the basis of this referral, the Prefect therefore has two months “to respond to us and protect the health of citizens”, she specifies.
Auchan claims to no longer deliver the product
A few lines later, the charge against the giant of mass distribution continues: “Auchan is a poor student with its coral lenses, because this product has the strongest contamination in MOAH of all products purchased in France. Other Auchan products such as Sugar Flakes cereals and Pouce Vert couscous also contain a worrying amount of MOAH, ”says the NGO foodwatch.
To explain the origin of the contamination, she indicates that “these oils, petroleum derivatives, come largely from printing inks present in packaging made from recycled paper”.
And these concerns, these activists are not the only ones to share them, more than 83,000 people have already signed the petition : “No dangerous mineral oils in our food! »Launched by the organization in October 2015.
In it, they offer a simple solution to politicians: “the European Union must on the one hand set strict limits on the quantity of mineral oils present in food, and on the other hand impose the use of adequate barriers for all. paper and cardboard packaging ”.
Contacted by Why actor, the Auchan group defends itself by affirming “that new packaging has been introduced since February 2016”. “The product analyzed here is no longer delivered to our stores,” he added.
(1) MOAHs represent a threat to public health, as evidenced by the opinion of the EFSA (European Food Safety Authority) of 2012 and the study published in January 2016 by the BfR (German Institute for ‘Risk Assessment ).
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