An audit conducted in Norway has found that while the country has a functional official control system for fruit and vegetable production, several weaknesses remain. The assessment, carried out by the EFTA Surveillance Authority (ESA), evaluated Norway's implementation of European Economic Area (EEA) rules on food and feed safety, animal health, and welfare.
The audit focused on the production of food of non-animal origin (FNAO), including leafy greens, sprouts, and soft berries. Inspections were conducted in June at the Norwegian Food Safety Authority (Mattilsynet) headquarters, four regional offices, and nine establishments.
Annual domestic production in Norway totals around 19,000 tons of leafy greens, 12,000 tons of soft berries, and 300 tons of sprouts. The national KSL standard, used by most producers of leafy greens and soft berries, has been reviewed by Mattilsynet but not submitted to the EU Commission registry.
Auditors noted that from 2022 to 2024, Mattilsynet conducted no inspections at primary producers of leafy greens or soft berries, contrary to EU requirements. Of the four producers visited, one had last been inspected in 2017, another in 2012, and two had never been checked for compliance with EU hygiene regulations since initial registration.
"The lack of official controls on primary producers of leafy greens and soft berries means the competent authority is unaware of whether these food business operators satisfy the relevant hygiene requirements necessary to ensure food safety. This may lead to unsafe products being placed on the EEA market," auditors reported.
The audit also found that Mattilsynet's registry of establishments was not current, particularly for primary producers. Some businesses had begun operations without registering, while others had stopped without notifying the authorities. Among the three processors of cut fruits and vegetables visited, only one could provide documentation of registration.
In one packing facility, auditors observed non-compliances, including fresh products stored next to moldy waste vegetables and the use of uncleaned crates.
Sprout producers are included in Mattilsynet's annual inspection plan, but the checks did not verify full traceability of seeds used for sprouting. In one establishment, an import certificate could not be linked to the seeds in use, and in another, seed lots lacked identification marks. In one factory, a batch of quarantined seeds awaiting return to the supplier was stored without labeling to prevent accidental use.
Despite these issues, auditors noted that Mattilsynet maintains an effective incident management system for Rapid Alert System for Food and Feed (RASFF) notifications. This was demonstrated during the 2024–2025 Salmonella outbreak linked to alfalfa sprouts, which infected at least 238 people, one third of whom required hospitalization. Traceback investigations linked the outbreak to seeds imported from Italy.
Source: Food Safety News
