On September 10th, the Dutch authorities issued an alert under the RASSF system, under number 2025.6942, warning of metal contamination in a shipment of Moroccan cherry tomatoes. The shipment in question was withdrawn from the market.
The matter could have ended there had it not been widely reported in the press, which announced the "suspension of imports of Moroccan cherry tomatoes throughout the European Union." However, a source from the Moroccan food safety authority, ONSSA, denied this claim.
The ONSSA source states, "It is true that a single batch of cherry tomatoes from Morocco was intercepted in the Netherlands on September 10th, and the Dutch authorities suspended the importation of that particular batch, which is standard procedure. Beyond this isolated incident, reports of a suspension of imports of Moroccan tomatoes throughout the European Union are completely false."
"Alerts under the RASSF system concerning fresh Moroccan products are rare and represent only a small fraction of the total number of alerts. Taking the year 2025 as an example, 478 alerts related to fresh produce were issued, of which only 9 alerts concerned products of Moroccan origin, a fraction of only 1.8%. This low percentage attests to compliance with international health standards and the safety of Moroccan products intended for export," the source adds, refuting reports of widespread concerns about Moroccan produce.
For his part, a growers' representative says: "Exports of Moroccan cherry tomatoes to Europe are low at this time of year due to the seasonality of Moroccan production, but they are nevertheless continuing as normal. In fact, just yesterday (September 15th), a shipment of cherry tomatoes was delivered without any problems to the European market."