Events were also up in comparison to Q4 in 2013, with almost 32 more recalls issued in the same quarter in 2014.
The Stericycle European Recall and Notification Index analysed output from RAPEX and RASFF.
It reported 688 food recalls compared to 592 in Q3 2014.
Quarter seasonality
One of the factors that can explain the increase in Q4, is changes in supply and demand during Christmas, said Farzad Henareh, Stericycle ExpertSOLUTIONS European recall director.
“Consumers buy more food and items they typically wouldn’t purchase during the rest of the year,” he told FoodQualityNews.
“With production up, more products enter the marketplace and are subject to recalls.
“Overall the main reason of the peak was seasonality, at Christmas there are new products to meet consumer demand, new processes and new supply chain partners which means added risk.
“It is a trend we always see, food manufacturers need to be more proactive when introducing products.”
Fruit and vegetables are consistently the most frequently recalled items: representing 23-25% across 2014.
The perishable nature and because they are often eaten raw means more risk of foodborne bacteria.
More recalls in fish and fruit and veg
Between Q3 and Q4 the four food sub-categories with the highest increases were fish and fish products with 33 more recalls; fruit and vegetables also with 33 more; poultry meat and poultry meat products with 29 additional and bivalve molluscs with 16 more.
The increase in fish and fish products recalls and notifications was due to traces of Nitrofurans (a prohibited substance) in frozen fish from Thailand, Listeria monocytogenes in salmon from Poland and high levels of mercury in swordfish from Spain and Portugal.
The top five countries of origin for the food sub-category recalls in Q4 2014 were Turkey (11%), India (7%), Poland (6%) and France and China (5%).
For example, Turkey was the principal source of 53 of the 170 fruit and vegetable recalls in Q4.
Tomatoes, which are considered one of the more at-risk fruits, are a principal export. The next highest export is melons, which is another at-risk product.
Brazil and France were the two main sources of the increase in poultry meat recalls and three quarters were due to Salmonella contamination.
The top 10 recalling countries include Italy with 18% of recalls; the Netherlands with 11%; France with 9%; Germany with 9%; and Belgium and Spain both with 6%.
Henareh said while the rise was expected the actual contamination issues were surprising.
“The rise of Turkey and Poland is something to keep a close eye on, including will they become substantial countries of origin regarding countries to recall. They will start inspections and lets see if it has an impact or if they continue rising.
“We are not saying Poland and others are unsafe but they have to catch up with regulation and if it is consistent then maybe be concerned.”
The UK saw a decrease on recalls from 310 in 2013 to 251 in 2015, said Henareh.
“This is due to manufacturers implementing quality monitoring in warehouses before the product is introduced into the market so they find issues before it is released and has an impact," he said.
“The consumers have the power as they are buying the products and are key to the brand.”